The “Rarest of Rare” Principle – Short Note

 

🛑 The “Rarest of Rare” Principle – Short Note

---

✅ Origin:
The “rarest of rare” doctrine was laid down by the Supreme Court in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980), where the constitutionality of the death penalty under Section 302 IPC was upheld.

---

✅ Meaning:
The principle says that the death penalty should be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases, where:

• Life imprisonment is inadequate; and

• The alternative is unquestionably the death sentence.

---

✅ Key Test (as clarified in Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab, 1983):
Courts must examine:

• Aggravating factors → nature of crime, brutality, manner of execution.

• Mitigating factors → background of the accused, possibility of reform, age, mental condition.

Only when aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating ones can the death sentence be imposed.

---

✅ Objective:

• To restrict arbitrary use of capital punishment.

• To ensure that life imprisonment remains the rule, and death is an exception.

---

✅ Guiding Considerations:

• Was the crime extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting, or of a socially abhorrent nature?

• Did it shock the collective conscience of society?

• Is there no possibility of reformation or rehabilitation?

---

✅ Impact:
This principle has guided Indian courts for over four decades and ensures that the death penalty is not imposed lightly.