Punishment and Sentencing Policy in India: A Critical Analysis

Sentencing systems throughout the India have experienced great change over the past years. Sentencing policy is often the target of reform as policymakers, judges, and other judicial decision makers grapple with the issues of discretion, sentencing disparity, and sentence severity. In India as known, no formal guidelines exist and judges retain wide discretion in sentencing, but the country has mechanism in place to provide general guidance- in India through a series of court decisions that identify relevant sentencing factors. The present study examines the sentencing systems in the country and the very need of sentencing guidelines for proper functioning and effectiveness in justice. The analysis indicates that legally prescribed factors are the primary determinants of sentencing across all the countries justice system. This is followed by a discussion of different opinions on sentencing policy – their focal points and inconveniences. Our outlook on rape has changed drastically in the last two decades. Courts as well as the legislature has laid down exacerbated punishment for the rape offenders. So, trends in rape sentencing deserve a mention in this study.