Fact of the case :

Mithu Singh, serving a life sentence for a previous crime, committed murder while under the sentence of life imprisonment. Under Section 303 (S 104 BNS) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), individuals serving a life sentence who commit murder are automatically sentenced to death.  

Learned counsel for the petitioner stated that the provision contained in Section 303 of the IPC (S 104 BNS) is wholly unreasonable and arbitrary and thereby, it violates Article 21 of the constitution which affords the guarantee that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except in accordance with the procedure established by law”. Learned counsel for the petitioner also expressed that Section 303 of the IPC (S 104 BNS) is unlawful.

Issue involved:

Whether Section 303 of the IPC (S 104 BNS), prescribing a mandatory death sentence for life convicts committing murder, violates Article 14 & Article 21 (Equality) of the Indian Constitution.

Held: In this case, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 303 of IPC (Section 104 of BNS, 2023) on the ground that it violates the guarantee of equality contained in Article 14 as also the right conferred in Article 21 of the Constitution that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The assumption that life convicts are a dangerous breed of humanity as a class is not supported by any scientific data and so cannot stand outside Article 14 of the Constitution.

Note In India, capital punishment used to be mandatory under Section 104 of BNS, 2023 for murder committed by a convict serving a sentence of life imprisonment.