Raviner Singh vs State Of Himachal Pradesh

The Supreme Court held that the conviction under Section 61(1)(a) of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 was improper as the minimum sentence requirement introduced by the Himachal Pradesh Amendment Act No.8/1995 could not be applied retroactively to an offence committed before the amendment. The Court emphasized that Article 20(1) of the Constitution mandates that the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence governs the penalty, thus the appellant's sentence of six months was set aside. The Court ruled that the appellant could not be subjected to a penalty greater than what was applicable at the time of the offence.