Skip to main content

Capital Punishments in India

 Capital Punishment is also known as a death penalty, execution of an offender sentenced to death

after conviction of a criminal offence by a court of law. Indian Criminal justice system is one of

the important parts of capital punishment.

Evolution of Capital Punishment in India

India retained the 1861 Penal Code at independence in 1947, which provided for the death

penalty for murder. The idea of abolishing the death penalty expressed by several members of

the Constituent Assembly during the drafting of the Indian Constitution between 1947 and 1949,

but no such provision was incorporated in the Constitution. In the next two decades, to abolish

the death penalty, private members bills were introduced in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,

but none of them were adopted. It was estimated that between 1950 and 1980, there were 3000 to

4000 executions. It is more difficult to measure the number of people sentenced to death and

executed between 1980 and the mid-1990s. It is estimated that two or three people were hanged

annually. In the 1980 Bachan Singh judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty

should only be used in the “rarest of rare” cases, but it is not clear what defines the rarest of the

rare.

Position in India

India opposed a UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty because it goes

against the Indian statutory legislation as well as against each country’s sovereign right to

establish its own legal system.

In India, it is awarded for the most serious of crimes. It is awarded for heinousness and grievous

crimes. Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived of ‘right to life’ which is promised to

every citizen in India. In India, various offences such as criminal conspiracy, murder, war against

the government, abetment of mutiny, dacoity with murder, and anti-terrorism are punishable with

death sentences under Indian Penal Code (IPC). The president has the power to grant mercy in a

case of death penalty. Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, the Court held that capital punishment

will only be given in rarest of rare cases

Only the president has the power to confer mercy in cases related to death sentences. Once a

convict has been sentenced to death in a case by the Sessions Court, it must be confirmed by the

High Court. If the appeal to the Supreme Court made by the convict fails then he may submit a

‘mercy petition’ to the President of India. Detailed instructions on the procedure are to be

followed by States to deal with petitions for mercy from or on behalf of death-sentenced

convicts. Appeals to the Supreme Court and requests for special leave to appeal to that court by

such convicts shall be set out by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Under Article 72 of the

Constitution of India, the President has the power to grant pardon, reprieves, respites or

remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or reduce the sentence of any person who has

been convicted of an offence.

What are the execution methods followed in India?

There are two methods of execution in India and they are:


• Hanging

All the death penalties in India are carried out by hanging. After independence, Godse was the

first person to be executed in India by the death penalty in the case of Mahatma Gandhi. India’s

Supreme Court suggested the death penalty should only be imposed on the rarest of rare cases in

India.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...

business tips

1. Have a clear vision for your business and strive to achieve it. 2. Hire great people and give them ownership in the company. 3. Provide excellent customer service. 4. Establish yourself as an expert in your field. 5. Develop relationships with key suppliers, customers, and partners. 6. Keep track of your finances and invest in marketing and innovation. 7. Utilize digital platforms to reach a larger audience. 8. Take calculated risks and back yourself. 9. Continuously strive to improve your products and services. 10. Make customer satisfaction your priority.

Effects of Non-Registration

 Effects of Non-Registration The Companies Act, 2013 evidently highlights that the main essential for any organization to turn into a company is to get itself registered. A company cannot come into existence until it gets registered. But no such obligation has been imposed for firms by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. If a firm is not registered it does not cease to be called as a firm, it still exists in the eyes law. Certainly, such a big advantage is not absolute but is subjected to a lot of limitations which we will study further. Non-registration of a firm simply means that the business skips the formalities of incorporation and ceases to exist in the eyes of the law. section 58 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 deals with the procedure of incorporation. Likewise, the meaning of non-registration is the exact opposite of registration, meaning when a firm does not go through the procedure of incorporation or start carrying on activities without getting registered. Effects of ...