Punishments in criminal law

definition
1) Psychological science analysis defines punishment as any consequence that occurs following a
behavior that reduces the likelihood of the behavior occurring
2) Punishment is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual,
meted out by an authority.
3) Punishment is the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for a misdeed (i.e., the
transgression of a law or command).
4) Punishment is a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure.
5) Punishment is a penalty (as a fine or imprisonment) inflicted on an offender through the judicial and
especially criminal process.
6) Punishment is a penalty or sanction given by State for any crime or offence.
7) Punishment is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offence.
8) Punishment is the act of inflicting a consequence or penalty on someone as a result of their
wrongdoing, or the consequence or penalty itself.
9) Sanctions such as fine, confinement, or loss of rights to property administered to a person
convicted of a crime.
10) Black’s Law Dictionary employs a legal defines punishment as, “In criminal law, any pain, penalty,
suffering, or confinement inflicted upon a person by the authority of the law and the judgment and
sentence of a court, for some crime or offense committed by him, or for his omission of a duty
enjoined by law”
 definition
11) Punishment is a process by which the state inflicts some pain to the persons or property
of person who is found guilty of Crime.
12) " Any fine, penalty or confinement inflicted upon a person by the authority of the law and
the judgment and sentence of a Court, for some crime or offence committed by him or
for his omission of duty enjoined by law.“
Conclusion:-
a) It must involve pain or other consequences normally considered unpleasant.
b) It must be for an offence against legal rules.
c) It must be of an actual or supposed offender for his offence.
d) It must be intentionally administered by human beings (judge, jury, etc.) other than the
offender.
e) It must be imposed and administered by an authority constituted by a legal system
against which the offence is committed.
Some pain or penalty warranted by law, inflicted on a person, for the commission of a crime
or misdemeanor, or for the omission of the performance of an act required by law, by the
judgment and command of some lawful Court, is called punishment.
 Kinds of punishment under Penal
code
1. Qisas, means punishment by causing similar hurt at the earn part of the body of the
convict as he has caused to the victim or by causing his death if he has committed qatal-
i-amd in exercise of the right of the victim or a wall.
Non-applicability of Qisas
There are four cases in which Qisas is not applicable on the offender, namely:
i. Where the offender dies before the enforcement of Qisas.
ii. Where right of Qisas waived by any will
iii. Where right of Qisas devolves on the offender; and
iv. Where the right of Qisas devolves on the person who has no right of Qisas against the offender.
2. Diyat “means the compensation specified in Section 323 payable to the heirs of the
victim.“
The Court shall, subject to the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and keeping
in view the financial position of the convict and the heirs of the victim, fix the value of diyat which shall not
be less than the value of thirty thousand six hundred and thirty grams of silver and the Federal Government
shall, by notification in the official Gazette, declare the value of silver, on the 1st July each year or on such
date as it may deem fit, which shall be the value payable during the financial year. (Section 23, PPC).
3. Arsh means a compensation which is payable by the offender to the victim or his heirs. It
is defined in section 299(b) as: "Arsh means. the compensation specified in this Chapter
to be paid to the victim of his heirs.
 Kinds of punishment under Penal
code
1. Qisas, means punishment by causing similar hurt at the earn part of the body of the
convict as he has caused to the victim or by causing his death if he has committed qatal-
i-amd in exercise of the right of the victim or a wall.
Non-applicability of Qisas
There are four cases in which Qisas is not applicable on the offender, namely:
i. Where the offender dies before the enforcement of Qisas.
ii. Where right of Qisas waived by any will
iii. Where right of Qisas devolves on the offender; and
iv. Where the right of Qisas devolves on the person who has no right of Qisas against the offender.
2. Diyat “means the compensation specified in Section 323 payable to the heirs of the
victim.“
The Court shall, subject to the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and keeping
in view the financial position of the convict and the heirs of the victim, fix the value of diyat which shall not
be less than the value of thirty thousand six hundred and thirty grams of silver and the Federal Government
shall, by notification in the official Gazette, declare the value of silver, on the 1st July each year or on such
date as it may deem fit, which shall be the value payable during the financial year. (Section 23, PPC).
3. Arsh means a compensation which is payable by the offender to the victim or his heirs. It
is defined in section 299(b) as: "Arsh means. the compensation specified in this Chapter
to be paid to the victim of his heirs.
