Report No. 39

2. Imprisonment for life substituted in 1955.-

Imprisonment for life, as a distinct punishment for certain grave offences under the Indian Penal Code, was authorised by law with effect from the 1st January, 1956, when the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1955, came into force. Though this Act was mainly concerned with making extensive amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure for diverse purposes, it also amended Indian Penal Code in one important respect. The punishment of transportation was abolished altogether, and the old punishment of "transportation for life" was replaced by the punishment of "imprisonment for life".