NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that the government is “not ready to evolve” after the Centre said it may not be “very feasible” to give death row convicts the option to choose lethal injection as a mode of execution.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea seeking removal of hanging as the sole method of executing death row convicts in India.
Senior advocate Rishi Malhotra , who filed the petition in 2017, argued that condemned prisoners should at least be given a choice between hanging and lethal injection. Malhotra had originally sought the abolition of hanging, proposing less painful alternatives such as “intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber.”
"I will demonstrate that the best way is lethal injection because 49 out of 50 states in the USA have adopted lethal injection," Malhotra said. He added that execution by lethal injection was quick, humane, and decent compared to hanging, which he described as cruel and barbaric, with the body lingering on the rope for around 40 minutes.
Justice Mehta suggested that the counsel representing the Centre advise the government on Malhotra's proposal. The Centre's counsel responded, "This is also addressed in the counter that this may not be very feasible to give an option."
Justice Mehta remarked, "The problem is that the government is not ready to evolve over the period of time... Things have changed over a period of time."
The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on November 11.
The Centre’s counsel said the choice of execution method is a policy decision for the government. They referred to the Supreme Court's May 2023 order, which had noted the attorney general’s proposal to set up a committee to review issues related to execution methods. The Centre said it would seek instructions on the current status of that committee.
In 2018, the Centre had strongly supported retaining hanging as the sole method of execution, stating that other methods such as lethal injection or firing were not necessarily less painful. The counter affidavit filed by the ministry of home affairs described hanging as “quick, simple” and free from anything that would “unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner.”
The PIL also cited the 187th Report of the Law Commission , which recommended removing hanging as the mandatory method of execution in India.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea seeking removal of hanging as the sole method of executing death row convicts in India.
Senior advocate Rishi Malhotra , who filed the petition in 2017, argued that condemned prisoners should at least be given a choice between hanging and lethal injection. Malhotra had originally sought the abolition of hanging, proposing less painful alternatives such as “intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber.”
"I will demonstrate that the best way is lethal injection because 49 out of 50 states in the USA have adopted lethal injection," Malhotra said. He added that execution by lethal injection was quick, humane, and decent compared to hanging, which he described as cruel and barbaric, with the body lingering on the rope for around 40 minutes.
Justice Mehta suggested that the counsel representing the Centre advise the government on Malhotra's proposal. The Centre's counsel responded, "This is also addressed in the counter that this may not be very feasible to give an option."
Justice Mehta remarked, "The problem is that the government is not ready to evolve over the period of time... Things have changed over a period of time."
The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on November 11.
The Centre’s counsel said the choice of execution method is a policy decision for the government. They referred to the Supreme Court's May 2023 order, which had noted the attorney general’s proposal to set up a committee to review issues related to execution methods. The Centre said it would seek instructions on the current status of that committee.
In 2018, the Centre had strongly supported retaining hanging as the sole method of execution, stating that other methods such as lethal injection or firing were not necessarily less painful. The counter affidavit filed by the ministry of home affairs described hanging as “quick, simple” and free from anything that would “unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner.”
The PIL also cited the 187th Report of the Law Commission , which recommended removing hanging as the mandatory method of execution in India.
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