Blog on : what is Capital Punishment?
The phrase ‘ Capital Punishment’ comes from the latin word capitalis, Capital punishment death penalty or execution is punishment by death the sentence it’s referred to as a death sentence crime that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. 36 countries actively practice capital punishment 103 countries have completed abolished it de facto for all crime 6 Country abolished it for ordinary crimes only and 50 have abolished it de facto. Capital punishment is the practice of exercising someone as punishment for a specific crime after a good legal trial it can only be used by a state so when the organisations of non – state speak of having executed a person they are have actually committed a crime like murder.
One crime which capital punishment is used for his murder where supporters of death penalty argued that death penalty is morally justified when applied in murder especially with aggravating elements such as for multiple murder like serial killing, child murder, torture murder etc.
It is said that capital punishment for murder is and should be “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”
India retains capital punishment for a number of serious offences the Supreme Court of India has allowed the death penalty to be carried.
Article 72(1) of the Constitution of India states: The President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
- In all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial.
- In all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a-matter to which the executive power of the Union extends,
- In all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
The execution of death sentence in India is carried out by hanging by the neck till death. The code of criminal procedure in 1898 call for the method of execution to by hanging the same method was adopted in the code of criminal procedure 1973 section 354(5) Of the above procedure reads as when any person is sent and to death the sentence shall direct that the person be hanged by the neck till the person is died.
Case law:
Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, 1980
The Constitution Bench judgment of Supreme Court of India in Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab (1980) (2 SCC 684) made it very clear that Capital punishment in India can be given only in rarest of rare cases. This judgement was in line with the previous verdicts in Jagmohan Singh vs State of UP (1973), and then in Rajendra Prasad vs State of UP (1979). The Supreme Court of India ruled that the death penalty should be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases. “While stating that honour killings fall within the “rarest of the rare” category, Supreme Court has recommended the death penalty be extended to those found guilty of committing honour. killings, which deserve to be a capital crime. The Supreme Court also recommended death sentences to be imposed on police officials who commit police brutality in the form of killings.
An appeal filled in 2013 by Vikram Singh andAn appeal filled in 2013 by Vikram Singh and another person facing the death sentence question the constitutional validity of section 364A of the Indian Penal Code.
