Editors Note: The power to pardon is one of the powers which have been conferred on

the executive. Article 72 confers this power on the President and Article 161 does the
same on the Governor. This power has been provided to heads of various nations. In
monarchies this power is vested with the Kings of those countries and it has been
exercised for centuries, but with the passage of time and the changing nature of
constitutional law it has taken a new form now. The nature and scope of this Article has
changed drastically after the Court has started to look at the Article in a broader
manner. The author has made an effort to discuss all these issues to get a complete
understanding of the pardoning power under the Constitution of India.

Introduction
A Pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of
laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law
inflicts for a crime he has committed[i]

In earlier times it was used by the Kings for their political gains, it helped them in
generating revenues. While now in the modern day understanding and use of pardoning
power is more often associated with notions of mercy and fairness, this analysis will
demonstrate that it also remains squarely in the political arena. Called pardons,
amnesties, clemency, grace, or mercy (as in Sweden), the pardon power is included in
the written constitutions of nearly all countries.

There are various reasons for the study of this area. The Presidents power to pardon
deals with providing justice which is essentially a function of the judiciary. The reasons
for this interference of the executive in the functions of the judiciary have to be explored,
understood and appreciated because it is an obvious exception to the doctrine of
separation of powers which is one of the most eminent doctrines in the Constitution of
India. The executive gives an absolute power of pardon to the executive. The likelihood
of abuse of such a power is immense. Therefore, an analysis of case law with regard to
presidential pardon is very important. Pardon is a concept based on mercy, therefore,
mercy as a concept has to be studied and the question why mercy is vested with the
executive and not with the judiciary has to be looked into.