Death Penalty in India

• 19 Feb 2026

For Prelims: Supreme Court of India, Death sentence, Pardoning power, Article 32 ,  Article 39 

For Mains: Death penalty jurisprudence in India and the “Rarest of Rare” doctrine, Judicial safeguards and procedural fairness in capital sentencing

Source: TH 

Why in News?

The annual statistics report on death penalties in India by the Square Circle Clinic, a criminal justice initiative at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, notes that the Supreme Court of India has not confirmed any death sentences in the past three years, highlighting concerns about wrongful convictions and fairness in capital sentencing. 

Summary 

• The Supreme Court has not confirmed any death sentences in the past three years, with high acquittal and commutation rates exposing serious trial court errors, procedural violations, and risks of wrongful convictions in capital sentencing. 
• Growing concerns over fairness, lack of deterrence evidence, and human rights issues have intensified calls for reforms such as strict adherence to sentencing safeguards, standardised guidelines, and greater use of life imprisonment without remission as an alternative to the death penalty. 

What are the Key Highlights of the Report on Death Penalties in India? 

• Zero Confirmations: The Supreme Court  did not confirm any death penalty in the last 3 years. In 2025, it acquitted 10 death row prisoners, the highest in a decade. 
• Trial vs. Appellate Disconnect: 
  • Sessions Courts: Handed down 128 death sentences in 2025 (1,310 since 2016). 
  • High Courts: Confirmed only 8.31% of cases placed before them. 
• Death Row Surge: As of Dec 2025, the death row population stands at 574 (highest since 2016). 
  • The average time spent on death row before acquittal was over five years, with some prisoners waiting nearly a decade before being exonerated. 
• Procedural Violations & Non-Compliance: The report states that frequent acquittals reveal serious trial court errors leading to wrongful convictions and death sentences.  
  • Supreme Court rulings in Manoj Vs State of Madhya Pradesh (2022) and Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India (2025) mandate psychological evaluations, prison conduct reports, and mitigation hearings. 
    • However, nearly 95% of death sentences in 2025 were imposed without these safeguards.  
  • Sentencing often occurred within days of conviction, limiting meaningful defence preparation and raising concerns about violations of fair trial rights. 
• Emerging Alternative Sentences: There is a growing trend of courts using "life imprisonment without remission" or long fixed-term sentences (some up to 60 years) as a middle ground, raising concerns about whether these sentences allow for any rehabilitation. 

What is the Death Penalty? 

• Definition: Death Penalty or Capital punishment is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law.  
  • It is distinct from extrajudicial executions, which lack due process. 
• Philosophical Basis: It is rooted in the principle of retributive justice - the idea that severe crimes, especially murder, warrant a proportional punishment. 
• Indian History: The Manusmriti prescribed execution (e.g., by elephants) for offences including theft. 
  • The Indian Penal Code (1860) prescribed death as a punishment, which was retained after independence. 
• Legal Position in India:  
  • Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023: It retains the death penalty and has expanded it to include offences like mob lynching (if it results in death) and rape of a minor. 
    • Around 14 categories of crime attract the death penalty, including murder, terrorism, and abetting mutiny. 
  • Exemptions: Juveniles, pregnant women, and mentally ill persons cannot be executed. 
  • Appellate Process: A death sentence by a Sessions Court must be confirmed by the High Court. The accused can appeal to the Supreme Court. 
• Legal Recourse for Death Row Convicts: 
  • Mercy Petition: It is a formal request made by someone who has been sentenced to death or imprisonment seeking mercy from the President or the Governor, as the case may be. 
  • Pardoning Power: The pardoning power is subject to judicial review. 
    • President (Article 72): Can grant pardons, reprieves, or commutations. 
    • Governor (Article 161): Has similar powers but typically defers major capital cases to the President. 
  • Curative Petition: Evolved in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra (2002), this allows the SC to reconsider its final judgment to cure a "gross miscarriage of justice." 

Key Supreme Court Judgements Regarding Death Penalty 

• Jagmohan Singh v. State of U.P. (1973): The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the death penalty. 
• Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980): Upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty but limited it to the "rarest of rare" doctrine. 
  • It mandated that judges must weigh Aggravating Circumstances (nature of crime) against Mitigating Circumstances (nature of criminal, e.g., age, background, possibility of reform). 
  • The death penalty should only be imposed when the "alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed."  
• Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014): Ruled that undue, inordinate delay in execution amounts to torture and is a ground for commutation. It also deemed executing the mentally ill unconstitutional. 
• Manoj Vs State Of Madhya Pradesh (2022): The Supreme Court made it mandatory for trial courts to obtain mitigating circumstance reports from probation officers, jail authorities, and mental health experts before awarding the death penalty, ensuring sentencing considers the accused’s background and potential for reform. 
• Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India (2025): The Supreme Court ruled that it may revisit death penalty sentencing under Article 32 when procedural safeguards are violated. 
  • The Court mandated that the Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh guidelines must be followed in sentencing and limited such review to rare cases involving grave procedural lapses. 

Law Commission Stance on Death Penalty  

• 35th Report, 1967: Strongly supported the death penalty.  
• 187th Report, 2003: Acknowledged the procedural flaws in sentencing, though it did not advocate abolition.  
• 262nd Report, 2015: Called for doing away with the death penalty for all crimes except terrorism and related offences. 

