Death penalty by lethal injection, shooting or electrocution? SC rejects plea
The Supreme Court of India has rejected a plea to abolish hanging as a method of execution, citing a lack of sufficient evidence that alternative methods are less painful. The court suggested that the government could form an expert panel to study the issue further.
Why it matters
This ruling maintains the status quo on capital punishment methods in India while leaving a narrow window for future legal or scientific challenges.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to scrap hanging as the method of executing the death penalty, but said the issue can be looked at again if new scientific or medical evidence shows that another method causes less pain. The court also said the Centre can set up an expert panel to examine whether another method of execution would reduce pain and protect the dignity of death row prisoners.Why was a plea filed against hanging as a method of execution?The petition was filed by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, who challenged the law that provides for hanging as the method of executing a death sentence, according to a LiveLaw report.Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure says that a person sentenced to death should be "hanged by the neck till he is dead".Malhotra's plea sought to replace hanging with other methods, including lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or a gas…
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