LANDMARK CASE
Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India
(2014) 3 SCC 1 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal law
At a glance
- Citation: (2014) 3 SCC 1
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Criminal law
- In one line: Yes. Unexplained delay is a ground for commutation, and guidelines were issued.
1 Facts
Death row prisoners challenged long delays in deciding mercy petitions.
2 Issue
Can delay in deciding mercy petitions justify commuting death sentences?
3 What the court decided
Yes. Unexplained delay is a ground for commutation, and guidelines were issued.
4 Why it matters
It humanised death row procedure.
5 Think about it
Why does delay itself become a form of punishment?
6 Analyse it yourself
Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.
7 More cases on Criminal law
- Abhayanand Mishra v. State of Bihar AIR 1961 SC 1698
- Amish Devgan v. Union of India (2021) 1 SCC 1
- Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 684
- Balwant Singh v. State of Punjab (1995) 3 SCC 214
- Barendra Kumar Ghosh v. Emperor AIR 1925 PC 1
- Basdev v. State of PEPSU AIR 1956 SC 488
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