111 These are hardly exhaustive; subsequently, this court in several judgments has recognised, and considered commutation to life imprisonment, on grounds such as young age111, socio-economic conditions112, mental illness113, criminal antecedents114, as relevant indicators on the questions of sentence. Many of these factors reflect demonstrable ability or merely the possibility even, of the accused to reform (i.e. (3) and (4) of the Bachan Singh list), which make them important indicators when it comes to sentencing. Pre-sentence hearing – opportunity and obligation to provide material on the accused 205. This court in Bachan Singh held that the introduction of pre-sentencing hearing to the accused in 1973 through Section 235(2) CrPC altered the Jagmohan Singh principle that the court is primarily concerned with the circumstances connected with crime. Therefore, now due consideration has to be given to the circumstances of the criminal as well, when adjudicating whether the case falls within ‘rarest of rare’ and if the option of life imprisonment as an alternative, is unquestionably foreclosed. In Bachan Singh, this court categorically stated that, “the probability that the accused would not commit criminal acts of violence as would constitute a continuing threat to the society”, is a relevant circumstance, that must be given great weight in the determination of sentence. The sentencing hearing contemplated under Section 235(2), is not confined merely to oral hearing but intended to afford a real opportunity to the prosecution as well as the accused, to place on record facts and material relating to various factors on the question of sentence and if interested by either side, to have evidence adduced to show mitigating 111 Mahesh Dhanaji Shinde v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 4 SCC 292, Gurvail Singh v. State of Punjab (2013) 2 SCC 713, etc. 112 Mulla & Anr. v. State of U.P. (2010) 3 SCC 508; Kamleshwar Paswan v. UT Chandigarh (2011) 11 SCC 564; Sunil Gaikwad v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 1 SCC 129. 113 Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014) 3 SCC 1 114 Dilip Premnarayan Tiwari v. State of Maharashtra, (2010) 1 SCC 775