Q. With reference to ‘Article 20 of Indian Constitution’, consider the following statements:
1. It prohibits the retrospective imposition of any kind of civil liability on a person.
2. The Protection against Double Jeopardy is available in proceedings before departmental authorities.
3. It protects an individual from any sort of compulsion to give thumb impressions or blood specimens.
How many of the above given statements is/ are correct?
Exp) Option d is the correct answer.
Article 20 of Indian Constitution grants protection against arbitrary and excessive punishment to an accused person.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Article 20(prohibits enactment of ex-post-facto laws (that imposes penalties retrospectively). However, this limitation is imposed only on criminal laws and not on civil laws or tax laws. In other words, civil liability or a tax can be imposed retrospectively.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Article 20 states that- No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. The protection against double jeopardy is available only in proceedings before a court of law or a judicial tribunal. It is not available in proceedings before departmental or administrative authorities as they are not of a judicial nature.
Statement 3 is incorrect: Article 20(states that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself (no self-incrimination). The protection against self-incrimination extends to both oral evidence and documentary evidence. However, it does not extend to (i) compulsory production of material objects, (ii) compulsion to give thumb impression, specimen signature, blood specimens, and (iii) compulsory exhibition of the body. Further, it extends only to criminal proceedings and not to civil proceedings or proceedings which are not of criminal nature.
