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Essay On Retrospective Application Of Criminal Law

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RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL LAWS BY INDIAN JUDICIARY

Retrospective application of law or Ex Post Facto Law is a law that consequently changes the legal status of the acts or offence committed in the past. In case of criminal law, the law may criminalize the actions that were legal or were not considered as crime and vice- versa. The new law may categorize the act more severe than before. It may add up new penalties or extend sentences.
In Indian Constitution Article 20 (1) provides protection against the retrospective application of criminal laws. Under the first part, a person cannot be convicted for an offence committed earlier, before the enactment of the law.
Illustration: In Pareed Lubha Vs. Nilambaram, it has been held that if …show more content…

Some laws limit the tenure of being imprisoned of the accused which are beneficial to the previously imprisoned persons for long tenures.

Limitations of retrospective application of criminal laws:
1. This law may result in converting the country into a police state in which government in power may enact legislation specifically to target a political enemy.
2. Many innocent persons may get convicted for the acts that are considered offence at present but not before the enactment of a law and when committed.
In the whole world, the acts of a person are nowhere categorized in a writing as good or bad. Certain actions of a person are considered as legal at one time and illegal at another. The instability in man to decide what is good and what is bad which has become the reason of demand of immunity from ex post facto laws. Some acts that were considered innocent in previous times are now considered as illegal. Thus, these changing circumstance may lead to convictions of many innocent people under the ex post facto laws. Hence, immunity from laws which have retrospective effect must be made a universal right.
However, if the retrospective intention is clear from the law, it can be retrospective also in criminal

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