Article 13 of the Constitution prohibits us from passing another sentence of death

“In clause (a) of Article 13 of the Constitution, two situations have been kept in view, one is prosecution and the other is punishment. When a person has been prosecuted and punished for the same offence, then he cannot be retried for the same offence. The other situation is that of a person who has been punished for an offence, in that event, he cannot be punished once again for the same offence. To our mind this second portion of clause (a) of Article 13 of the Constitution comes into play and is fully applicable to this case. It is an admitted fact that respondent/convict has already served out the sentence of life imprisonment for the offence, as he has been tried and convicted and has been released from jail. In other words, if we decide to convert the sentence of life imprisonment into punishment of death, this Article 13 of the Constitution prohibits us from passing another sentence of death for the same offence which he has already suffered. Respondent No. 1 has already served out the substantial and legal sentence of punishment of life imprisonment. In that eventuality, it would be a case of double jeopardy also”.
2009 SCMR 502
Cr. Revision Application No: D-127/2003