Supreme Court asks govt. for data on death

NEWS: SC asks govt. for data on death by hanging and a possible alternative mode of execution

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-asks-govt-for-data-on-death-by-hanging-and-a-possible-alternative-mode-of-execution/article66645002.ece

• The court even suggested the formation of an expert committee to relook at India’s current method of putting criminals to death.
• The court clarified that it was not questioning the constitutionality of the death penalty but rather the method of execution.
  • The government had said the mode of execution is a “matter of legislative policy,” and the death penalty is awarded only in the rarest of rare cases.
  • Section 354 (5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that a person sentenced to death shall “be hanged by the neck till he is dead”.
  • It is argued that there is a need to evolve a “humane, quick, and decent alternative” and termed hanging as “cruel and barbarous” compared to lethal injection.
• However, the Centre had filed an affidavit in 2018 supporting death by hanging and had not found the method of execution “barbaric, inhuman, and cruel” compared to firing squads and lethal injections.

 Current Provision of Death Penalty in India

• Murder (Section 302)
• Dacoity with murder (Section 396)
• Criminal Conspiracy (Section 120B)
• Waging war against the Government of India or attempting to do so (Section 121)
• Abatement of mutiny (Section 132) and others.

 World view of Death Penalty : 

• According to Amnesty International, the death penalty continues to be quite widespread in Asia, with China, India, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, among others
• The death penalty is rare in Europe and the Americas – with the notable exceptions of Belarus, Guyana, Cuba and the United States.
• 110 countries and territories around the world have abolished the death penalty, most recently Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea and Equatorial Guinea.

Mains Practice Question

The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, do we deserve to kill?”. Give your arguments

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