Found insideWhile execution chambers remain active in several states, Carol Steiker and Jordan Steiker argue that the fate of the American death penalty is likely to be sealed by this failed judicial experiment. 7483163074, 9380863034 Essay: Capital Punishment in India by Sahil Gupta. Answer to cruelty is not cruelty. 1 0 obj One of the arguments that were put forth against capital punishment was that it puts an end to the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 19 (protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.) So, as of now various jurists, lawyers, administrators, social activists, law commission and legal reformers are debating over this issue again and again. [email protected]). Capital punishment for the Sabarmati river in Gujarat Soumitra Trivedi & Yogesh Chawda / TNN / Updated: Sep 1, 2021, 12:34 IST Facebook Twitter Linkedin EMail the Court of India held that the death penalty is constitutional only when applied as an exceptional penalty in “the rarest of the rare” cases. Shooting: Under the Army Act,1950 hanging as well as shooting are both listed as the methods of the execution of death row convicts in the military court martial system. All the death penalties in India are carried out by hanging. The IPC's approach to capital punishment has remained more or less unchanged since and still recognizes the death penalty for various crimes including . We are covering this topic of Group Discussion on Capital Punishment from all angles, providing you with meaningful quotes, statistics, pros and cons of capital punishment and possible GD topics that you can expect for this pressing concern in criminal law and civil liberties. 3 At independence, India retained several laws put in place by the British colonial government, which included the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 ('Cr.P.C. Therefore, killing a person is immoral and it clearly demonstrates the lack of respect towards the human life. In the 1980, , the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty should only be used in the. 2 0 obj Under section 363A of the IPC, if a person gets kidnapped for ransom and the kidnapped person gets killed than death penalty can be awarded. out of 511 sections, only few […] Commission in its 35th reportrecommended that "capital punishment should be retained in the present state of the country,"5.Significant changes in India, and indeed around the world, since 1967, so much so that a fresh look at the issue in the contemporary context has become desirable. Capital punishment in India is one of the legal penalties in India. I explained all the crux of this topic. After independence, Godse was the first person to be executed in India by the death penalty in the case of Mahatma Gandhi. If a person provides false evidence with the knowledge that it can lead to the conviction of a person belonging to scheduled caste or tribe for committing a capital offence on the basis of such evidence, will be punished with the death penalty if it results in the conviction and execution of an innocent person. Capital punishment was first incorporated into India's legal system during British colonial rule when, in 1860, the Governor-General of India Council instituted the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (2) Abatement of mutiny (3) Murder (4) Dacoity with Murder. Capital punishment is a practice whereby person committing a capital crime is put to death by the state. In Deena v. Union of India (1983)4 SCC 645, the Supreme Court stated that execution of capital punishment should satisfy the following criteria. Murder (s.302) and murder committed by a life convict (s. 303). Papers presented at a meeting organized by International Association of Penal Law, New Delhi, 1982. After the Nirbhaya gang rape case of 2012, others gang rape cases were also held to be punishable by capital punishment under Section 9 of the Criminal Law(Amendment) Act, 2013. It was also held that the death penalty for the murder offence awarded pursuant to I.P.C. to be exhausted before the death sentence was chosen and the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the conviction in the case of Bachan Singh. But in 2015, the commission stated that ‘the commission feels that the time has come for India to move towards the abolishment of the death penalty’. With reference to India. As per this article the right to life is promised to every citizen by the Indian Constitution. Found insideCapital legislation disguised a complex medical choreography that surgeons staged. They broke the Hippocratic Oath by executing the Dangerous Dead across England from 1752 until 1832. This book is open access under a CC-BY license. Capital punishment has been practiced as a method of punishment in criminal law for a long time. India’s Supreme Court suggested the death penalty should only be imposed on the rarest of rare cases in India. Murder is punishable offence under the IPC Section 302. The Law Commission of India in 2015 recommended to abolition of death penalty in India. Capital punishment/Death punishment considered a grave type of punishment that is ordered in the rarest and rare cases. Murder (s.302) and murder committed by a life convict (s. 303). All capital punishment in India is implemented by hanging. Around 400 prisoners await execution in India where capital punishment remains popular among the masses who often prefer vigilante justice over lethargic legal proceedings, which can take years. In 1967, the Law Commission had argued to retain capital punishment, but