Chapter III
PUNISHMENTS
53. The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are —
(a)
death;
(b)
imprisonment;
(c)
forfeiture of property;
(d)
fine;
(e)
caning.
Explanation—Caning shall be with a rattan.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 53]
54. “Imprisonment for life”, in relation to any prescribed punishment under this Code or any other written law, means imprisonment for the duration of a person’s natural life.
[51/2007]
Fractions of terms of punishment
*57. [Repealed by Act 51 of 2007]
* There are no sections 55 and 56.
71. * [Repealed by Act 15/2010 wef 02/01/2011]
* There are no sections 58 to 70.
Punishment of a person found guilty of one of several offences, the judgment stating that it is doubtful of which
72. 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.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 72]
73.
—(1) Subsection (2) shall apply where an employer of a domestic maid or a member of the employer’s household is convicted of —
(a)
an offence of causing hurt or grievous hurt to any domestic maid employed by the employer punishable under section 323, 324 or 325;
(b)
an offence of wrongfully confining any domestic maid employed by the employer punishable under section 342, 343 or 344;
(c)
an offence of assaulting or using criminal force to any domestic maid employed by the employer punishable under section 354;
(d)
an offence of doing any act that is intended to insult the modesty of any domestic maid employed by the employer punishable under section 509; or
(e)
an offence of attempting to commit, abetting the commission of, or being a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit, an offence described in paragraphs (a) to (d).
[18/98]
(2) Where an employer of a domestic maid or a member of the employer’s household is convicted of an offence described in subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), the court may sentence the employer of the domestic maid or the member of his household, as the case may be, to one and a half times the amount of punishment to which he would otherwise have been liable for that offence.
[18/98]
(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) —
(a)
a Magistrate’s Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings for the offences punishable under sections 343, 344 and 354 and shall have power to award the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and
(b)
a District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings for the offences punishable under sections 324 and 325 and shall have power to award the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences.
[18/98]
(4) For the purposes of this section —
“domestic maid” means any female house servant employed in, or in connection with, the domestic services of her employer’s private dwelling-house and who resides in her employer’s private dwelling-house;
“dwelling-house” means a place of residence and includes a building or tenement wholly or principally used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation;
“member of the employer’s household”, in relation to a domestic maid, means a person residing in the employer’s private dwelling-house at the time the offence was committed whose orders the domestic maid has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey.
[18/98]
74.
—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence specified in subsection (2) which is racially or religiously aggravated, the court may sentence the person to one and a half times the amount of punishment to which he would otherwise have been liable for that offence.
[51/2007]
(2) The offence referred to in subsection (1) is as follows:
(a)
(b)
an offence of attempting to commit, abetting the commission of, or being a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit, any offence under paragraph (a).
[51/2007]
(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) —
(a)
a Magistrate’s Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings for the offences punishable under sections 143, 151, 153, 323, 343, 344, 346, 354(1), 355, 504, 505 and 507 and shall have power to award the full punishment provided under subsection (1) in respect of those offences; and
(b)
a District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings for the offences punishable under sections 144, 145, 147, 148, 158, 267C, 324, 325, 354(2), 363A and 506 and shall have power to award the full punishment provided under subsection (1) in respect of those offences.
[51/2007]
(4) For the purposes of this section, an offence is racially or religiously aggravated if —
(a)
at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after committing such offence, the offender demonstrates towards the victim of the offence hostility based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a racial or religious group; or
(b)
the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a racial or religious group based on their membership of that group.
[51/2007]
(5) It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4) whether or not the offender’s hostility is also based, to any extent, on any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph.
[51/2007]
(6) In this section —
“membership”, in relation to a racial or religious group, includes association with members of that group;
“presumed” means presumed by the offender.
[51/2007]
[UK CDA 1998, s. 28(1) to (3)]
Punishment of persons convicted, after a previous conviction, of an offence punishable with 3 years’ imprisonment
75. Whoever, having been convicted of an offence punishable under Chapter XII or Chapter XVII with imprisonment for a term of 3 years or upwards, is guilty of any offence punishable under either of those Chapters with imprisonment for a term of 3 years or upwards, shall be subject for every such subsequent offence to imprisonment for life, or to double the amount of punishment to which he would otherwise have been liable for the same; but if he is not sentenced to imprisonment for life, he shall not in any case be liable to imprisonment for a term exceeding 15 years.
[51/2007]
[Indian PC 1860, s. 75]