On Bagra: Penal Populism, Capital Punishment And Sentencing Child Sex Offenders In The Indian Context
- IJLLR Journal
- Feb 6
- 1 min read
Arya Banerjee, Research Assistant – Faculty of Law, Monash University
ABSTRACT
Sexual offences committed against children are particularly heinous, requiring a punitive justice response. Cases involving child victims are of public interest as the sanctity and innocence of young people are violated, seeing the community’s condemnation inform sentencing via the voices of politicians, judicial officers and lawmakers. This short article discusses the role of penal populism and the sentencing principles as it relates to child sex offenders in India, in light of the contemporary Bagra judgement. Although Indian criminal procedure prefers life imprisonment as opposed to the death penalty, in ‘special circumstances,’ the latter is to be favoured, particularly where denunciation and retribution of just deserts outweigh rehabilitative and restorative approaches.
