NARAYAN DUTT AND ORS. versus STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR.

Citation: [2011] 4 S.C.R. 983 · Decided: 24-02-2011 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: G.S. SINGHVI · Disposal: Disposed off
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Judgment (excerpt)

• 
[2011) 4 S.C.R. 983 
NARAYAN DUTT AND ORS. 
v. 
STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. 
(Civil Appeal No. 2058 of 2011) 
FEBRUARY 24, 2011 
[G.S. SINGHVI AND ASOK KUMAR GANGULY, JJ.] 
Constitution of India, 1950 - Art.161 - Grant of pardon 
by Governor under Art. 161 - Nature and scope of the power 
A 
B 
of pardon - Extent of judicial review over such power- Murder C 
of one person - Additional Sessions Judge convicte j 
accused-appellants under s.302 /PC rlw other provisions of 
/PC and sentenced them to life imprisonment - All the 
appellants appealed before th& High Court - During the 
pendency of the appeals, the appellants also filed petitions 
D 
under Article 161 of the Constitution before. the Governor of 
the State - The Governor granted pardon to them and they 
were directed to be released -
Writ petition was filed 
thereagainst - High Court set aside the order of pardon of the 
Governor - Held: There is limited scope of judicial review on 
E 
exercise of power by the Governor under Article 161 - In the 
instant case, before the Governor could pass the order of 
pardon, the accused-appellants filed appeals against the 
order of conviction and sentence and the same were pending 
before the High Court -
This was a relevant fact for the 
F 
Governor to take into consideration before granting his power 
of pardon - But, in the instant order of the Governor there was 
no reference to this fact- Therefore, all relevant facts were 
possibly not placed before the Governor - Apart from this, 
there is another vital aspect in the order of the Governor which 
G 
requires serious consideration, inasmuch as, in the order of 
the Governor, there were some observations about the guilt 
or innocence of the accused-appellants - The powers of a 
Court of law in a criminal trial and subsequent appeal right 
983 
H 
• 
984 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2011] 4 S.C.R. 
A upto Supreme Court and that of the President/Governor under 
Article 721161 of the Constitution operate in totally different 
arenas and the nature of these two powers are a/so totally 
different from each other - One should not trench upon the 
other - The instant order of the Governor, by pronouncing 
B upon the innocence of the accused therefore exceeded the 
permissible constitutional limits under Article 161 of the 
Constitution - The order of the Governor cannot be approved 
- Matter remanded to the Governor for re-consideration of the 
matter in accordance with law - Penal Code, 1860 - ss. J 48, 
c 3021149, 323, 149, 324, 325 and 326. 
In a criminal case involving murder of a person, the 
Additional Sessions Judge convicted the accused-
appellants under s.302 IPC r/w other provisions of IPC 
and sentenced them to life imprisonment. All the accused-
D appellants appealed before the High Court. During the 
pendency of the appeals, the accused-appellants also 
filed petitions under Article 161 of the Constitution before 
the Governor of the State. The Governor granted pardon 
to them and they were directed to be released. Writ 
E petition was filed thereagainst. The High Court set aside 
the order of pardon of the Governor. 
In the instant appeals, the questions which arose for 
consideration were: 1) whether the power under Article 
F 161 of the Constitution is subject to judicial review and if 
yes, to what extent and 2) whether in the instant case the 
Governor had rightly exercised his power to pardon 
under Article 161 of the Constitution. 
G 
H 
Disposing of the appeals, the Court 
HELD:1.1. Article 161 of the Constitution of India 
confers on the Governor of a State the right to grant 
pardons, remissions, reprieves or commute the sentence 
of any person convicted of any offence against any law 
• 
NARAYAN DUTT AND ORS. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 
985 
AND ANR. 
relating to a matter to which the executive power of the 
A 
State extends. [Paras 18, 19] [992-D-E] 
1.2. There is limited scope of judicial review on the 
exercise of power by the Governor under Article 161. 
Since the power of granting pardon under Article 161 of 6 
the Constitution is a constitutional power, it is amenable 
to judicial review on the following grounds: a) if the 
Governor had been found to have exercised the power 
himself without being advised by the government, b) if 
the Governor transgressed his jurisdiction in exercising 
C 
the said power, c) if the Governor had passed the crder 
without applying his mind, d) the order of the Governor 
was mala fide, ore) the order of the Governor was pass
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