Voni Venkat Narsimha Rao, Mahindra University - School of Law
ABSTRACT
A fine is one of the many ways by which a criminal offence is punished (others for example being by imprisonment or death penalty). Fines are considered to be a form of punishment which integrate and fulfil the requirements of different theories of punishment, they are supposed to act as a deterrent due to the economic cost assigned to them and they act as a retributive tool by the way of the perpetrator of the crime being exacted a loss. Fines are also relatively cheaper to be levied than to maintain other forms of punishment as by imprisonment. Fines provide a unique challenge, as, unlike imprisonment, they effect people differently based on their economic status, as usually fines are fixed without regard to an individual’s economic status. To understand the inception of fines and their purpose, evolution in their usage till the contemporary times, in this paper it is endeavoured to present a brief historical origin of fines. To understand the efficacy of fines as a punishment, the paper seeks to analyse people’s perception of fines by which it can be observed if it serves its purpose as a deterrent and retribution, especially considering fixed fines which disproportionately affect poor people and also look at the alternative presented in the system of day fines, where the fine is levied proportionately to a person’s income.
