Mercy Petition:
The President of India has rejected the mercy petition of a convict found guilty of kidnapping, raping, and murdering a two-year-old girl in Maharashtra in 2012, reaffirming the constitutional process governing capital punishment.A Mercy Petition is a constitutional remedy available to convicts, especially in death sentence cases, seeking pardon, commutation, remission, or suspension of sentence. The power to grant pardon, commutation, remission, or suspension of sentences is vested in the President under Article 72 and the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution.
The President’s pardoning power is broader than the Governor’s power, as it extends to court-martial cases, while the Governor’s power is limited to offences under State laws and does not apply to military court sentences. A mercy petition may be filed on grounds such as good conduct, mental health, age, medical condition, humanitarian factors, miscarriage of justice, or rehabilitation efforts. Section 472(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 sets a time-bound process for mercy petitions.A convict must file within 30 days of dismissal of appeals by the Supreme Court or confirmation of a death sentence by the High Court, while in cases with multiple convicts, petitions must be filed within 60 days.
