Section 59

Section 59 originally allowed courts to order 'transportation' (sending convicts to penal colonies, such as the Andaman Islands) as an alternative to ordinary imprisonment. As India's penal policy evolved after independence, transportation as a punishment became obsolete since life imprisonment and other sentencing options under the IPC and Cr.P.C. served the same purpose. Parliament repealed this section in 1955 to remove outdated colonial-era punishment mechanisms and streamline sentencing law.

• Myth: Section 59 is still part of Indian law and can be used by courts today.
  Fact: It was repealed in 1955 and has no legal effect now; courts cannot invoke it.
• Myth: 'Transportation' in this section means moving prisoners between jails.
  Fact: It referred to exiling convicts to distant penal colonies (like the Andamans), a punishment distinct from ordinary imprisonment.