Death Penalty Through Other Modes Instead Of Hanging : Centre Considering Forming Expert Committee To Examine, AG Tells Supreme Court

The Central Government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it was considering forming an expert committee to determine if the execution of death penalty through hanging was proportionate and if there were other better suited alternatives for executing the death penalty. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing a PIL seeking to abolish the present practice of executing a death row convict by hanging which involves “prolonged pain and suffering” and to replace it with intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber in which a convict could die in just a matter of minutes. 

In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had pondered forming an expert committee and had asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to find out data on the impact of death by hanging, pain caused, the period taken for such death to take place, and availability of resources to effectuate such hanging by death. Today, the AG informed the bench that he had recommended the formation of an expert committee to decide upon whether there existed better alternatives to execute the death penalty. He added that the government had been mulling over the members for the said expert committee.

Taking the submission of the AG into account, CJI DY Chandrachud said that the matter will now be hear after vacations in July.

Background

The petition has been filed by Advocate Rishi Malhotra. The following prayers are sought by the petition–

1. Declare provisions contained u/s 354(5) Cr.P.C., 1973 to be ultravires the Constitution and especially in contravention of Article 21 of the Constitution being discriminatory and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution and also in contravention of the Constitution Bench Judgment in Gian Kaur’s case;

2. Declare Right to Die by a dignified procedure of death is a Fundamental right as defined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The petition states that while in hanging the entire execution process takes more than 40 minutes to declare prisoner to be dead, the shooting process involves not more than few minutes. In case of intravenous lethal injection, it’s all over in 5 minutes. 

Malhotra argues that the execution as contemplated under Section 354(5) of CrPC (hung by the neck till the person is dead) is not only barbaric, inhuman and cruel, but also against resolutions adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that had categorically resolved that "where Capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict minimum possible suffering".

Case Title : Rishi Malhotra vs Union of India W.P.(Crl.) No. 145/2017