Protection in Respect of Conviction for Offences
(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. (2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. (3) No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
Article 20 provides three crucial protections in criminal law: (1) Ex post facto law — no one can be punished for an act that was not an offence when committed; (2) Double jeopardy — no one can be tried twice for the same offence; (3) Self-incrimination — no accused person can be forced to testify against themselves. These are fundamental to the right to a fair trial.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra
1954The Supreme Court held that the guarantee against self-incrimination extends to the production of documents.
Impact: Broad interpretation of Article 20(3) protecting accused persons from being compelled to produce incriminating evidence.