Capital punishment is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after being convicted from a court. Capital punishment is described as a legal death penalty ordered by the court against the individuals for the most heinous and cruel offenses they have committed. Globally, it was recorded that China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the US record the highest execution of people under this Capital Punishment. But countries like the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Mexico, Bhutan, Turkey, Italy, Australia etc have all abolished the death penalty for all crimes. India is among the nearly 78 countries following the death penalty today.
Capital punishment is considered as the most severe punishment in India. It is generally offended on people who commit multiple murders, rape or other cruel offences prescribed under law. Under the Indian Penal Code, sections of 120B, 121, 132, 194, 302, 303, 305, 364A, 376A, 396 are all coming under capital punishment. It was given in the motto that the accused who have this state of criminal mind will become a real danger to the society. Death penalty was termed to be imposed on the individuals in the “rarest of the rare '' cases or on the “special reasons”. It was found that the countries following the death penalty have less crimes happening and more of a social order.
In every constitution or any of the legal documents of a specified country, all citizens are given the right to life with dignity. In the case of India, we can take Article 21 coming under the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution. Looking at one of the judicial interpretations of a case, Rajendra Prasad vs State of UP was the first case that questioned the constitutional validity of the death penalty. In the judgment, Justice Krishna Iyer empathetically stressed on the death penalty as a violation of the fundamental rights of 14, 19 and 21.
UN Human Rights Chief, most recently, on 28th February 2023 tweeted on working of the nations towards abolishing the death penalty. It came into debate from different parts of the country that the government or judiciary cannot be a dictator of one’s life. It was found that China remained as the leading executor among the other countries. Excluding China, 88% of the executions take place in Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The International Human Rights Organization of the UN, Amnesty International and the UDHR clearly point out that the death penalty is inhumane which is regarded as degrading and cruel to humanity.
References Fatima, T. (n.d.). Constitutionality of Death Penalty. Indian National Bar Association. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.indianbarassociation.org/constitutionality-of-death-penalty/
UN human rights chief calls on all nations to abolish death penalty | United Nations. (2023, February 28). the United Nations. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.un.org/en/un-human-rights-chief-calls-all-nations-abolish-death-penalty Death Penalty. (n.d.). Amnesty International. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/ Sahastranshu. (n.d.). Death Penalty in India. Legal Services India. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2418/Death-Penalty-in-India.html