Under Section 354(3) of the CrPC, when a court awards the **death sent…

Question

Under Section 354(3) of the CrPC, when a court awards the **death sentence**, it must:

Accepted Answer

A. {'text': 'Give special reasons for why the death sentence was preferred over life imprisonment for the offence', 'label': 'A'}

1. Section 354(3) CrPC requires the court, in cases where the alternative is death or life imprisonment, to record **special reasons** for awarding the death sentence.
2. The Supreme Court has held that the death sentence is to be imposed only in the "rarest of rare cases" (see Lesson 9 on IPC punishments).
3. The requirement of special reasons operationalises the "rarest of rare" doctrine.
4. There is no requirement of executive approval, fresh sentencing trial or Constitution Bench reference under section 354(3).
_Source: ICSI CS Executive Paper 1 — Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws, Lesson 10 (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973), pp. 244-249._

Answer

{'text': 'Send the file to the State Government for prior approval before pronouncing the sentence in open court session', 'label': 'B'}

Answer

{'text': 'Conduct a fresh trial on the question of sentence within thirty days of the conviction on the merits of the offence', 'label': 'C'}

Answer

{'text': 'Refer the matter to a Constitution Bench of the High Court before pronouncing the sentence in open court session', 'label': 'D'}