 Kinds of punishment under Penal
code
7. Imprisonment for life is the second highest form of punishment as specified in PPC. It is
inflicted for the following offences:
i. Waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging was against Pakistan.
ii. Collecting arms etc. with intention of waging war against Pakistan.
iii. Sedition.
iv. Counterfeiting Pakistan coin.
v. Punishment for murder
vi. Kidnapping or abducting in Order to commit murder.
vii. Dacoity with murder
8. Imprisonment means the act of putting or confining a person in prison.
a) Rigorous:- In the case 'of Rigorous Imprisonment the offender is put to hard labour, such as
grinding the cord, drawing water digging earth, cutting fire woods etc.
b) Simple:- In the case of simple imprisonment, the offender is confined in jail and is riot put to any
kinds of work. The maximum period of imprisonment that can be awarded for an offence is
fourteen years (Section 55). The shorten term provided for an offence is twenty four hours but
the minimum is unlimited.
 Kinds of punishment under Penal
code
9. Forfeiture of Property:- It means that the property of the offenders who are awarded with
death, transportation or imprisonment will be seized. Property is retained as a
punishment in the following cases
i. Whoever commits, or prepares to commit, depredation on the territories, of any power, at peace with
Government, shall be liable in addition to other punishments, to forfeiture of any property used, or
intended to be used in depredation or acquired thereby. (Section 126).
ii. Whoever knowingly receives property taken as above mentioned or in waging war against any
Asiatic power at peace with government, shall be liable to forfeit such property. (Section 127).
iii. A public servant, who improperly purchases property, which by virtue of his office, he is legally
prohibited from purchasing forfeits such property.
10. Fine:- The ' Punishment of fine may also be given along with other punishment on the
commission of any offence. it is as much a punishment as Diyat, Arsh or Daman. It is the
only Punishment provided for in Sections 137, 154, 155, 156,171-G 171H, 171-1, 278,
283, 290 and 294-A.
if the offence is liable with imprisonment as well as fine the term shall not exceed one-fourth of the term of
imprisonment which is the maximum fixed for the offence.
Object
The Object of Punishment is to protect society from mischievous and undesirable elements by
deterring potential offenders, by preventing the actual offenders from committing further
offenses and by reforming and turning them into law abiding citizens.
 theories/purpose of punishment
1. Deterrent Theory :- 'To deter' means, " to abstain from action/ doing ". Deterrent means,
"infliction of severe punishments with punishments with a view to prevent the offender from
committing the crime again." According to this theory, the object of punishment is not to only
prevent the wrongdoer from doing a wrong a second time, but also to make him an example
to others who have criminal tendencies. Salmond considers deterrent aspects of criminal
justice to be the most important for control of crime. Penalty keeps the people under control,
penalty protects them, penalty remains awake when people are asleep, so the wise have
regarded punishment is a source of righteousness. In Pakistan, the deterrent theory is the
basis of Penal Jurisprudence.
2. Retributive Theory :- In Primitive society punishment was mainly retributive. The person
wronged was allowed to have revenge against the wrongdoer. The Principle of 'an eye for
an eye', 'a tooth for a tooth ', a nail for nail, limb for limb was the basis of criminal
administration.
3. Preventive theory :- Preventive theory is also known as 'theory of disablement.' According
to this theory, punishment is based on the proposition, "not to avenge crime but to prevent it"
The aim of this theory is to disable the criminal. Offenders are disabled from repeating the
crime by awarding punishments, such as death, exile or forfeiture of Property. By putting the
criminal in jail, he is prevented from committing another crime. The Preventive theory
concentrates on the prisoner and seeks to prevent him from offending again in the future.
The death penalty and exile serve the same purpose.
 theories/purpose of punishment
4. Reformative Theory :- According to Reformative theory, the object is of punishment is
the reformation of criminals. This theory seeks to bring about a change in the attitude of
offender so as to rehabilitate him as a law abiding member of society. Crime is a mental
disease, caused by different anti-social elements. Therefore the mental cure of criminals
rather than awarding punishment will serve the purpose. If the criminals are educated
and trained, they will be competent to behave well in the society.
5. Expiatory Theory :- Expiatory theory of Punishment is based on morals. According to
this theory repentance or expiation by offender itself is a punishment. If the offender
expiates or repents, he must be forgive. Expiatory theory of punishment was prevalent
in ancient Indian criminal law. Expiations were performed by way of uttering mantras,
fasting or even burning oneself to death.
