The Supreme Court, in its judgment on Thursday (March 07), clarified that Article 20(1) of the Constitution does not prevent courts from imposing a lesser punishment based on a new law enacted after the commission of the offense. While Article 20(1) prohibits retrospective application of criminal laws to impose a higher penalty, it does not forbid courts from applying a new law to reduce the punishment. The bench, consisting of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and PB Varale, emphasized that Article 20 prohibits subjecting an individual to a greater punishment than what was applicable at the time of the offense but does not bar imposing a lesser punishment available under a new law.
In a case concerning the conversion of sentences under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (“Old Act”) to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (“New Act”), Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, authoring the judgment, examined whether the appellants could benefit from the lesser sentence under the new law. Referring to the principle established in the case of T. Barai v. Henry Ah Hoe, the Supreme Court ruled that beneficial amendments can be applied retroactively to pending cases.
In this particular case against M/S A.K. SARKAR & CO. & ANR., the appellants were convicted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, for not properly labeling food items. While the Trial Court convicted both appellants, the High Court reduced the sentence of appellant no.2. The Supreme Court, rejecting the appellants’ argument regarding the non-applicability of certain provisions, upheld the conviction. However, it converted the sentence of appellant no.2 from imprisonment to a fine of Rs. 50,000, while maintaining the fine for appellant no.1 at Rs. 2000.
The appeal was partly allowed, granting relief to the appellants.
Counsel for the Petitioners: Ms. Nandini Sen Mukherjee, AOR
Counsel for the Respondents: Ms. Mantika Haryani, Adv., Ms. Ripul Swati Kumari, Adv., Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR, Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR, Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv., Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv., Ms. Kshitij Singh, Adv., Mr. Sohhom Sau, Adv.
Case Title: M/S A.K. SARKAR & CO. & ANR. VERSUS THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.
