1) INTRODUCTION A Punishment is a consequence of an offense. Punishments are imposed on the wrong doers with the object to deter them to repeat the same wrong doing and reform them into law- abiding citizens. The kind of punishment to be imposed on the criminal depends or is influenced by the kind of society one lives in. The aim of the different theories of punishments is to transform the law- breakers into law-abiders.

The different theories of Punishment are as follows –  Deterrent Theory  Retributive Theory  Preventive Theory  Reformative Theory  Expiatory Theory

 The term “Deter” means to abstain from doing an act. The main purpose of this theory is to deter (prevent) the criminals from doing the crime or repeating the same crime in future. Under this theory, severe punishments are inflicted upon the offender so that he abstains from committing a crime in future and it would also be a lesson to the other members of the society, as to what can be the consequences of committing a crime. This theory has proved effective, even though it has certain defects.

 This theory of punishment is based on the principle- “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Retributive means to give in turn. The object of this theory is to make the criminal realize the suffering of the pain by subjecting him to the same kind of pain as he had inflicted on the victim. This theory aims at taking a revenge rather than social welfare and transformation.  This theory has not been supported by the Criminologists, Penologists and Sociologists as they feel that this theory is brutal and barbaric.

 This theory too aims to prevent the crime rather than avenging it. As per this theory, the idea is to keep the offender away from the society. This criminal under this theory is punished with death, life imprisonment etc. This theory has been criticized by some jurists.

 This theory is the most humane of all the theories which aims to reform the legal offenders by individual treatment. The idea behind this theory is that no one is a born Criminal and criminals are also humans. Under this theory, it is believed that if the criminals are trained and educated, they can be transformed into law abiding citizens. This theory has been proved to be successful and accepted by many jurists.

 Under this theory, it is believed that if the offender expiates or repents and realizes his mistake, he must be forgiven.

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 Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)  Life imprisonment  Imprisonment  Rigorous  Simple  Forfeiture of property  Fine

 Qisas - means the right of a murder victim's nearest relative or Wali ( ولي ) (legal guardian) to, if the court approves, take the life of the killer.  Diyat -Arabic: دية ‎ ) in Islamic Sharia law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage. It is an alternative punishment to Qisas (equal retaliation  Hadd - Fixed punishment by Quran to various crimes. Judge does not have a say.  Tazeer - Tazir is also a kind of punishment. Its literal meaning is to punish. According to Shariah, Tazir comprises those punishments which are not covered by Hadd or where the conditions necessary for enforcement of Hadd are not fulfilled. In such cases, the qazi or judge is authorised to fix the term, nature and extent of punishment. Tazir may be inflicted by imposition of fine, imprisonment, death, compensation, admonition or reprimand, etcJudge has the complete discretion to award punishment to the

 According to Islamic law, Hadd means those punishments whose limit has been prescribed in the Holy Quran. Generally the punishments under Hadd relate to  fornication/adultery,  slander,  drinking wine,  apostasy and  theft/robbery.

 The punishment of Hadd for adultery is Rajam i.e. stoning to death for those who are married and for those who are un-married/bachelors the punishment is 100 stripes. This sentence was not introduced by Islam but even before Islam, this sentence was present in other divine books like Torah that was revealed to the Moses. However, certain strict requirements are needed for the enforcement of this punishment such as confession of the accused or the testimony of four witnesses who fulfill the strict requirements of Tazkiaatusshaood The punishment of Hadd for Qazf or slander is whipping 80 stripes and a person who has been convicted for the offence of Qazf is liable to Hadd, his evidence shall not be admissible in any court of law. Qazf means accusing any person of adultery/zina with the intention of harming the reputation of that person or to hurt the feelings of that person The punishment of Hadd for theft is amputation of right hand from the joint of the wrist if the theft is committed for the first time. In this regard, Almighty God says in verse number 38 of Surah Maidah, “As for the thief – male or female – cut off the hands of both. There are also some other requirements for the imposition of Hadd in respect of theft such as the property stolen is of the value of Nisab or more, the property is removed from Hirz i.e the arrangements for the custody of property, etc. The Nisab for theft liable to Hadd is grams of gold or other property of equivalent value at the time of theft. The punishment of Hadd for drinking wine or taking intoxicating liquor is whipping 80 stripes.  The punishment of Hadd for apostasy (Irtidad) is death.