in . By retaining the death penalty, we may execute someone to death who turns out to be innocent. Therefore, for coercing the wrongdoers death penalty/ capital punishment is being incorporated and it’s the highest available punishment available to be awarded to wrong doers though it might have infringed their[wrongdoers] Human Rights. Capital punishment in India, is a prolonged debate and many democracies of the world have already done with the concept of the capital punishment and many others are thinking of abolishing this as it is against the principle of natural justice and also, in India, the Article 21 of the constitution right to life is guaranteed as a basic fundamental right. The SC of India suggested capital punishment must be given only to the rarest of rare cases in India.7 Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived of ‘right to life’ which is promised to every citizen in India. Introduction to Capital Punishment. This article says “ No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except as according to procedure established by law”. Capital punishment has been practiced as a method of punishment in criminal law for a long time. This article titled "A Critical Analysis of the Law of Capital Punishment in India" delves upon the various facets of Capital Punishment and examines the idea of punishment. Who are we to decide that weather to end the life of someone by the system of law which is again made by ourselves and none else, but the creator of life is someone else who we all know as God. (Though the latter was struck down by the Supreme Court, it still remains in the IPC) 2. <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.32 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> If a person convicted of a commission or attempt to commit, abet, or criminal conspiracy to commit any of a range of drug trafficking offences, or financing of certain types and amounts of narcotic and psychotropic substances, he or she can be sentenced to death. Found insideIn Demons and Demigods, Aparna Jha recounts how she successfully defended four death row inmates, and makes an impassioned argument against capital punishment. For an eye for an eye, she argues, can leave the whole world blind. Capital punishment also referred to the 'death penalty' is an institutionalized practice aimed at the deliberate execution of an individual or individuals in response to a definitive or supposed crime committed by the accused. The death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. 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. 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. Indian Criminal justice system is one of the important parts of capital punishment. 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. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides for capital punishment for the following offences, or forcriminal conspiracy to commit any of the following offences (Section 120-B):1. The accused is not entitled to be tortured under Article 21 and 22. <> In India, capital punishment is awarded in the rarest of rare case. This article is written by Khushi Agrawal, 1st-year student, Symbiosis Law School, Noida. India and Bangladesh share a common history, and each has developed somewhat similarly since partition. Found insideThis volume presents an integrated collection of essays around the theme of India’s failure to grapple with the big questions of human rights protections affecting marginalized minority groups in the country’s recent rush to ... In India, capital punishment is provided for serious offences. Capital Punishment in India. The death penalty, as an exceptional punishment, follows from the judgment that the case fit the criteria of the ‘rarest of the rare’. This research handbook explores both the forces behind the stunning recent rejection of the death penalty, as well as the changing shape of capital practices where it is retained. By Sujato Bhadra. In India capital punishment is carried out by hanging the accused by the neck till the person is alive no more. In Jagmohan v. State of U.P,[4] the Supreme Court held that Articles 14, 19 and 21 did not violate the death penalty. In the Indian Penal Code, the death penalty is given to a person who commits murder during an armed robbery. Capital punishment in India. Capital Punishment also referred to as the Execution , maybe a government-sanctioned practice whereby an individual is put to death by the state as a punishment for a criminal offence. The accused shall have the right to hear. 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. Literally, there is no country without the practice of capital punishment. According to the 2018 Criminal Law Ordinance, a person who is liable for raping a girl who is below 12 years of age may be sentenced to death or sent to prison for 20 years along with fine. For more information about this by Pen drive course of Crimi. Capital Punishment is an important topic in Criminology. Since time immemorial, nature has had some laws that are considered eternal. If the appeal to the Supreme Court made by the convict fails then he may submit a ‘mercy petition’ to the President of India. The main objective of this book is to enquire whether the dignity of prisoners is upheld while they confront the criminal justice system and whilst surviving on death row. Death penalty in India: A cruel and futile exercise. 