Respite
Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Respite means giving a lighter sentence than the one first given, because of a special fact about the offender. The usual special facts are a physical disability or a woman offender's pregnancy. It is one of the five forms of the pardoning power of the President (Art. 72) and the Governor (Art. 161). It is used on the government's advice.
Example
A pregnant woman is sentenced to death. Because of her pregnancy, the punishment can be reduced to a lesser one.
Don't confuse with
- Reprieve: it is only a temporary stay of execution while mercy is sought. Respite actually lowers the sentence.
- Commutation: it swaps in a lighter punishment without needing any special fact about the offender.
Related concepts
- Pardoning power of the President
- Pardon
- Commutation
- Remission
- Reprieve
- Maru Ram case
- Kehar Singh case
- Epuru Sudhakar case