India, Sept. 3 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday outlined the right to seek remission of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for the rest of their lives in gangrape cases involving minors, calling it not only a constitutional right but also a statutory one. Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan was dealing with a plea challenging the constitutional validity of Section 376DA of the erstwhile IPC. Section 376DA deals with the punishment for gangrape on a minor girl under 16 years.
The counsel appearing for an applicant seeking to be impleaded in the case said the expression "shall" in Section 376DA would mean that the sessions court had no other option except impose life imprisonment, meaning a jail term for the remainder of that person's...