Section 55A

Sections 54 and 55 of the IPC deal with the President's or Governor's power (exercised through the government) to commute a death sentence or a life sentence into a lesser punishment. Since India has both Central and State Governments, the law needed to clarify which government has this authority in a given case — usually depending on the subject matter or the executive authority under which the person was convicted. Section 55A was inserted to supply this clarification.

• Myth: The 'appropriate Government' is always the Central Government.
  Fact: It depends on the nature of the offence and applicable law — either the Central or State Government can be the 'appropriate Government' depending on the circumstances defined in this section.