1973 (10) TMI 62 - SC - Indian Laws

Suspension or remission of sentence for offences involving currency notes: Central Government is the appropriate authority, not the State.

Offences under Sections 489A489D concern currency and bank notes, matters falling within the Union List; consequently, the executive power to remit or ... Appropriate Government for remission of sentence - executive power of the Union versus State - remission, reprieve and commutation under Article 161 and Article 72 - Entry 1, Concurrent List - 'Criminal law' excluding offences against laws with respect to matters in List I or List II - matters of currency, coinage and legal tender as Union subject - offences against laws with respect to Union List mattersAppropriate Government for remission of sentence - executive power of the Union versus State - matters of currency, coinage and legal tender as Union subject - Entry 1, Concurrent List - 'Criminal law' excluding offences against laws with respect to matters in List I or List II - Offences under Sections 489-A to 489-D, Penal Code, relate to a matter within the legislative and executive competence of the Union, and therefore the Central Government alone is the appropriate Government to remit or suspend sentences for such offences. - HELD THAT: - The sections in question were enacted as part of the Currency Notes Forgery Act and fall under the subject of Currency, coinage and legal tender which is specifically enumerated in Entry No. 36 of the Union List. Entry No. 93 of the Union List gives Parliament power to legislate with regard to offences against laws respecting matters in the Union List. The proviso in Entry 1 of the Concurrent List expressly excludes offences against laws with respect to matters in List I or List II from the Concurrent head of 'Criminal law.' Read together, these entries establish that offences touching currency notes and bank notes are referable to the Union List and consequently the executive power to remit sentences for those offences lies with the Central Government rather than the State. The observations in N.V. Natarajan and general commentary relied upon do not alter this distribution of executive competence where the subject-matter is expressly within the Union List. [Paras 9, 14]Central Government is the appropriate Government to exercise power of remission in respect of offences under Sections 489-A to 489-D, Penal Code.Remission, reprieve and commutation under Article 161 and Article 72 - equitable treatment or parity where remission wrongly granted to others - The petitioner's plea for parity on the ground that other prisoners were mistakenly released under the State G.O. does not entitle him to relief. - HELD THAT: - The fact that jail authorities mistakenly released certain prisoners under a State Government order that was inapplicable does not confer a right on the petitioner to have his sentence remitted by the State. Two wrongs do not make a right; the correctness of the competent authority's power governs entitlement to remission, and where the remission power for the offences in question lies with the Central Government, equitable parity cannot override that legal distribution of authority. [Paras 19, 20]Petitioner's claim for parity with prisoners mistakenly released by the State is rejected; petition dismissed.Final Conclusion: The writ petition is dismissed: offences under Sections 489-A to 489-D relate to currency matters within the Union List, therefore only the Central Government is competent to remit or suspend sentences for such offences; the petitioner is not entitled to parity relief because others were mistakenly released under an inapplicable State order. Issues: (i) Whether the Central Government or the State Government is the appropriate authority to suspend or remit the sentence of a person convicted under Sections 489A to 489D of the Indian Penal Code.Analysis: Sections 489A to 489D relate to currency notes and bank notes, matters falling under Entry No. 36 of the Union List and offences with respect to Union List matters are covered by Entry No. 93 of the Union List. Section 402(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code defines the 'appropriate Government' as the Central Government where the offence relates to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends. Entry No. 1 of the Concurrent List expressly excludes offences against laws with respect to matters specified in the Union List. Applying the distribution of legislative and executive powers between the Union and the States, offences concerning currency notes and bank notes are within the legislative and hence executive sphere of the Union, making the Central Government the competent authority to remit or suspend sentences under Section 401 CrPC.Conclusion: The appropriate Government to suspend or remit the sentence for offences under Sections 489A to 489D of the Indian Penal Code is the Central Government; the petition is dismissed.Ratio Decidendi: Offences relating to matters enumerated in the Union List (here, currency and bank notes) fall within the executive power of the Union, and under Section 402(3) CrPC the Central Government is the appropriate authority to remit or suspend sentences for such offences.