<P> Since the Transfer, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong now exercises the power to grant pardons and commute penalties under section 12 of article 48 Basic Law of Hong Kong . "The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise the following powers and functions...to pardon persons convicted of criminal offences or commute their penalties". </P> <P> Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment . A similar and parallel power vests in the Governors of each State under Article 161 . </P> <P> The Constitution of India vests sovereign power in the President and governors . The governance in the Centre and states is carried out in the name of President and Governor respectively . A President is empowered with the power to pardon under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution . Article 72 says that the President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence . The meaning of these terms is as follows: </P> <P> The pardoning powers of the Indian President are elucidated in Art 72 of the Indian Constitution . There are five different types of pardoning which are mandated by law . 1 . Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free . The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen . 2 . Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence . 3 . Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation . 4 . Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc . 5 . Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing 20 year rigorous imprisonment to 10 years . </P>

Where does the president's pardon power come from