Compare and contrast the President’s power to pardon in India and in the USA. Are there any limits to it in both the countries? What are ‘preemptive pardons’?
Approach · directive: “compare and contrast / what”
What it asks · Compare the source, scope and procedure of clemency powers in India and the USA, set out the limits in each, and explain preemptive pardons.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- Compare and contrast: the President's pardoning power in India (Article 72) and in the USA (Article II)
- Limits: the constraints on the power in each country
- What: explain 'preemptive pardons'
Open with · Both constitutions vest mercy in the head of State, but India's President acts on ministerial advice under Article 72, while the US President acts personally under Article II.
Cover
- India: pardon, reprieve, respite, remission, suspension, commutation — for court-martial sentences, offences under Union laws, and all death sentences; Governors under Article 161.
- USA: 'reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States' — federal offences only; state crimes lie with governors.
- Common ground: an act of executive grace, separate from judicial review of guilt; neither extends to impeachment.
- Limits in India: bound by Cabinet advice (Maru Ram, 1980); reviewable for mala fides, arbitrariness or irrelevant considerations (Kehar Singh, 1989; Epuru Sudhakar, 2006).
- Also in India: unexplained delay in deciding mercy petitions can justify commutation of a death sentence (Shatrughan Chauhan, 2014).
- Limits in the USA: only federal crimes and not impeachment; otherwise very wide and largely unreviewable; self-pardon remains an open question.
- Preemptive pardons: granted before any charge or conviction — Ford's pardon of Nixon (1974); outgoing President Biden's pardons of officials and relatives (January 2025). In India clemency is, in practice, exercised after conviction.
Close with · India's model ties mercy to Cabinet advice and judicial scrutiny; the US model gives wider personal discretion — and preemptive pardons show the risk of clemency shielding the powerful.
Add value (verified)
- Article 72 covers every death sentence, whatever the law under which it was imposed. The Constitution of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, as on 1 May 2024) — Article 72(1)(c) ↗“in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death”
- The US pardon clause is confined to federal offences and expressly excludes impeachment. The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription — National Archives, Article II, Section 2 ↗“he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 236 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Both constitutions vest mercy in the head of State: India's President acts under Article 72 on the advice of the Council of Ministers, the US President personally under Article II, Section 2.
Comparison
- Scope: Article 72 covers pardon, reprieve, respite, remission, suspension and commutation for court-martial sentences, offences under Union law and all death sentences; Governors act under Article 161. The US clause covers only federal offences; State crimes lie with Governors.
- Nature: in both, clemency is executive grace, not an appeal; it leaves the finding of guilt intact.
- Exercise: India's President is bound by Cabinet advice (Maru Ram, 1980); the US President faces no ministerial check.
Limits
- India: courts review for mala fides, arbitrariness or irrelevant considerations (Kehar Singh, 1989; Epuru Sudhakar, 2006); unexplained delay on mercy petitions can justify commuting a death sentence (Shatrughan Chauhan, 2014).
- USA: the text excludes 'cases of impeachment' and State offences; judicial review is otherwise minimal, and a self-pardon remains untested.
Preemptive pardons
A preemptive pardon is granted before any charge or conviction, for offences a person may have committed — Ford's 1974 pardon of Nixon, and Biden's January 2025 pardons of officials and relatives. Article 72 speaks of persons 'convicted of any offence', so Indian clemency operates only after conviction.
India ties mercy to ministerial advice and judicial scrutiny; the US leaves it to personal discretion — and preemptive pardons show how unchecked clemency can shield the powerful.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.