Death penalty: Supreme Court dismisses plea to replace hanging with less painful execution methods

The petition had sought abolition of the practice of executing a death row convict by hanging and replacing it with less painful methods such as "intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber". FILE PIC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to abolish the existing practice of executing death row convicts by hanging and replace it with less painful methods such as intravenous lethal injection, news agency PTI reported.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said its verdict would not prevent the Centre from undertaking a comprehensive review of the existing method of execution through an expert body. The review could examine whether any alternative method of execution better serves the constitutional objective of minimising unnecessary pain while preserving the dignity of a condemned prisoner.

The bench delivered its verdict on a plea filed in 2017 by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, seeking the removal of hanging as the prescribed mode of execution for death row convicts.

The petition had sought the abolition of hanging and its replacement with less painful methods such as "intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber".

During the arguments, Malhotra had submitted that at least an option should be given to a condemned prisoner to choose between hanging and lethal injection as the mode of execution.

In March 2023, the apex court had said it may consider setting up a committee of experts to examine whether executing death row convicts by hanging was proportionate and less painful. It had also sought "better data" from the Centre on issues concerning the mode of execution.

SC says it cannot direct legislature on mode of death penalty

The top court, however, made it clear that it could not direct the legislature to adopt a particular mode of sentencing condemned convicts.

In 2018, the Centre had strongly supported the legal provision that a death row convict would only be hanged to death. It had told the bench that other modes of execution, including lethal injections and firing, were not less painful.

The counter affidavit, filed by the joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, had said that death by hanging was "quick, simple" and free from anything that would "unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner".

The affidavit was filed in response to the PIL, which referred to the 187th Report of the Law Commission advocating the removal of the existing mode of execution from the statute.

(With PTI inputs)