Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Hanging an inhumane form of execution? SC wants Centre to reply in 3 weeks

IndiaToday.inNew DelhiOctober 6, 2017
UPDATED: October 6, 2017 19:39 IST
(With inputs from Anusha Sonia in New Delhi and PTI)

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to reply to a petition that seeks the abolition of hanging by the neck as a form of capital punishment.

Hanging by Noose (Picture only for representation)
Is hanging by the neck an inhumane form of execution that violates a death row convict's right to life? The Supreme Court wants the Centre to weigh in and opine on the question. The apex court's direction comes in a Public Interest Legislation filed opposing hanging as a form of capital punishment. The plea posits that the Indian Constitution's Article 21 (Right to Life) includes within it the right of a condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution that ensures that death is less painful.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud heard the plea today and issued a notice to the Centre, seeking its response on the PIL in three weeks. The PIL, filed by lawyer Rishi Malhotra in his personal capacity, refers to previous Supreme Court judgements that have censured the practise of hanging to execute people convicted of capital crimes. The PIL, which also refers to a Law Commission report that has discussed in depth the forms of capital punishment, suggests shooting squads or lethal injections as alternative, more humane forms of executions. The Supreme Court, while observing that other scientific and less painful forms of execution could be used, asked the Centre to file its reply to the petition in three weeks.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/supreme-court-hanging-death-penalty-centre-1059226-2017-10-06 (Accessed on 18 December 2018)

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