PUNISHMENT AND THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT

MEANING OF PUNISHMENT:

Administra on of jus ce is the primary func ons of the State, is generally divided into
administra on of civil jus ce and Administra on of Criminal Jus ce. The main purpose of
Administra on of criminal jus ce is to punish the wrongdoer. It is the State which punishes
the criminals. From the ancient mes, a number of theories have been given concerning the
purpose of punishment. Sec on 53 to 75 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 deals with the
scheme of Punishment.

Punishment is a process by which the state inflicts some pain to the person or property of
person who is found guilty of Crime. The object of punishment is to protect society from
mischievous and undesirable elements by deterring poten al offenders, by preven ng the
actual offenders from commi ng further offences and by reforming and turning them into
law abiding ci zens.

THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT:

DETERRENT THEORY OF PUNISHMENT

Punishment is primarily deterrent when its object is to show the fu lity of crime, and
thereby teach a lesson to others. Deterrence acts on the mo ves of the offenders, whether
actual or poten al. Deter means to abstain from doing at act. The main objec ve of this
theory is to deter (prevent) crimes. It serves a warning to the offender not to repeat the
crime in the future and also to other evil-minded persons in the society. This theory is a
workable one even though it has a few defects.

RETRIBUTIVE THEORY

Retribute means to give in return. The objec ve of the theory is to make the offender realise
the suffering or the pain. In the Mohmmedan Criminal Law, this type of punishment is called
‘QISAS’ or ‘KISA’. Majority or Jurists or Jurists, Criminologists, Penologists and Sociologists do
not support this theory as they feel it is brutal and barbaric. Retribu on basically means that
the wrongdoer pays for his wrongdoing, since a person who is wronged would like to avenge
himself, the State consider it necessary to inflict some pain or injury on the wrongdoer in
order to otherwise prevent private vengeance.

PREVENTIVE THEORY
The idea behind this theory is to keep the offender away from the society. The offenders are
punished with death, imprisonment of life, transporta on of life etc. Some Jurists cri cize
this theory as it may be done by reforming the behaviour of criminals.

REFORMATIVE THEORY

The objec ve is to reform the behaviour of the criminals. The idea behind this theory is that
no one is born as a Criminal. The criminal is a product of the social, economic and
environmental condi ons. It is believed that if the criminals are educated and trained, they
can be made competent to behave well in the society. The Reforma ve theory is provided to
be successful in cases of young offenders.

EXPIATORY THEORY

Expiatory theory of Punishment is based on morals. According to this theory repentance or

expira on by offender itself is a pinihsment. If the offender expiates or repents, he must be
forgive. Expiatory theory of Punishment was prevalent in ancient Indian criminal law.
Expia ons were performed by way of u ering mantras, fas ng or even burning oneself to
death.

THEORY OF COMPENSATTON

According to theory of compensa on the object of punishment must not be merely to

prevent further crimes but also to compensate the vic m of the Crime.