Article 20

Protection in respect of conviction for offences

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Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part III, Article 20, printed page 11
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 20 protects people against retrospective criminal conviction or increased punishment, repeated prosecution and punishment for the same offence, and compelled self-incrimination.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

A person cannot be convicted for conduct that was not an offence under the law when it occurred, or receive a heavier penalty than the law then allowed. This protection concerns conviction and punishment for offences.

Clause (2) protects against being both prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. Clause (3) protects a person accused of an offence from being compelled to be a witness against themselves. The application of these clauses to particular proceedings or evidence requires legal analysis.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A law creates a new offence after a person has already performed the conduct it prohibits.

Core takeaway: That later law cannot retrospectively make the earlier conduct a basis for conviction under Article 20(1).

Illustrative Notice: The conduct may already have been an offence under another law. This example does not determine liability or the admissibility of particular evidence.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

The three clauses have distinct conditions and apply to persons, not only citizens.

Clause (1) addresses retrospective criminal conviction and increased penalties.
Clause (2) uses the words “prosecuted and punished” and “same offence”; it is not a blanket rule against every subsequent proceeding.
Clause (3) concerns an accused person and compulsion to be a witness against themselves; it does not state that all collection of evidence is prohibited.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. (2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. (3) No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part III, Article 20, printed page 11 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource