Supreme Court dismisses PIL petition that challenged death by hanging | Explained
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a long-standing petition challenging the constitutional validity of hanging as the sole method of execution. The court ruled that existing precedents remain binding and that there is insufficient scientific evidence to prove that alternative methods like lethal injection are more humane.
Why it matters
This ruling reaffirms the legal status of capital punishment methods in India, balancing constitutional requirements for humane treatment against established judicial precedent.
The story so far: On August 18, the Supreme Court upheld hanging as the method of executing a death sentence , dismissing a PIL petition challenging its constitutional validity. The Court held that its earlier decision upholding hanging continues to bind it and found no conclusive scientific evidence to establish that alternatives such as lethal injection are more humane. The matter was before the Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
The petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, corresponding to Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, insofar it prescribes hanging as the sole method of executing a death sentence . The petition is from 2017.
The central question before the Supreme Court was whether prescribing a single method of execution, hanging, conforms to the constitutional requirement of a procedure that is just, fair and reasonable.
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