Bachan Singh v State of Punjab (1980)
Facts.
The constitutional validity of the death penalty (then s.302 IPC) was challenged.
Issue.
Is capital punishment constitutional, and when may it be imposed?
Held.
The death penalty is valid, but may be imposed only in the “rarest of rare” cases where life imprisonment is unquestionably inadequate, and the court must record special reasons. The governing rule for every murder sentence to this day.
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