The Supreme Court has ruled that quantum of punishment cannot be determined on the basis of necessity to combat social evils like dowry deaths and atrocities against women. The apex court made it clear that punishment should be decided only on the basis of ‘crime and criminal test’ by taking into account the nature of the offence and accused. A bench of justices SJ Mukhopadhaya and Ranjan Gogoi said there is ‘enormous discretion’ vested in the courts in sentencing an offender and there is no norms or even guidelines governing this exercise.