Also: President's pardoning power, mercy petitions, clemency power
Definition
The President's power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit or commute sentences, for offences against Union laws, court-martial sentences and all death sentences, exercised on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers.
The power of clemency has roots in the royal prerogative of mercy in Britain. In a constitutional democracy, it serves as a final safeguard against judicial error and allows considerations of humanity, policy and changed circumstances that courts may not take into account. The Constitution gives this power to the President under Article 72 and to Governors under Article 161.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly clarified the nature of this power. In Maru Ram (1980), it held that the President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers. In Kehar Singh (1989), it held that the President can examine the evidence afresh but need not grant an oral hearing, and that the exercise of the power is subject to limited judicial review. In Epuru Sudhakar (2006), the Court listed grounds on which clemency decisions could be challenged, such as non-application of mind, mala fides, extraneous or wholly irrelevant considerations, and arbitrariness.
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