On Abolition of Death Penalty – Life over death

Source: This post on abolishing the death penalty has been created based on the article “Life over death” published in The Hindu on 16^th November 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Governance – Government policies and interventions.
 GS Paper 2 Indian Polity – Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

News: This article discusses the arguments against the death penalty.

A detailed article on Death Penalty can be read here.

Recently, the parliamentary committee that examined the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the proposed criminal statute likely to replace the IPC, has not made a recommendation to abolish the death penalty.

What are the provisions for the Death Penalty in India?

Capital punishment in India is a legal penalty for some crimes under the Indian Penal Code.

It can be granted in cases such as under Section 302 of IPC (Murder), Section 305 (Abetment of suicide of a minor or insane person) or Section 121 (Treason for waging war against Government of India).

In Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, 1980, the Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in India but laid down the ‘rarest of rare’ doctrine. It requires judges to impose the punishment only in the ‘rarest of rare’ cases.

What are the arguments for abolishing the Death Penalty?

1. Does not deter crime: There is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long prison sentences.
2. Takes away the scope for reform: Imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life will be a more rigorous punishment and provide scope for reform.
3. Disproportionately affects the underprivileged: Most of those on death row came from underprivileged backgrounds. Nearly 3/4^th of death row prisoners are from Lower Castes or Religious Minorities.
4. Global opinion in favour of its abolition: There are 98 countries which have abolished it for all crimes.

What should be done?

1. Devising a Remission Policy: Removing capital punishment and introducing a universal remission policy will be important. In remission, the duration of the sentence is reduced without changing the nature of the sentence.
2. Life Imprisonment as an alternative: ‘Life imprisonment’ (term for the remainder of one’s natural life) should be the default alternative to death sentences.

Question for practice:

Various arguments have been cited by experts for abolishing the death penalty in India. Enumerate.