Article 20 – Protection in Respect of Conviction for Offenses

Article 20 of the Indian Constitution provides important safeguards against arbitrary and unjust treatment when it comes to criminal convictions. It ensures that individuals are not unjustly convicted or punished for an offense that was not a crime when the act was committed, and it protects them from certain harsh forms of punishment.

The Provisions of Article 20:
Article 20 consists of three distinct protections, which are as follows:

1. Protection against Ex Post Facto Laws (Clause 1):

• “No person shall be convicted of any offense except for a violation of the law in force at the time of the commission of the offense.”
  This clause prevents the prosecution of a person for an act that was not a criminal offense at the time it was committed. This principle is called ex post facto (after the fact) law, meaning a law that retroactively makes an act illegal or enhances the punishment for an offense committed before the law was passed.

Key points to understand:

• The law cannot be changed retroactively to make something that was legal at the time of the commission of an act into a punishable offense.
• Even if the law is amended after the act was committed, a person cannot be prosecuted under the new law if it makes an action illegal retroactively.

Example:

• If a law is passed that criminalizes an activity today (for example, using a new technology), it cannot be applied to someone who used the technology yesterday, before the law was passed.

Case Law:

• Kedar Nath v. State of Bihar (1962): The Supreme Court upheld that an individual cannot be prosecuted for an act which was not punishable when it was committed.

2. Protection against Double Jeopardy (Clause 2):