All About Death Penalty in India

Legal Remedies Available to Death Sentenced Individuals

• The award of the death sentence by a trial court must be reaffirmed by a High Court to make it final.
• Article 137 of the Indian Constitution provides the power to the Supreme Court to review the orders and judgments passed by it.
  • The Review Petition can be filed under Section 114 and Order 47 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
  • Petitioners can file curative petitions in case of gross violation of principles of natural justice.
  • The curative petition will be sent to the three senior most judges and the bench of judges who passed the judgment.
  • If the majority of them find substance in the petition, then the matter would be sent to the same bench of judges.

  Arguments in Favour/Against of Death Penalty

  • Moral arguments –
    • Supporters of the death penalty believe that those who commit murder, because they have taken the life of another, have forfeited their own right to life .
    • Furthermore, they believe, capital punishment is a just form of retribution , expressing and reinforcing the moral indignation not only of the victim’s relatives but of law-abiding citizens in general.
    • Counter argument –
      • Opponents of death penalty argue that, by legitimizing the very behaviour that the law seeks to repress—killing—capital punishment is counterproductive in the moral message it conveys.
      • Supporters of capital punishment also claim that it has a uniquely potent deterrent effect on potentially violent offenders for whom the threat of imprisonment is not a sufficient restraint .
      • Counter argument–
        • Opponents, however, point to research that generally has demonstrated that the death penalty is not a more effective deterrent than the alternative sanction of life or long-term imprisonment.
        • There also are disputes about whether capital punishment can be administered in a manner consistent with justice.
        • Those who support capital punishment believe that it is possible to fashion laws and procedures that ensure that only those who are really deserving of death are executed .
        • Counter argument –
          • By contrast, opponents maintain that the historical application of capital punishment shows that any attempt to single out certain kinds of crime as deserving of death will inevitably be arbitrary and discriminatory .

          Important Judgements on Death Penalty

          • Ediga Anamma v/s State of Andhra Pradesh (1974) –
            • The Supreme Court laid down the principle that life imprisonment for the offence of murder is the rule and capital sentence is the exception in certain cases.
            • The Court also stated that a special reason should be given if the court decides to impose a death sentence .
            • The Supreme Court held that only in rarest of rare cases that are brutal, the death penalty should be imposed.

            How are Executions Carried Out in Other Countries?

            • According to Amnesty International, 55 countries still have the death sentence in their statute books.
            • Death by hanging is the most prevalent mode of execution , especially in the former British colonies.
            • Execution by firing squad is employed in China .
            • Saudi Arabia uses beheading, apart from other methods.
            • In the US , an intravenous lethal injection is given in every state (27 states and American Samoa) that allows the death penalty.

            News Summary

            • In 2017, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a more dignified way to execute the death penalty.
            • The petitioner argued that a convict whose life has to end because of the sentence should not be compelled to suffer the pain of hanging.
            • In reference to this PIL, the Supreme Court, last week, asked the Central government to defend the law that allows hanging by the neck as a mode of execution.
            • Central Government’s argument –
              • In its affidavit filed in January 2018, the government had submitted that death by hanging was the only “viable” option to execute a death warrant , but had also sought time to examine methods followed in other countries.
              • In its 187 th report in 2003, the Law Commission had recommended that Section 354(5) CrPC should be amended to provide for “lethal injection until the accused is dead” .

              Q1) What is the difference between Remission & Respite?

              Respite – Respite means awarding a lesser punishment on some special grounds. For example- the Pregnancy of women offender. Remissions– Remission means the reduction of the amount of sentence without changing its character, for example, a sentence of 1 year may be remitted to 6 months.

              Q2) Can the Governor commute a Death Sentence?

              The President can pardon death sentence while governor cannot. Even if a state law prescribes death sentence, the power to grant pardon lies with the President and not the governor. However, the governor can suspend, remit or commute a death sentence.