3 0 obj But, in a country which is very diverse and has a huge population, these crimes, which are categorized by our so called justice system as heinous crimes, do often committed or we can also say that there is no single day passes when there is no murder or rape is being committed. But, in Rajendra Prasad v. State of U.P,[5] the judge held that unless it was shown that the criminal was dangerous to society, capital punishment would not be justified. | Powered by. In the case of MUKESH & ANR V. STATE FOR NCT OF DELHI6, popularly known as Nirbhaya case , as per the Supreme Court this case falls under the category of the rarest of the rare case and hence the Supreme Court here in this case unanimously sentenced all the four accused to death penalty. The judge was said to make the choice between the death penalty and life imprisonment based on circumstances, facts, and the nature of the crime recorded during the trial. Do not forget to star that email, so it does not get misplaced. Firstly, the wrongdoer must suffer for the wrong which he has committed. It is more difficult to measure the number of people sentenced to death and executed between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Introduction. Capital punishment for drug offenses. 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). cases, but it is not clear what defines the rarest of the rare. A Gallup poll showed support for the death penalty at only 42%. In the past 15 years only 7 have been hung till death: The delay in the execution of the convicts of capital punishment, we can say, can be considered for reducing the capital punishment to the life imprisonment as there is a lot mental agony inflicted in the minds of the accused during the time period. The president has the power to grant mercy in a case of death penalty. It is punishable by death in accordance with. The most recent executions in India took place in March . pp. Capital punishment is a legal death penalty in India. The state may take away or abridge even the right to live in the name of law and public order. These changes were imposed after medical student Jyoti Singh Pandey’s 2012 gang rape and death in New Delhi. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. the judge held that unless it was shown that the criminal was dangerous to society, capital punishment would not be justified. Only on special grounds, the death penalty can be sentenced and should be treated as exceptional punishment. It can only be used by a state, so when non-state organization speak of having 'executed' a person they have actually committed a . It is a controversial topic which is related to social and moral aspect. Capital punishment is legally enforced in India (Example- Delhi gang Rape case). Opinion: Capital Punishment Is Not The Answer To The Increasing Crime Rate In India. , 1st-year student, Symbiosis Law School, Noida. A person who inflicts injury in a sexual assault which results in death or is left in a “persistent vegetative state” may be punished with death under the Criminal Law Act, 2013. Disclaimer: This website in no way solicits or violates any provision of Bar Council, it has been solely created for disseminating legal knowledge to common  masses. According to oxford dictionary, Capital punishment is legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. This book offers a broad overview of public attitudes to the death penalty in India. A person is awarded death penalty for an offence which he has committed under the Indian Penal Code, and the offence must also state the punishment of death. India retains capital punishment for a number of serious offences. Capital punishment in common parlance refers to putting to death a person who is in conflict with law and has committed crimes of such a grave nature that the only way to bring justice is to put him to death. In 1966, support for capital punishment reached an all-time low. According to the Law Commission of India report of 2015, death row prisoners still continue to face long delays in trials, appeals and thereafter in executive clemency. endobj India is a democratic country which guarantees to its citizens Human Rights and also at the same time India has incorporated the provision of capital Punishment in its penal codes. endobj After independence,In Mahatma Gandhi case Godse was the first person to be executed by capital punishment in India. In all the cases, where the punishment or sentence is awarded for any offence relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state/union extends. Capital punishment in common parlance refers to putting to death a person who is in conflict with law and has committed crimes of such a grave nature that the only way to bring justice is to put him to death. Capital Punishment in India & Rest World. In the military court-martial system, however, both hanging and gunshot are . [3] The procedure that takes away a human being’s sacrosanct life must be just, fair and reasonable. Victims would often be enemy soldiers or civilians who committed crimes like theft, tax evasion, and rebellion. There are different types of punishment in India such as capital punishment, life imprisonment, imprisonment, fine, etc. According to a report of the Law Commission of India (1967), the total number of cases in which the death sentence was handed down in India from 1953-1963 was 1410. 1. Capital punishment in India does not come with a single stoke. 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. It is more difficult to measure the number of people sentenced to death and executed between 1980 and the mid-1990s. 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