Research Scholar, Jiwaji University, Gwalior
Online published on 11 September, 2014.
The probation of offenders Act is a reformative measure and its object is to reclaim amateur offenders who, if spared the indignity of incarceration, can be usefully rehabilitated in society. A jail term should normally be enough to wipe out the stain of guilt but the sentence which the society passes on convicts is relentless. The ignominy commonly associated with a jail term and the social stigma which attaches to convicts often render the remedy worse than the disease and the very purpose of punishment stands in danger of being frustrated.
The lower judiciary in India has not at all taken into consideration the objects and reasons of this act, while applying its discretion in regard to grant of probation. In an umpteen number of cases the accused had to move the High Court and even the Supreme Court to get the relief of probation.
Probation as a correctional measure occupies an important place in reformative justice. It seeks to reconcile the conflicting claims of "punitive" and "treatment" reactions to crime. The suspension of sentence under probation serves the dual purpose of deterrence and reformation.
