A The Supreme Court of India has struck down the punishment of death when a prisoner commits murder while under the sentence for life in the case of’

Solution

In the case of Mithu Singh vs. State of Punjab, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 303 of the Indian Penal Code, which provided for the mandatory death penalty for a prisoner who commits murder while under a sentence of life imprisonment. The case was brought before the Supreme Court on the grounds that Section 303 violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, including the right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court held that Section 303 was unconstitutional as it violated the principles of natural justice and fairness. The Court further held that the imposition of the death penalty in such cases was arbitrary and disproportionate to the offence committed. The Court also observed that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty under Section 303 violated the principles of individualization of punishment and took away the discretion of the judge to consider the facts and circumstances of each case. Therefore, the landmark judgment in the case of Mithu Singh vs. State of Punjab is significant in the development of Indian criminal law jurisprudence, as it struck down a provision that violated the principles of natural justice and fairness and ensured that the punishment for a crime was proportionate to the offence committed.