Section 60 IPC: Sentence May Be Wholly or Partly Rigorous or Simple
Section 60 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 gave a sentencing court discretion, where the offence permitted imprisonment of either description, to make the term wholly rigorous, wholly simple, or a combination of both.
Text of Section 60 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
In every case in which an offender is punishable with imprisonment which may be of either description, it shall be competent to the Court which sentences such offender to direct in the sentence that such imprisonment shall be wholly rigorous, or that such imprisonment shall be wholly simple, or that any part of such imprisonment shall be rigorous and the rest simple.
Meaning and scope of Section 60 IPC
Section 60 was a rule about the description of imprisonment imposed by the sentencing court. It applied when the punishment prescribed for an offence allowed imprisonment that could be either rigorous or simple. In that situation, the court could choose the appropriate description for the sentence.
| Sentencing option | Meaning under Section 60 IPC |
|---|---|
| Wholly rigorous imprisonment | The entire term of imprisonment could be directed to be rigorous. |
| Wholly simple imprisonment | The entire term could be directed to be simple. |
| Partly rigorous and partly simple | The court could divide the term so that one part was rigorous and the remainder simple. |
What is rigorous imprisonment?
Under the IPC scheme, imprisonment was classified by Section 53 as one of two descriptions where the law provided imprisonment of either description: rigorous imprisonment, involving hard labour, and simple imprisonment. Section 60 operated within that statutory distinction and empowered the sentencing court to select or combine those descriptions when the offence permitted it.
What is simple imprisonment?
Simple imprisonment is imprisonment that is not accompanied by the hard-labour characteristic of rigorous imprisonment. Whether a particular offence allowed simple imprisonment, rigorous imprisonment, or imprisonment of either description depended on the punishment provision governing that offence.
When could a court use Section 60 IPC?
The essential condition was that the offender had to be punishable with imprisonment which may be of either description. Section 60 did not independently create an offence or prescribe a separate maximum term of imprisonment. Instead, it supplied a sentencing power once the substantive offence itself permitted imprisonment of either description.
Section 60 IPC and imprisonment for life
The Supreme Court explained in Naib Singh v. State of Punjab that Section 60 applies where an offender is punishable with imprisonment that may be of either description. The Court distinguished that expression from a sentence of imprisonment for life and held Section 60 inapplicable to life imprisonment on that basis. This distinction is important when interpreting the reach of the provision.
Related IPC provisions
Section 60 formed part of Chapter III of the Indian Penal Code dealing with punishments. For context, readers may also refer to Section 53 IPC on punishments, Section 53A IPC, Section 54 IPC on commutation of a death sentence, Section 55A IPC, Section 57 IPC on fractions of terms of punishment, and Section 63 IPC on amount of fine.
Key point
Section 60 IPC gave the sentencing court flexibility over the description of a term of imprisonment only where the applicable offence allowed imprisonment of either description. The court could therefore make the sentence wholly rigorous, wholly simple, or partly rigorous and partly simple, subject to the punishment prescribed for the offence.