Article 20 is a safeguard against arbitrary conviction

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Article 20

Article 20 protects Indian citizens from being convicted without just cause. This article is a significant Fundamental Right bestowed by the Constitution of India. It requires that no individual can be prosecuted or convicted based on laws that are applied retroactively. No individual shall be compelled to provide testimony that is self-incriminating

No Punishment based on prospective laws

Article 20 (1)

Article 20 (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.

This Article 20(1) prohibits retrospective punishment. According to this provision no person shall be punished for an act that was not an offense at the time it was committed. But several judgments declare that Article 20 prohibits only conviction and punishment under an ex post facto law, not the trial or prosecution itself.  

No double jeopardy

Article 20 (2)

Article 20 (2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.

This article protectsanindividual from beingprosecutedtwice,knownas double jeopardy.

This Article 20(2) prevents an individual from being tried and penalized for the same crime on two occasions. This principle of double jeopardy protects individuals from facing several trials or penalties for the same crime. Departmental Proceedings operates separately from trials conducted by a judicial court or tribunal

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No self-incrimination

Article 20 (3)

Article 20 (3) No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Therefore, Article 20 of the Indian Constitution protects personal rights during criminal processes. It offers safeguards against unjust conviction, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and retroactive punishment

Article 20(3) states that no individual charged with a crime shall be compelled to testify against himself. It is a basic right that shields individuals from being forced to testify in their own criminal cases

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