Epuru Sudhakar case

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Epuru Sudhakar v. Government of Andhra Pradesh (2006) · Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Epuru Sudhakar v. Government of Andhra Pradesh (2006) was a Supreme Court ruling on pardons by the President (Art. 72) or a Governor (Art. 161). A pardon can be struck down by courts if it was made in any of these ways:

  • without application of mind (without really thinking about the case)
  • mala fide (in bad faith)
  • on irrelevant grounds, such as political or caste reasons
  • arbitrarily (without good reason)

It shows that the power of mercy is not above the rule of law.

Example

Suppose a remission is granted to a convict only because they belong to the ruling party or a favoured caste. Under this ruling, a court can cancel it.

Don't confuse with

  • Kehar Singh case (1988): it said the President can look at the evidence afresh and courts can review only in a limited way. Epuru Sudhakar spelled out the grounds on which courts can strike a pardon down.

Related concepts

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