RAS question
Can the Governor of Rajasthan grant pardon in case of death sentence?
Correct answer: (B) No, only the President can.
The Governor of Rajasthan cannot grant a pardon in a death-sentence case; that power belongs to the President of India under Article 72.
Explanation
Article 72 gives the President power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in specified cases, including every case where the sentence is death. Article 161 gives a State Governor a clemency power for offences against laws relating to matters within the State's executive power. The Constitution's death-sentence clause appears in Article 72 for the President, not in Article 161 for the Governor. That is why, for a death sentence in Rajasthan, the Governor cannot grant a pardon; the constitutional pardon power for that specific sentence lies with the President of India.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 161 gives the Governor a State-level clemency power, but it does not give the Governor the specific power to pardon a death sentence.
- (C) Courts impose, review or alter sentences through judicial proceedings, but the question asks about the constitutional power of pardon, which Article 72 assigns to the President for death sentences.
- (D) The issue is not a missing presidential approval step; Article 161 itself does not confer on the Governor the power to pardon a death sentence.
Concept
This tests the distinction between the President's clemency power under Article 72 and the Governor's power under Article 161. RAS repeatedly asks this because State executive powers are often tested through their limits, not just their general description.