Which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India protects a person against double jeopardy?
- (a)Article 20
- (b)Article 21
- (c)Article 22
- (d)Article 23
Correct — A, Article 20. Article 20 is the guarantee of protection in respect of conviction for offences, and it packs three separate safeguards into one article. Clause (1) bars ex post facto criminal law: no one may be convicted except for breaking a law in force at the time of the act, and no penalty greater than the one prescribed then. Clause (2) is the double jeopardy rule — no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. Clause (3) protects against self-incrimination: an accused cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself. All three run in favour of any person, citizen or not, and none of them can be suspended even during an emergency, because Article 359 as amended in 1978 keeps Articles 20 and 21 outside the reach of suspension. Double jeopardy therefore sits in Article 20(2).
- (b)Article 21 — Protection of life and personal liberty — no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. It is the source of a long line of rights read into it, but the bar on a second prosecution is not one of them.
- (c)Article 22 — Protection against arrest and detention. It gives an arrested person the right to be informed of the grounds, to consult a lawyer and to be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, and it lays down the safeguards for preventive detention. It governs custody, not repeated trial.
- (d)Article 23 — Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour, including begar. It belongs to the right against exploitation and has nothing to do with criminal procedure.
Articles 20, 21 and 22 form the criminal-justice core of the fundamental rights. Article 20 protects a person at the point of conviction, Article 21 protects life and personal liberty generally, and Article 22 protects a person at the point of arrest and detention. The doctrine in Article 20(2) is the common-law rule against double jeopardy, expressed in the Latin maxim nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa.
The three near numbers are the whole difficulty, and the reliable fix is to attach a one-word label to each: 20 is conviction, 21 is liberty, 22 is arrest. Double jeopardy concerns being tried twice, which is a conviction question, so 20 it is. Two refinements are worth carrying. India's clause is narrower than the American guarantee: it bars a second prosecution and punishment for the same offence, so it protects against a repeat trial after conviction but not automatically after an acquittal, where the Code of Criminal Procedure's own bar operates instead. And the protection applies to proceedings before a court or judicial tribunal, not to every departmental inquiry. Article 20 also stands with Article 21 as a right that survives a proclamation of emergency.
- Article 20(1) bars ex post facto criminal law and a penalty greater than that prescribed when the act was done.
- Article 20(2) is the double jeopardy rule — no prosecution and punishment for the same offence more than once.
- Article 20(3) protects an accused against being compelled to be a witness against himself.
- Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during a national emergency, by virtue of Article 359 as amended by the 44th Amendment.
- Article 20 is available to every person, citizen or foreigner, and to companies as well as individuals.
- Guessing Article 21 because it is the most quoted of the three; double jeopardy is Article 20(2).
- Assuming India's double jeopardy rule is as wide as the American one — it speaks of prosecution and punishment, which narrows it.
- Treating a departmental inquiry as a prosecution for the purpose of Article 20(2).
As a straight article-to-right identification, or as a statements item asking which protections Article 20 contains and to whom they are available.
Which among the following fundamental rights is/are available to non-citizens? 1. Freedom of speech 2. Protection against self-incrimination 3. Freedom of conscience 4. Non-discrimination in matters of employment Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (b) 1, 3 and 4 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 2 only
Answer(c) 2 and 3 only
The same article approached from the question of who may claim it. Protection against self-incrimination is Article 20(3), and it is available to non-citizens because Article 20 speaks of 'no person' — the same wording that carries the double jeopardy rule in clause (2).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The protection against being compelled to be a witness against oneself is contained in which clause of the Constitution of India?
- (a)Article 19(1)(a)
- (b)Article 20(3)
- (c)Article 21
- (d)Article 22(1)
Answer(b) Article 20(3) — the third of the three protections packed into Article 20, alongside the bars on ex post facto law and double jeopardy.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following fundamental rights cannot be suspended even during a proclamation of national emergency?
- (a)Articles 14 and 19
- (b)Articles 20 and 21
- (c)Articles 15 and 16
- (d)Articles 25 and 26
Answer(b) Articles 20 and 21 — the 44th Amendment placed them outside the reach of a suspension order under Article 359.