The correct answer is Article 72. Explanation & Key Takeaways: • Article 72 of the Indian Constitution empowers the President of India to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit, or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense. • This power extends to all cases where the punishment is by a Court Martial, cases involving an offense against a Union Law, and all cases where the sentence is a death sentence. • A Pardon completely absolves the offender from all sentences, punishments, and disqualifications, effectively placing them in the same position as if they had never committed the crime. • Commutation denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form; for instance, a death sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment. • Remission implies reducing the duration of the sentence without changing its nature, such as reducing a sentence of two years of rigorous imprisonment to one year. • Respite involves awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally imposed due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender. • Reprieve signifies a temporary stay of the execution of a sentence, especially a death sentence, to allow the convict time to seek a pardon or commutation from the President. Related Concepts: • Article 53: • Declares that the executive power of the Union is vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution. • It also establishes the President as the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces of the Union. • Article 74: • Provides for a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President, who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. • Article 75: • Deals with other provisions as to Ministers, including their appointment by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and their collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha. • Article 161: • While the President acts under Article 72, the Governor of a State possesses similar powers under Article 161 for offenses against State Laws, though the Governor cannot pardon a death sentence or a Court Martial sentence.