GOPAL VINAYAK GODSE vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS.

The Supreme Court held that a sentence of transportation for life is equivalent to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 53A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Court ruled that the petitioner, despite earning 2963 days of remission, had not acquired a right to be released, as the sentence could not be equated with any fixed term. The appropriate government retains the authority to grant remissions, and in this case, the entire sentence had not been remitted, thus the petition for habeas corpus was denied.