The challenge of reforming death penalty sentencing
2 years, 6 months ago

The challenge of reforming death penalty sentencing

The Hindu  

There has been an intense and persistent crisis in the fairness of administering the death penalty in India for many decades now that has been acknowledged in judgments of the Supreme Court of India, by former judges, lawyers, researchers, etc. Individualised sentencing The constitutionality of the death penalty was upheld in 1980 in Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, which greatly emphasised ‘individualised sentencing’ and called upon courts to consider the ‘crime’ and the circumstances of the accused. However, since Bachan Singh there have been disagreements on which cases warrant the imposition of the death penalty and the nature of information about the accused relevant for sentencing. In the final judgment delivered recently, the Supreme Court took important steps towards realising an ‘individualised sentencing enquiry’ as envisaged by the court in Bachan Singh 42 years ago. While one hopes that the procedure adopted by the Supreme Court in nuancing sentencing in death penalty cases would be followed by lower courts, the real challenge would emerge with equipping courts to understand such rich information.

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History of this topic

Created Fear & Vulnerability Amongst Women, Had Profound Impact On Society: Kerala High Court Confirms Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Brutal Rape-Murder
7 months ago

Created Fear & Vulnerability Amongst Women, Had Profound Impact On Society: Kerala High Court Confirms Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Brutal Rape-Murder

Live Law  

The Kerala High Court today confirmed the death sentence imposed upon Muhammed Ameer-Ul Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam for committing the rape and murder of a law student in Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016. It said, “The Court stated that the brutality committed by the accused on the body of the victim to cause her death can only be …

Capital term review, mitigation probe of death row convicts
1 year, 7 months ago

Capital term review, mitigation probe of death row convicts

New Indian Express  

The order is significant as it revisits, once again, the often ignored aspect of death penalty jurisprudence. Sure, the two prisoners who are serving death sentences have committed heinous crimes: one involves a techie convicted for murdering his female friend’s three-year-old daughter and mother-in-law and injuring her husband at Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014, while the second convict is a …

If Prosecution Proposes Death Sentence, It Must Produce Before Trial Court Information About Background Of Accused : Supreme Court
1 year, 8 months ago

If Prosecution Proposes Death Sentence, It Must Produce Before Trial Court Information About Background Of Accused : Supreme Court

Live Law  

In a notable judgment, the Supreme Court has held that in cases where the offences are so heinous that death sentence is warranted, the prosecution must produce before the trial court all materials which are relevant to assess the mitigating circumstances favouring the accused. Trial Courts cannot impose fixed term sentences The Supreme Court also reiterated that the trial court …

165 Death Sentences Awarded By Trial Courts In 2022, Highest Ever In A Year Since 2000 : Project 39A Report
1 year, 10 months ago

165 Death Sentences Awarded By Trial Courts In 2022, Highest Ever In A Year Since 2000 : Project 39A Report

Live Law  

In 2022, trial courts imposed the largest number of death sentences in a single year since 2000 while the death row population was the highest it has been since 2004. Overview of Death Sentences In 2022, trial courts imposed death sentences on 165 persons - the largest number of death sentences imposed in a single year in over two decades …

SC Deprecates 'dilatory Tactics' Adopted by Parties in Death Penalty Case
2 years, 1 month ago

SC Deprecates 'dilatory Tactics' Adopted by Parties in Death Penalty Case

News 18  

The Supreme Court on Monday strongly deprecated the “dilatory tactics” adopted by the parties and their advocates for “deflecting the course of justice” in a murder case, where seven of the convicts have been awarded death sentence. Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was also part of the bench, took a strict view and said, “Such a dilatory tactics adopted by …

The death penalty and humanising criminal justice
2 years, 1 month ago

The death penalty and humanising criminal justice

The Hindu  

As a conservative agency of the state, the Supreme Court of India is ordinarily expected to tread the path laid out by the written text of law and the binding precedents. On policies and uniformity The focus here is on reframing ‘Framing Guidelines Regarding Potential Mitigating Circumstances to be Considered While Imposing Death Sentences’, a decision authored by the three …

DC Edit | SC move to set guidelines on death penalty welcome
2 years, 3 months ago

DC Edit | SC move to set guidelines on death penalty welcome

Deccan Chronicle  

The decision of the Supreme Court to set up a Constitution Bench to lay down guidelines for the courts on providing a convict a real and meaningful hearing before deciding on a death penalty is a refreshing step that will further civilise the criminal justice delivery system in our country. The only protection a person can have against incarceration or …

Death Penalty: SC Refers to 5-judge Bench Case on Framing Guidelines on Mitigating Circumstances
2 years, 3 months ago

Death Penalty: SC Refers to 5-judge Bench Case on Framing Guidelines on Mitigating Circumstances

News 18  

The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a five-judge Constitution bench a suo motu plea on framing of guidelines on how and when potential mitigating circumstances be considered by courts during trial in cases which entail the death penalty as the maximum punishment. A bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit said it was of the opinion that this …

Death Penalty : Legislative And Judicial Chronology From Bachan Singh Vs. State Of Punjab (1980) To Manoj Singh Vs. State Of M.P(2022)
2 years, 4 months ago

