SC rejects plea to replace hanging as execution mode
The Indian Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking to replace hanging with lethal injection as the method for capital punishment. The court stated there is insufficient scientific evidence to prove that lethal injection is more humane than hanging.
Why it matters
The ruling maintains the status quo for capital punishment in India while leaving the door open for future scientific review.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to replace the present mechanism of execution by hanging with alternatives like the lethal injection.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said there was no scientific material to back the claim that hanging as a mode of execution was physically painful and physiologically traumatic in comparison to other methods, and refused to pass any directive on a petition filed by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra. The court left it to the Centre to take a call on the issue in future if needed."The available material does not establish that lethal injection has any added advantage over hanging as a mode of execution of a death sentence.
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