6. Theory of Compensation :- According to Theory of Compensation the object of
punishment must not be merely to prevent further crimes but also to compensate the
victim of the Crime.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-53. Punishments: The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of
this Code are:
Firstly, . Qisas;
Secondly, Diyat;
Thirdly, Arsh;
Fourthly, Daman;
Fifthly, Ta'zir;
Sixthly, Death;-
Seventhly, Imprisonment for life
Eighthly, Imprisonment which is of two descriptions, namely:--
,(i) Rigorous, i.e., with hard labour;
(ii) Simple;
Ninthly, Forfeiture of property;
Tenthly, Fine
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-54. Commutation of sentence of death : In every case in which sentence of death shall
have been passed the Federal Government or the Provincial Government of the Province
within which the offender shall have been sentenced may, without the consent of the
offender, commute the punishment for any other punishment provided by this Code:
Provided, that, in a case in which sentence of death shall have been passed against an
offender convicted for an offence of qatl, such sentence shall not be commuted without the
consent of the heirs of the victim.
Sec-55. Commutation of sentence of imprisonment for life : In every case in which sentence
of imprisonment for life shall have been passed, the Provincial Government of the Province
within which the offender, shall have been sentenced may, without the consent of the
offender, commute the punishment for imprisonment of either description for a term not
exceeding fourteen years:
Provided that, in a case in which sentence of imprisonment for life shall have been passed
against an offender convicted for an offence punishable under Chapter XVI, such punishment
shall not be commuted without the consent of the victim or, as the case may be, of his heirs.
Chapter XVI relates to the Offences affecting the Human Body.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-55-A. Saving for President prerogative : Nothing in Section fifty-four or Section fifty-five
shall derogate from the right of the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or
remissions of punishment:
Provided that such right shall not without the consent of the victim or, as the case may be of
the heirs of the victim, be exercised for any sentence awarded under Chapter XVI.
Sec-57. Fractions of terms of punishment: In calculating fractions of terms of punishment,
imprisonment for life shall be reckoned as equivalent to imprisonment for twenty-five years.
Sec-60. Sentence may be (in certain cases of imprisonment) wholly or partly rigorous or
simple: In every case in which an offender is punishable with imprisonment which may be
of either description, it shall be competent to the Court which sentences such offender to
direct in the sentence that such imprisonment shall be wholly rigorous, or that such
imprisonment shall be wholly simple, or that any part of such imprisonment shall be rigorous
and the rest simple.
Sec-63. Amount of fine: Where no sum is expressed to which a fine may extend, the amount
of fine to which the offender is liable is unlimited, but shall not be excessive.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-64. Sentence of imprisonment for non-payment of fine: In every case of an offence
punishable with imprisonment as well. as fine, in which the offender is sentenced to a fine,
whether with or without imprisonment, and in every case of an offence punishable with
imprisonment or fine, or with fine only, in which the offender is sentenced to a fine, it shall be
competent to the Court which sentences such offender to direct by the sentence that, in
default of payment of the fine, the offender, shall suffer imprisonment for a certain term,
which imprisonment shall be. in excess of any other imprisonment to which he may have
been sentenced or to which he may be liable under a commutation of a sentence.
Sec-65. Limit to imprisonment for non-payment of fine when imprisonment and fine
awardable: The term for which the Court directs the offender to be imprisoned in default of
payment of a fine shall, not exceed one-fourth of the term of imprisonment, which is the
maximum fixed for the offence, if the offence be punishable with imprisonment as well as fine.
66. Description of imprisonment for non-payment of fine : The imprisonment which the Court
imposes in default of payment of a fine may be of any description to which the offender might
have been sentenced for the offence.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-67. Imprisonment for non-payment of fine When offence punishable with fine only: If the
offence be punishable with fine only: the imprisonment which the Court imposes in default of
payment of the fine shall be simple, and the term for which the Court directs the offender to
be imprisoned, in default of payment of fine, shall not exceed the following scale that is to
say, for any term not exceeding two months when the amount of the fine shall not exceed fifty
rupees, and for any term not exceeding four months when the amount shall not exceed, one
hundred rupees, and for any term not exceeding six months in any other case.
i. for any term not exceeding two months when the amount of the fine shall not exceed fifty rupees
ii. for any term not exceeding four months when the amount shall not exceed one hundred rupees
iii. for any term not exceeding six months in any other case
Sec-68. Imprisonment to terminate on payment of fine: The imprisonment which is imposed in
default of payment of a fine shall terminate whenever that fine is either paid or levied by
process of law.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-69. Termination of imprisonment on payment of proportional part of fine: If, before the
expiration of the term of imprisonment fixed in default of payment, such a proportion of the
fine be paid or levied that the term of imprisonment suffered in default of payment is not less
than proportional to the part of the fine still unpaid, the imprisonment shall terminate.
