{"id":5813,"date":"2025-06-17T01:44:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T20:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/?p=5813"},"modified":"2025-06-17T01:59:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T20:29:22","slug":"bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/","title":{"rendered":"Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1980 (Case Summary)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5813\" class=\"elementor elementor-5813\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2d759292 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"2d759292\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-234f7892\" data-id=\"234f7892\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-6fb08a4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"6fb08a4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-b6ca95c\" data-id=\"b6ca95c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2422915e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2422915e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1980\n(Case Summary)<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24ed4113 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"24ed4113\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-1536x864.png\" class=\"attachment-1536x1536 size-1536x1536 wp-image-5814\" alt=\"Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-48.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b37e34b elementor-grid-0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-wpr-sharing-buttons\" data-id=\"4b37e34b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"wpr-sharing-buttons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpr-sharing-buttons elementor-grid wpr-sharing-official wpr-sharing-label-off wpr-sharing-label-tr\"><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-facebook-f\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/&title=Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1980 (Case Summary)&summary=In this case, the Supreme Court was called upon to examine the constitutionality of the death penalty under Indian law. The matter centered on how and when capital punishment could be justified under Article 21&source=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-linkedin-in\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1980 (Case Summary)&body=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-envelope\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fas fa-envelope\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=*Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1980 (Case Summary)*%0ahttps:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-whatsapp\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-whatsapp\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f10d728 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5f10d728\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this case, the Supreme Court was called upon to examine the constitutionality of the death penalty under Indian law. The matter centered on how and when capital punishment could be justified under Article 21 of the Constitution, especially in light of evolving standards of human dignity and the concept of &#8220;rarest of rare&#8221; cases.<\/span><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/#Facts_of_Bachan_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\" >Facts of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/#Issues_framed\" >Issues framed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/#Subordinate_Court_Judgment\" >Subordinate Court Judgment<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/#Judgment_of_Bachan_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\" >Judgment of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nyaya-sahita\/bachan-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-9-may-1980\/#Refer_to_the_Judgment_below\" >Refer to the Judgment below<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Facts_of_Bachan_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Facts of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab <\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><ol><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bachan Singh was convicted of the murder of three persons, including a woman and a child and sentenced to death.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He had earlier been convicted of another murder but was released after serving a sentence of life imprisonment.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upon his release, he committed multiple murders.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case reached the Supreme Court on appeal, raising constitutional questions regarding the validity of the death penalty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. <\/span><\/li><li>The petition challenged the imposition of the death penalty as violating the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.\u00a0<\/li><\/ol><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Issues_framed\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Issues framed<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><ol><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the death penalty as provided under Section 302 of the IPC is unconstitutional in light of Articles 14, 19 and 21?\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the procedure prescribed for imposing the death penalty under Section 354(3) of the CrPC is arbitrary or unreasonable?\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the death sentence awarded to Bachan Singh was justified under the facts and circumstances of the case?<\/span><\/li><\/ol><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Subordinate_Court_Judgment\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Subordinate Court Judgment<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sessions Court convicted Bachan Singh under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to death. The High Court upheld the conviction and confirmed the death sentence, holding that the murders committed were of a brutal and gruesome nature and warranted capital punishment. Bachan Singh then appealed to the Supreme Court under Article 136 of the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Constitution.<\/span><\/p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Judgment_of_Bachan_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Judgment of <\/b><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of the death penalty with reference to Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. It upheld the constitutionality of capital punishment under Section 302 IPC, stating that it is not unreasonable or arbitrary when applied in accordance with fair, just, and reasonable procedure.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court introduced the &#8220;rarest of rare&#8221; doctrine, holding that the death penalty should only be imposed in the most exceptional cases where the alternative option of life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed. Section 354(3) of the CrPC, which mandates that special reasons be given for imposing the death penalty, was held to be a sufficient safeguard to ensure that the punishment is not arbitrarily imposed. The Court emphasized the importance of balancing aggravating and mitigating circumstances before awarding the death sentence. In Bachan Singh\u2019s case, the Court found that the crimes committed were extremely brutal and fell within the rarest of rare category.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court thus upheld the death sentence awarded to Bachan Singh, while reaffirming that the death penalty is constitutionally valid when imposed with caution and fairness. The judgment laid the foundation for future capital punishment jurisprudence in India by restricting its application and insisting on individualized sentencing based on a principled approach.<\/span><\/p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Refer_to_the_Judgment_below\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Refer to the Judgment below<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-445133fa elementor-widget elementor-widget-pdfjs-viewer\" data-id=\"445133fa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pdfjs-viewer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdfjs-viewer-for-elementor\/\/assets\/js\/pdfjs\/web\/viewer.html?file=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bachan-Singh-vs-State-Of-Punjab-1.pdf\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-517ff6c7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"517ff6c7\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2c7c7330\" data-id=\"2c7c7330\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this case, the Supreme Court was called upon to examine the constitutionality of the death penalty under Indian law. The matter centered on how and when capital punishment could be justified under Article 21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[13,162,161,163],"class_list":["post-5813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bharatiya-nyaya-sahita","tag-article-21","tag-death-penalty","tag-rarest-of-rare","tag-section-302-ipc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5813"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5822,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813\/revisions\/5822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}