Reformative Theory

At any point in its development, society has always had to deal with the issue of crime. It's
unavoidable since some breach of the established rule of behaviour is sure to occur. In today's
culture, crime is ubiquitous and inextricably linked1. A society that lacks punishment is
incapable of preserving civil order and citizen safety. As a result, lawbreakers must face
consequences. A crime is frequently committed as a result of a conflict between the criminal's
character and motive, according to this idea. It is possible to consider that one may commit a
crime either because the motive's temptation is stronger or because the character's restraint is
less. Punishment, according to reformative thought, is more curative than deterring.
According to this view, crime is an illness that can't be healed by murdering rather than
treating it with medicine and a reformation process. The goal of punishment, according to this
view, should be to reform the offender through the individualisation approach. It is founded
on the humanistic premise that an offender does not cease to be a human being just because
he commits a crime.
He might have committed a crime under unusual circumstances that will never happen again.
As a result, while his incarceration, an attempt should be made to reform him. The goal of
punishment should be to motivate the offender to change his or her ways. During his
imprisonment, he must be educated and taught some art or industry so that when he is
released, he would be able to restart his life. The court should consider the offender's
character and age, his early upbringing, education and surroundings, the circumstances in
which he committed the offence, the goal with which he did the offence, and other criteria
while deciding on punishment. The goal is to inform the judge of the specific nature of the
facts so that he can impose a penalty that is appropriate for the situation. The proponents of
this philosophy argued that by treating criminals with sympathy, sensitivity, and love, they
may undergo a revolutionary change in their personalities. With kind words and kind ideas,
even the most hardened of criminals may be transformed and converted into useful allies.

This goal may be realised through parole and probation programmes, which are widely
recognised as cutting-edge approaches to rehabilitating criminals across the world. As a
result, proponents of this theory argue that incarceration is justified not only for the purpose
of isolating criminals and removing them from society, but also for the purpose of bringing
about a change in their mental attitude through effective measures of re-education during the
course of their sentence. "Reformative approach to punishment should be the purpose of
criminal law, in order to encourage rehabilitation without upsetting community conscience
and to guarantee social fairness," the Supreme Court stated in Narotam Singh v. State of
Punjab2.
1
 “Crime is present in all societies of all types; there is no society that is not confronted with the problem of
criminality. Its form changes; the acts thus characterised are not the same everywhere but, everywhere and
always, there have been men who have behaved in such a way as to draw upon themselves penal repression. If
in proportion as societies pass from the lower to the higher types the rate of criminality tended to decline, it
might be believed that the crime, while still normal is tending to lose this character of normality. (Actually) it
has every where increased. ….T here is; then, no phenomenon that presents more indisputably all the symptoms
of normality, since it appears closely connected with the conditions of all collective life.”
See Criminology : Crime and Criminality (1 978), p.465-466

2
AIR 1978 SC 1542.
Rehabilitative sentencing is another name for reformative sentencing. The goal of punishment
is to "reform the criminal as a person so that he can once again become a regular law-abiding
member of society." The focus here is on the offender's nature and personality, rather than the
crime itself, the harm produced, or the deterrent impact that punishment may have."
Rehabilitation is to make fundamental changes in offenders' minds and actions. In general,
rehabilitation seeks to lessen the chance of future crime through education and psychological
therapy. According to the notion, criminals are motivated by psychological causes,
personality flaws, or societal pressures.