On the Death Penalty – 2023 saw the most prisoners on death row in nearly 2 decades

Source: This post on the Death Penalty has been created based on the article “2023 saw the most prisoners on death row in nearly 2 decades” published in “The Hindu” on 12^th February 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Governance – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

News: The article discusses the findings of the ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics 2023’ report.

Source: The Hindu.

What is the status of death sentences in India?

According to the ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics 2023’ report:

1) In 2023, the High Courts confirmed the death sentences of 1% of prisoners whose cases were up for decision. This is the lowest confirmation rate since 2000.

2) The death sentences of 45% of prisoners were commuted (sentence reduced to a lesser sentence). An equal share of prisoners were acquitted. The remaining 6% were remanded to trial courts.

3) There were 561 prisoners on death row by the end of December 2023. This is the highest number in nearly two decades, and the 2nd-highest since 2000.

Note: Death row is a term for a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being sentenced to death.

4) The majority of death penalty cases in trial courts in 2023 involved crimes related to sexual offences (more than 50% were for crimes involving homicidal rapes).

What are the issues?

1) Sentencing Despite Absence of Information of the Accused: The trial courts imposed death sentences in 87% of cases in the absence of any information relating to the accused.
This is against the Supreme Court’s mandate in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2022), which requires trial courts to proactively elicit material on the mitigating circumstances of the accused, including psychiatric evaluations, while sentencing them in death penalty cases.

2) Cases of Negligence in investigation and trials: In 2023, the Supreme Court acquitted six death row prisoners while criticising the negligence.

What should be the way forward?

1) Incorporating Changes in Criminal laws: The passing of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, will increase the number of offences punishable by death to 18 from 12 under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The impact of these changes on the administration of the death penalty should be taken into account.

2) Incorporating International Practices: For instance, Ghana abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. These international developments should be considered.

Question for practice:

What are the issues raised by the ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics 2023’ report? What should be the way forward for India in this regard?