Approaches to Punishment in Indian Criminal Jurisprudence: A Focus on Retributive, Deterrent and Reformative Theories

Theories of justice has always been a point of debate, especially in modern times, where, with the advent of emerging crimes, varying perspectives have developed regarding which model suits best for combating delinquency. In this research paper, the authors are going to explore the societal understanding of criminal misconduct and administration of criminal justice and theories of punishment with its relevance in administration of criminal justice in India. This paper also studies the foundational approaches to punishment, focusing particularly on the retributive, deterrent, and reformative theories. The retributive theory of justice stems its roots from the notion of vengeance, where it follows the ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ ideology, wherein if someone commits a certain crime, they ought to be punished proportionate to the severity of that offence. While the reformative theory bases its origin from the Sociological School of Jurisprudence under Rudolf von Ihering, it mainly focuses on the rehabilitation of the offender, and aims to reclaim him back as a valued citizen. Deterrent theory intends to warn the offender, emphasizing on maintenance of social order by the infliction of fear in the minds of potential criminals. This paper analyses the aforementioned theories, highlighting their fortes and drawbacks in the modern justice framework, emphasizing on the fact that a singular approach of theory of justice will prove to be insufficient to curb the complex nature of criminal behaviour. This paper settles that an amalgamated component of retributive, reformative, and deterrent theories is vital, and contributes to safeguarding justice, which can also be transformative and will act as a shield towards preventing the occurrence of crime in society.