ORDER

WRIT PETITION (CRL.)NO.48 OF 2014:

1. Vide order dated 9th July, 2014, we had restrained the State Governments from exercising their powers of remission and commutation of sentence under Sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to life convicts. The relevant paragraph of the order passed by this Court reads as under :

“In the meanwhile, the State Governments are restrained from exercising power of remission to life convicts”.

2. We had issued notice to all the State Governments through their standing counsel.

3. After hearing the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the respective State Governments for some time, we are of the considered view that our order dated 09.07.2014 requires to be modified.

4. Accordingly, we modify our order dated 09.07.2014, whereby we had restrained the State Governments from exercising power of remission or commutation to life convicts. The said order dated 09.07.2014 shall only apply to cases :

1) where life sentence has been awarded specifying that :

(a) the convict shall undergo life sentence till the end of his life without remission or commutation;

(b) the convict shall not be released by granting remission or commutation till