Death Penalty : Legislative And Judicial Chronology From Bachan Singh Vs. State Of Punjab (1980) To Manoj Singh Vs. State Of M.P(2022)

Live Law  

Death Penalty, one of the punishments that can be awarded to an accused in India- has always been subject to diverse views, criticism and repeated evaluations of being effective or ineffective in retribution or being a necessary action in few cases. The five judge bench in Bachan Singh's case laid down elaborate frame-line and guiding factors to be taken into …

Supreme Court Allows Project 39A-NLUD To Interview Death Row Convict For Report On Character & Behaviour To Analyse Mitigating Circumstances
2 years, 6 months ago

Supreme Court Allows Project 39A-NLUD To Interview Death Row Convict For Report On Character & Behaviour To Analyse Mitigating Circumstances

Live Law  

The Supreme Court recently allowed the prayer of a death row convict to have an interview with a mitigating investigator associated with Project 39A of National Law University Delhi to submit a report regarding mitigating circumstances.The Court opined that it would be essential to have the particulars regarding the character and behaviour of accused, on record, in death penalty matters …

A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence
2 years, 7 months ago

A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence

The Hindu  

A recent trend in the evolution of jurisprudence around the death penalty in India may reset judicial thinking around sentencing and have long-term ramifications in the awarding of capital punishment. The Court has also initiated a suo motu writ petition to delve deep into these issues on key aspects surrounding our understanding of death penalty sentencing. Building on this, the …

Revisiting death penalty jurisprudence
2 years, 7 months ago

Revisiting death penalty jurisprudence

The Hindu  

On April 22, a Bench of the Supreme Court of India, led by Justice U.U. Several other cases also were decided by ignoring the Bachan Singh doctrine, as noted by the Supreme Court itself in Santhosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar vs State of Maharashtra and Rajesh Kumar vs State. Taking empirical lessons from the fate of Bachan Singh, the Supreme Court …

Supreme Court underscores need for holistic picture of convicts facing death penalty sentencing
2 years, 8 months ago

Supreme Court underscores need for holistic picture of convicts facing death penalty sentencing

The Hindu  

A man condemned to death for the brutal gangrape of a seven-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh has turned the spotlight on a question that has haunted trial judges — do they really know the person they send to the gallows? The Madhya Pradesh High Court, when the case came up in appeal, reasoned that death penalty was an effective deterrent …

Death Penalty- "We Need To Acknowledge The Person We Are Dealing With At least At The Stage Of Sentencing": Orissa HC Chief Justice Muralidhar
3 years, 2 months ago

Death Penalty- "We Need To Acknowledge The Person We Are Dealing With At least At The Stage Of Sentencing": Orissa HC Chief Justice Muralidhar

Live Law  

"One aspect of this report is to give us another narrative on the person who has been convicted of a crime is. ""This report points out that you need to acknowledge the person you are dealing with at least at the stage of sentencing that person to death." Orissa High Court Chief Justice Justice Muralidhar made the above remarks at …

[VIDEO] Deathworthy - A Discussion On Mental Health Perspective Of Death Penalty -Justice S. Muralidhar
3 years, 2 months ago

[VIDEO] Deathworthy - A Discussion On Mental Health Perspective Of Death Penalty -Justice S. Muralidhar

Live Law  

Five years of Project 39A's work to understand psychiatric illnesses and intellectual disability among death row prisoners in India has culminated in Deathworthy: A Mental Health Perspective of the Death Penalty.Join us for a discussion on the report at 5:30 pm on 20th October 2021.The panel comprises • Justice S. Muralidhar • Professor Pratima. Five years of Project 39A's work …

Batla House Case: Is Ariz Khan’s Death Sentence ‘Rarest of Rare’?
3 years, 9 months ago

Batla House Case: Is Ariz Khan’s Death Sentence ‘Rarest of Rare’?

The Quint  

In Santosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court provided two steps that must be followed to evaluate whether the death penalty would be the appropriate sentence. Identification and balancing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances of both the crime and the criminal to see whether the case would fall under the category of ‘rarest of rare’. The …

ILS Webinar: Revisiting Jurisprudence On Capital Punishment In India [11th July]
4 years, 5 months ago

ILS Webinar: Revisiting Jurisprudence On Capital Punishment In India [11th July]

Live Law  

Indian Law Society's Law College, Criminal Law Cell is organizing a webinar on the "Revisiting Jurisprudence on Capital Punishment in India". The webinar aims to get insights on different aspects of the death penalty such as philosophies behind it, constitutionality, ground realities, and discussion on both abolition and retention of the death penalty in India. Day & Date: Saturday, 11th …

Experts Discuss the Death Penalty and the Judiciary's Role in India
7 years ago

Experts Discuss the Death Penalty and the Judiciary's Role in India

Live Law  

The National Law University of Delhi (NLU-D) hosted an event to celebrate the release of the research compilation of the Centre on Death Penalty - 'Matters of Judgement'. The study, based on interviews with 60 former judges of the Supreme Court, sheds light on the complexities of the death penalty and the criminal justice system. It reveals that convicts often …

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