PGLAW 2018 Panjab University Entrance Exam With Answers

The correct answer is C: Mithu Singh v State of Punjab.

Section 303 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) stated that whoever commits murder while being under a sentence of imprisonment for life shall be punished with the death penalty. This provision was challenged in the case of Mithu Singh v State of Punjab (1983), on the ground that it violated Articles 14 (equality before law) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Indian Constitution.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment, held that Section 303 was unconstitutional as it violated the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court stated that the imposition of the death penalty on a person who is already under a sentence of life imprisonment amounts to double jeopardy, which is prohibited by the Constitution.

The Court also held that the power to award the death penalty must be exercised in a judicious and exceptional manner, and only in the "rarest of the rare" cases where the alternative punishment is unquestionably inadequate and the crime is of an exceptionally heinous nature. This principle was later upheld in the landmark case of Bachan Singh v State of Punjab (1980), which laid down guidelines for the imposition of the death penalty in India.

Therefore, option C, Mithu Singh v State of Punjab, is the correct answer.