Sentencing shall not be mere lottery; Supreme Court asks central government to form special commission to formulate punishment policy

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that there should be clear criteria for determining the punishment of the accused and the way of sentencing according to the discretion of the judge should be changed. The central government has been directed to form a special commission to formulate the punishment policy. An affidavit should be submitted within six months specifying the steps taken for this purpose. The recommendation came from a bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and SVN Bhatti.

The High Court had ordered a retrial and made observations against the judge in the POCSO case in Bihar where the trial court had awarded a death sentence. The Supreme Court gave directions that will turn the tide in the country's criminal justice system, rejecting the appeal filed by the judge against this. In the POCSO case, the judge sentenced the accused to death on the same day that the trial was over. It was also alleged that the judge did not give the defence enough time to present its arguments.

The bench opined that the practice of deciding which of the punishments mentioned in the law should be given at the discretion of the judge should end. It is now at the judge's discretion as to how much punishment to impose. There is no specific standard, guideline or rule. The Supreme Court is of the opinion that there should be a radical change in this method.

The Supreme Court observed that the declaration of punishment should not be like a test of fortune. It should not be a hasty decision. An unjust decision is against a fair trial and justice. The pronouncement of a sentence is arbitrary now as there is no policy or law regarding the conditions to be met while sentencing. A judge living on a budget may not have the same judgment as a judge with a wealthy background. Judgments of both male and female judges may vary and may not be uniform in nature. Society should know what the basis for punishment is. There is a need for guidelines for that.