Article 20(1)

Good evening, 

Article 20 talks about protection in respect to conviction of offences. There are three parts to this. Article 20 talks about protection from ex post facto laws, double jeopardy and self incrimination.

Laws can be of two types- prospective nature and retrospective nature. Prospective nature of Laws deals with punishing any offense forward from the date the law was made.

Retrospective nature of law on the hand, deals with punishing you for the offenses committed even before the law existed. Article 20(1) plays a role here by preventing such retrospective laws from harming the accused. It repeals such laws, if found to be harmful to the convict. Therefore, Article 20(1) provides protection from ex post facto laws.

On the other hand, if any such ex post facto law seems beneficial to the convict, or if it will reduce the punishment, Article 20(1) will not prohibit such a law. Therefore, the accused can take leverage of the ex post facto law to decrease their punishment. This was the ruling in Ratan Lal v. State of Punjab.

In your situation, yes, that person can take advantage of the amendment and get a reduction in their sentence.

Article 20(2) talks about Double jeopardy which talks about how a person should not be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. You can claim protection under this article if you're being prosecuted for that offence, if you've already been prosecuted and punished for the offence once before by a Judicial authority. ​​​​​​Article 20(3) gives you protection from self incrimination. It simpley means that no authority can compel you to confess against your own wrongful actions. This article can protect you from such forceful confessions and incriminations.

Hope this helps!

Regards, 

Nandini