A court can overturn the President's or Governor's decision on a mercy petition if it disagrees with it.

No court can hear an appeal against that decision or question how it was reached, though courts have separately examined cases where the process itself — such as extreme, unexplained delay — was flawed.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 472

Mercy petition in death sentence cases

(1) A convict under the sentence of death or his legal heir or any other relative may, if he has not already submitted a petition for mercy, file a mercy petition before the President of India under article 72 or the Governor of the State under article 161 of the Constitution within a period of thirty days from the date on which the Superintendent of the jail, —§

(i) informs him about the dismissal of the appeal, review or special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court; or§

(ii) informs him about the date of confirmation of the sentence of death by the High Court and the time allowed to file an appeal or special leave in the Supreme Court has expired.§

(2) The petition under sub-section (1) may, initially be made to the Governor and on its rejection or disposal by the Governor, the petition shall be made to the President within a period of sixty days from the date of rejection or disposal of such petition.§

(3) The Superintendent of the jail or officer in charge of the jail shall ensure, that every convict, in case there are more than one convict in a case, also files the mercy petition within a period of sixty days and on non-receipt of such petition from the other convicts, Superintendent of the jail shall send the names, addresses, copy of the record of the case and all other details of the case to the Central Government or the State Government for consideration along with the said mercy petition.§

(4) The Central Government shall, on receipt of the mercy petition seek the comments of the State Government and consider the petition along with the records of the case and make recommendations to the President in this behalf, as expeditiously as possible, within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of comments of the State Government and records from Superintendent of the Jail.§

(5) The President may, consider, decide and dispose of the mercy petition and, in case there are more than one convict in a case, the petitions shall be decided by the President together in the interests of justice.§

(6) Upon receipt of the order of the President on the mercy petition, the Central Government shall within forty-eight hours, communicate the same to the Home Department of the State Government and the Superintendent of the jail or officer in charge of the jail.§

(7) No appeal shall lie in any Court against the order of the President or of the Governor made under article 72 or article 161 of the Constitution and it shall be final, and any question as to the arriving of the decision by the President or the Governor shall not be inquired into in any Court.§

Why this exists

This is a new addition in the BNSS that codifies fixed timelines for filing and deciding mercy petitions. It responds directly to real cases where mercy petitions sat undecided for years, leaving death-row convicts in prolonged uncertainty — the aim is to make the process time-bound and predictable while still fully preserving the President's and Governor's constitutional mercy power.

How courts read it

Even though this specific codified timeline is new to the BNSS, it builds on Supreme Court rulings — most notably Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014) — which held that undue and unexplained delay in deciding mercy petitions can violate a condemned prisoner's right to life and dignity under Article 21, and can itself be grounds for commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment.

Common misconceptions

Myth: A court can overturn the President's or Governor's decision on a mercy petition if it disagrees with it.
Fact: No court can hear an appeal against that decision or question how it was reached, though courts have separately examined cases where the process itself — such as extreme, unexplained delay — was flawed.