Illustration
A is sentenced to fine of one hundred rupees and to four months, imprisonment in default of payment.
Here, seventy-five rupees of the fine be paid or levied before the expiration of one month of the
imprisonment. A will be discharged as soon as the first month has expired, if seventy-five rupees be paid
or levied at the time of the expiration of the first month, or at any later time while .A continues
imprisonment. A will be immediately discharged, if fifty rupees of the fine be paid or levied before the
expiration of two months of the imprisonment, A will be discharged as soon as the two months are
completed, if fifty rupees be paid or levied at the time of the expiration of those two months, or at any
later
time while A continues in imprisonment, A will be immediately discharged.
Sec-70. Fine leviable within six years, or during imprisonment-Death not to discharge
property from liability : The fine or any part thereof which remains unpaid, may be levied at
any time within six years after the passing of the sentence/and if, under the sentence, the
offender be liable to imprisonment for a longer period than six years, then at any time
previous to the expiration of that period; and the death of the offender does not discharge
from the liability any property which would, after his death, be legally liable for his debts.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-71. Limit of punishment of offence made up of several offences: where anything which is
an offence is made up of parts, any of which parts is itself an offence, the offender shall not
be punished with the punishment of more than one of such his offences, unless it be so
expressly provided.
Where anything is an offence falling within two or more separate definitions of any law in
force for the time being by which offences are defined or punished, or
Where several acts, of which one or more than one would by itself or themselves constitute
an offence, constitute, when combined, a different offence, the offender shall not be punished
with a more severe punishment than the Court which tries him could award for any one of
such offence.
a) A gives Z fifty strokes with a stick. Here A may have committed the offence of voluntarily causing hurt
to Z by the whole beating, and also by each of the blows which makes up the whole beating. If were
liable to punishment for every blow, they might be imprisoned for fifty years, one for each blow. But
he is liable only to one punishment for the whole beating.
b) But if, while A is beating Z, Y interferes, and A intentionally strikes Y, here as the blow given to Y is
no part of the act whereby A voluntarily cause hurt to Z, A is liable to one punishment, for voluntarily
causing hurt to Z, and to another for the blow given to Y.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-72. Punishment of person guilty of one of several offences, the judgment stating that it is doubtful of
which: In all cases in which judgment is given that a person is guilty of one of several offences specified
in the judgment, but that it is doubtful of which of these offences he is guilty, the offender shall be
punished for the offence for which the lowest punishment is provided if the same punishment is not
provided, for all.
When an accused is held guilty of one of several offences but it is not clear as to which one of these
offences he is guilty of, he shall be awarded the lowest punishment as if he is guilty of the least serious
offence out of those offences. If, however, all the offences are punishable with the same amount of
punishment, that same sentence will be passed against him.
where it is certain that either A or В has murdered Z, and also that whoever out of them has caused the murder has
been actively and intentionally aided by the other in that murder: but who committed the murder and who aided is
impossible to ascertain. Under these circumstances, both A and В shall be sentenced to the lesser punishment
between the two offences.
Sec-73. Solitary confinement: Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this
Code the Court has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, ,the Court may, by its sentence,
order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of the
imprisonment to which he is sentenced, not exceeding three months in the whole, according to the
following scale, that is to say"
i. a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months;
ii. a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and shall not exceed one
year;
iii. a time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed one year.
 Punishment under PPC chapter iii
Sec-74. Limit of solitary confinement: in executing a sentence of solitary confinement, such
confinement shall in no case exceed fourteen days at a time, with intervals between the period
of solitary confinement of not less duration than such periods, and when the imprisonment
awarded shall exceed three months, the solitary confinement shall not exceed seven days in
any one month of the whole imprisonment awarded, with intervals between the periods of
solitary confinement of not less -duration than such periods.
Solitary confinement should be imposed only in intervals since it produces a direct impact
on the mind of the person undergoing it. Such confinement shall never be for more than
fourteen days at a stretch. The interval between the period of solitary confinement must not be
less than such periods of such confinements.
Sec-75. Enhanced punishment for certain offenders under Chapter XII or Chapter XVII after
previous conviction : Whoever, having been convicted“
(a) by a Court in Pakistan of an offence punishable under Chapter XII or Chapter XVII of this
Code with imprisonment of either description for a term of three years or upwards, or
(b) [Omitted by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration), Ordinance, XXV// of 1981].
shall be guilty of any offence punishable under either of those Chapters with the imprisonment
for the like term, shall be subject for every such subsequent offence to imprisonment for life, or
to imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years.