What does rigorous imprisonment mean in India?

The term, “rigorous imprisonment”, is found in Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code which categorizes the nature of punishment for convicts. The provision defines rigorous imprisonment as “imprisonment with hard labour”.

How many types of imprisonment are there in India?

The Indian Penal Code provides for imprisonment of two kinds, viz., simple and rigorous, and the Court must choose one or the other form in view of all the circumstances. In certain Local and Special Acts, it will be found that the Legislature has not specified the kind of imprisonment which may be awarded.

Is life imprisonment simple or rigorous?

The State, where the trial court had not specified if imprisonment for life was meant to be simple or rigorous, and the High Court clarified it to be simple in nature.

What is the difference between simple imprisonment and rigorous imprisonment?

A person sentenced to simple imprisonment will have to do simple works in the prison, whereas, a person facing rigorous imprisonment has to peform hard labour during his/her term.

Which Offence are punishable with simple imprisonment?

Simple imprisonment is imposed for lighter offences such as wrongful restraint or defamation. Section 64 provides for imprisonment in default of payment of a fine.

A person sentenced to simple imprisonment will have to do simple works in the prison, whereas, a person facing rigorous imprisonment has to peform hard labour during his/her term. The counsel claimed that Section 302 IPC nowhere defines the term “rigorous imprisonment.”

Does rigorous imprisonment really mean hard labour?

This has triggered a debate whether rigorous imprisonment (RI) really means the rigours of prison like hard labour. A look at different jail manuals in the country shows that 99\% of the convicts being awarded RI may actually be undergoing simple imprisonment in reality.

Are convicts undergoing ri actually undergoing simple imprisonment in India?

A look at different jail manuals in the country shows that 99\% of the convicts being awarded RI may actually be undergoing simple imprisonment in reality. Sentenced to undergo RI in Delhi’s Tihar jail, an ex-IPS officer looks after the library while another convict, also undergoing RI, dishes out legal aid.

What happens to those who undergo rigorous imprisonment in Delhi’s Prisons?

Sentenced to undergo RI in Delhi’s Tihar jail, an ex-IPS officer looks after the library while another convict, also undergoing RI, dishes out legal aid. Many of those convicted to undergo rigorous imprisonment in various other prisons may actually be serving just simple imprisonment as the jails do not have enough work for the convicts.