Download Theories of Punishment (kinds of Punishment under Criminal Law)

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INTRODUCTION
A Punishment is a consequence of an offense.
Punishments are imposed on the wrong doers with
the object to deter them to repeat the same wrong
doing and reform them into law- abiding citizens.
The kind of punishment to be imposed on the
criminal depends or is influenced by the kind of
society one lives in. The aim of the different
theories of punishments is to transform the lawbreakers into law-abiders.
The different theories of Punishment are as
follows –
 Deterrent Theory
 Retributive Theory
 Preventive Theory
 Reformative Theory
 Expiatory Theory
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The term “Deter” means to abstain from doing
an act. The main purpose of this theory is to
deter (prevent) the criminals from doing the
crime or repeating the same crime in future.
Under this theory, severe punishments are
inflicted upon the offender so that he abstains
from committing a crime in future and it would
also be a lesson to the other members of the
society, as to what can be the consequences of
committing a crime. This theory has proved
effective, even though it has certain defects.
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This theory of punishment is based on the
principle- “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”.
Retributive means to give in turn. The object of this
theory is to make the criminal realize the suffering
of the pain by subjecting him to the same kind of
pain as he had inflicted on the victim. This theory
aims at taking a revenge rather than social welfare
and transformation.
This theory has not been supported by the
Criminologists, Penologists and Sociologists as
they feel that this theory is brutal and barbaric.
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This theory too aims to prevent the crime
rather than avenging it. As per this theory, the
idea is to keep the offender away from the
society. This criminal under this theory is
punished with death, life imprisonment etc.
This theory has been criticized by some jurists.
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This theory is the most humane of all the
theories which aims to reform the legal
offenders by individual treatment. The idea
behind this theory is that no one is a born
Criminal and criminals are also humans. Under
this theory, it is believed that if the criminals
are trained and educated, they can be
transformed into law abiding citizens. This
theory has been proved to be successful and
accepted by many jurists.
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Under this theory, it is believed that if the
offender expiates or repents and realizes his
mistake, he must be forgiven.
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Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)
Life imprisonment
Imprisonment
Rigorous
Simple
Forfeiture of property
Fine
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Qisas - means the right of a murder victim's nearest relative or
Wali (( )‫ولي‬legal guardian) to, if the court approves, take the life of
the killer.
Diyat -Arabic: ‫) دية‬in Islamic Sharia law, is the financial
compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of
murder, bodily harm or property damage. It is an alternative
punishment to Qisas (equal retaliation
Hadd - Fixed punishment by Quran to various crimes. Judge does
not have a say.
Tazeer - Tazir is also a kind of punishment. Its literal meaning is to
punish. According to Shariah, Tazir comprises those punishments
which are not covered by Hadd or where the conditions necessary
for enforcement of Hadd are not fulfilled. In such cases, the qazi or
judge is authorised to fix the term, nature and extent of
punishment. Tazir may be inflicted by imposition of fine,
imprisonment, death, compensation, admonition or reprimand,
etcJudge has the complete discretion to award punishment to the
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According to Islamic law, Hadd means those
punishments whose limit has been prescribed
in the Holy Quran. Generally the punishments
under Hadd relate to
fornication/adultery,
slander,
drinking wine,
apostasy and
theft/robbery.
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The punishment of Hadd for adultery is Rajam i.e. stoning to death for those who
are married and for those who are un-married/bachelors the punishment is 100
stripes. This sentence was not introduced by Islam but even before Islam, this
sentence was present in other divine books like Torah that was revealed to the
Moses. However, certain strict requirements are needed for the enforcement of
this punishment such as confession of the accused or the testimony of four
witnesses who fulfill the strict requirements of Tazkiaatusshaood
The punishment of Hadd for Qazf or slander is whipping 80 stripes and a person who has
been convicted for the offence of Qazf is liable to Hadd, his evidence shall not be admissible
in any court of law. Qazf means accusing any person of adultery/zina with the intention of
harming the reputation of that person or to hurt the feelings of that person
The punishment of Hadd for theft is amputation of right hand from the joint of the wrist if
the theft is committed for the first time. In this regard, Almighty God says in verse number
38 of Surah Maidah, “As for the thief – male or female – cut off the hands of both. There are
also some other requirements for the imposition of Hadd in respect of theft such as the
property stolen is of the value of Nisab or more, the property is removed from Hirz i.e the
arrangements for the custody of property, etc. The Nisab for theft liable to Hadd is 4.457
grams of gold or other property of equivalent value at the time of theft.
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The punishment of Hadd for drinking wine or taking intoxicating liquor is whipping 80
stripes.
The punishment of Hadd for apostasy (Irtidad) is death.