Article 20 - Constitution of India - Notes

· Article 20(1) - Retrospective penal law is prohibited.

· Article 20(1) -A law cannot change the punishment and make it greater and apply it to previous offences.

· Article 20(2) – Double Jeopardy - No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.

o Proceedings must be before a court or judicial tribunal

o A person fined under Customs Act can still be prosecuted under FERA because custom authority is not a court or judicial tribunal.

· Protection against self-incrimination.

Nandini Satpati v P L Dhani

· The Supreme Court held that protection against self-incrimination under Article 20 extends to suspects also.

· The court held that evidence procured through narco-analysis, polygraph. is not admissible in court.

· The only case not overruled so far which states that substantive due process is part of the basic structure.