JUDGMENT

Chandrachud, J. - The question which arises for consideration in these proceedings is whether section 303 of the Indian Penal Code infringes the guarantee contained in Article 21 of the Constitution which provides that "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

2. Section 300 of the Penal Code defines 'Murder', while section 302 prescribes the punishment of murder, Section 302 reads thus:

"302. Punishment for murder-Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."

Section 302 is not the only section in the Penal Code which prescribes the sentence of life imprisonment. Literally, it is one of the fifty-one sections of that Code which prescribes that sentence. The difference between those sections on one hand and section 302 on the other is that whereas, under those sections life imprisonment is the maximum penalty that can be imposed, under section 302 life imprisonment is the minimum penalty which has to be imposed. The only option open to a court which convicts a person of murder is to impose either the sentence of life imprisonment or the s