A DOCTRINAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW

AUTHOR – ASWATHI P.M., LL.M. STUDENT AT DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL LAW, SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW, THE TAMILNADU DR. AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSITY, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – ASWATHI P.M., A DOCTRINAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (9) OF 2026, PG. 19-34, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I93

ABSTRACT

Criminal law embodies the coercive authority of the State and represents the most intrusive form of legal power, regulating individual conduct through the threat and imposition of punishment. Such extraordinary power requires a robust normative framework, traditionally recognised as the principles of criminal law. These principles, including legality, mens rea, actus reus, presumption of innocence, burden of proof, fair trial, proportionality, and individual autonomy, act as constitutional and moral restraints on criminalisation and punishment. This research paper examines these principles through a doctrinal lens, assessing their functioning in real-world contexts, judicial practices, and contemporary social environments. The study also investigates how Indian criminal jurisprudence has been shaped by constitutional mandates under Articles 14, 20, 21, and 22, and how courts have expanded the scope of fundamental rights to fortify criminal law principles. The research further evaluates how deviations from these principles in special legislations like the NDPS Act, POCSO Act, and UAPA impact procedural fairness, and how the Indian judiciary negotiates this tension. By using comparative perspectives from the UK, US, and Canada, the paper situates Indian criminal law within global trends of rights-based criminal justice, restorative models, and evolving approaches to strict liability, cyber-offences, and victim- centric justice. Adopting a non-doctrinal empirical approach, the study incorporates judicial trends, socio-legal data, legislative practices, and contemporary criminal justice challenges. It identifies that several principles, while theoretically embedded in statutes, often face dilution in practice due to policing gaps, evidentiary burdens, custodial violence, trial delays, an inconsistent judicial interpretation. This paper proposes comprehensive legal, institutional, and policy- level reforms to ensure that the principles of criminal law ate not merely theoretical ideals but operational realities guiding every stage of criminal justice.

Keywords: Criminal law, Legality, Mens Rea, Actus Reus, Constitution, Fair Trial, Criminal Justice, Proportionality, Burden of Proof.