Article 20 of Constitution of India – Protection in respect of conviction for offences
Article 20 of Constitution of India deals with Protection in respect of conviction for offences
Original Text of Article 20 of Constitution of India
1) No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a
penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence.
(2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
(3) No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness
against himself.
Questions related to Article 20 of Constitution of India
Article 20 provides three key protections: no ex post facto law, no double jeopardy, and no self-incrimination. These are crucial safeguards for accused individuals under the Constitution of India.
An ex post facto law punishes actions that were not criminal at the time they were committed. Article 20(1) ensures that no person can be punished under a law that didn’t exist when the act was done, which is upheld in many Indian Kanoon cases.
Article 20(2) says that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once, aligning with the principle of double jeopardy found in many legal systems, including the Indian Constitution.
Yes, Article 20(3) ensures that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against themselves. This right against self-incrimination is a core part of the Articles of Indian Constitution that protect individual liberty.
You can visit Indian Kanoon to find landmark cases where courts interpreted Article 20, especially in criminal law. These decisions help clarify how this article is applied under the Constitution of India.
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