What are the Arguments For and Against the Death Penalty in India? 

Arguments in Favour  

• Retributive Justice: Based on the principle of lex talionis (an eye for an eye). 
  • For crimes of extreme brutality (e.g., the Nirbhaya Gang Rape case), society believes that the punishment must be proportional to the suffering caused to the victim. 
  • It provides "moral closure" to the victim's family and satisfies the collective conscience of society. 
• Deterrence Theory: The primary penological goal is to deter potential offenders. The fear of death is presumed to be the ultimate deterrent against committing heinous crimes. 
  • A rational individual will weigh the cost (death) against the benefit of the crime and refrain from it. 
• The "Taxpayer Burden" Argument: Housing high-risk violent offenders for decades places a heavy financial strain on public resources, as the state must fund their long-term food, shelter, and medical care. 
• Public Will: A vast majority of citizens often favor retention. For instance, a survey after the December 2012 Delhi rape case found nearly 70% of Indians favored continuing the death penalty. 

Arguments Against  

• No Empirical Evidence of Deterrence: The Justice Verma Committee (2013) noted that there is no evidence to suggest the death penalty acts as a deterrent to rape. 
  • Global studies (e.g., by the UN) show that countries without the death penalty do not necessarily have higher crime rates than those that retain it. 
• Judicial Arbitrariness: The application of the "rarest of rare" doctrine is subjective and depends heavily on the personal philosophy of the judges. 
  • In 2012, 14 former judges appealed to the President to pardon 13 convicts who were erroneously sentenced to death per the Supreme Court’s own admission. 
  • The justice system is fallible. Executing an innocent person is a miscarriage of justice that cannot be reversed. 
• Socio-Economic Bias: The poor often lack access to quality legal representation, leading to a higher probability of conviction compared to wealthy defendants. 
• Reformative Justice: Modern jurisprudence focuses on reformation rather than retribution. "Hate the crime, not the criminal" (Mahatma Gandhi). 
  • The "Death Row Phenomenon" (prolonged solitary confinement waiting for execution) is considered a form of torture (Shatrughan Chauhan vs. UOI, 2014).

Global Status of the Death Penalty 

• UN Push for Abolition: UN General Assembly resolutions since 2007 show increasing global support for a moratorium on executions, reflecting a clear international trend toward abolition. 
• Regional Trends: Europe and Central Asia are nearly death-penalty-free, while most African and American nations have abolished it in law or practice. 
• Retention Zones: West Asia and parts of South, Southeast, and East Asia remain the main regions retaining capital punishment, with China being the world’s largest executioner. 
• South Asia’s Position: Nepal and Bhutan have abolished the death penalty, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan continue to retain it.

What Measures are Needed to Reform the Capital Punishment Framework? 

• Strict Adherence to "Manoj" Guidelines: High Courts must ensure that Trial Courts strictly comply with the Supreme Court's mandate in Manoj v. State of MP (2022). 
  • No death sentence should be awarded without a comprehensive Mitigation Analysis. 
• Standardizing Sentencing: Establish a Sentencing Council (similar to the UK model) to codify guidelines for capital punishment.  
  • This will reduce judicial arbitrariness and ensure the "Rarest of Rare" doctrine is applied uniformly across all benches, ending the "judicial lottery." 
• Evidence-Based Policing: Shift the investigative focus from "confession-centric" (often coerced/tortured) to "scientific and forensic-based" evidence gathering.  This reduces the high acquittal rate at appellate stages. 
  • As per Article 39A, the state must ensure competent legal representation for indigent accused at the trial stage itself, preventing wrongful convictions due to poor defence. 
• Life Without Remission: Legislatively codify "Life Imprisonment without Remission" (for 25-30 years or natural life) as a statutory alternative to the death penalty. 
  •  This satisfies society’s need for incapacitation and retribution without taking a life. 
• Long-Term Vision: The Parliament should consider the Law Commission’s 262nd Report, which recommended the abolition of the death penalty for all ordinary crimes, retaining it only for terrorism and waging war against the state. 

Conclusion 

"The death penalty is an irreversible punishment in a reversible system." India must move from a retributive justice system to a restorative one. Until then, the "Rarest of Rare" doctrine must be applied with the highest degree of judicial scrutiny to ensure that the "alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed." 

Drishti Mains Question: 

Critically examine the effectiveness of the “rarest of rare” doctrine in ensuring fairness and consistency in death penalty sentencing in India.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What is the “rarest of rare” doctrine?
It is a principle fromBachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980) that limits the death penalty to exceptional cases where life imprisonment is unquestionably inadequate. 

2. What safeguards were mandated inManoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh(2022)? 
Courts must obtain mitigation reports, including psychological evaluation, prison conduct, and social background, before awarding the death penalty. 

3. What is the significance of Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution?
They grant the President and Governors pardoning powers, including commutation or pardon of death sentences, subject to judicial review.

4. What is the “death row phenomenon”?
It refers to prolonged solitary confinement and psychological trauma faced by prisoners awaiting execution, recognized as cruel and inhuman treatment.

5. What alternative to the death penalty is increasingly used by courts?
Life imprisonment without remission or long fixed-term sentences, aimed at balancing retribution with the possibility of reform.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Mains 

Q. Instances of the President's delay in commuting death sentences has come under public debate as denial of justice. Should there be a time limit specified for the President to accept/reject such petitions? Analyse. (2014)