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SC TO EXAMINE LESS PAINFUL PROCEDURES FOR DEATH
SENTENCE OF CONVICT
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
capital punishment must be carried out so as to inflict
minimum possible suffering to convicted prisoners; the
court, over a PIL filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra, passed
the order.
Malhotra argued that they had also favored other
procedures for executing the death sentence, addressing
to various law commission reports.
On October 6, the Supreme Court observing that a convict
facing death must die in peace and not in pain, agreed to
examine whether execution of death sentence by hanging
could be replaced by other less painful procedures like by
injecting lethal injection or shooting.
The government and Parliament could look for other
less painful options to execute death sentence and
issued notice to the Centre to revert to a petition seeking
that Section 354(5) of Criminal Procedure Code, which
prescribes execution of death sentence and says that a
death convict shall be hung by the neck till he is dead, be
declared unconstitutional and invalid, as said by a bench of
Chief Justice DipakMisra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and
D Y Chandrachud.
Alleging that the present method for execution of death
sentence is not only barbaric, inhuman and cruel but also
against the resolutions embraced by the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which states that
“The ultimate conclusion arrived by the law commission
was that developed as well as developing countries
have replaced execution by hanging by intravenous
lethal injection or shooting which is most acceptable
and humane method of executing death sentence
involving less pain and suffering to a condemned prisoner,”
he said.
He vied that death by shooting was legal in the country as
the Army Act, Navy Act and Air Force Act say a court martial
shall, in its discretion, direct that a death convict shall suffer
death by being hung by the neck until he is dead or shall
suffer death by being shot to death.
Agreeing to decide feasibility to replace hanging as
mode of death, the bench said evolution of modern
science had opened the door to explore other less painful
methods to execute death sentence which should be
examined.
“It is contended by him (petitioner) that a convict, whose
life has to end because of the conviction and the sentence,
should not be compelled to suffer the pain of hanging. He
has referred to the 187th report of the Law Commission,”
the bench said.
4 WEEKS TO SHOW STEPS TAKEN TO ENHANCE SECURITY IN
COURTS: SC TO CENTRE
Monday, October 09, 2017
The Centre has been granted four weeks’ time by the
Supreme Court to place on record the steps that have been
taken to enhance security in the Courts.
Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L. Nageswara Rao, in a case
involving the murder of a witness who had refused to turn
hostile, issued the order.
The witness was shot dead while he was being escorted by
the police to the lock-up.
The incident had alarmed the Apex Court, which had, in
an earlier order observed, “We have no doubt that such
incidents pose a grave threat to the security of courts and
interfere with the administration of justice. It seriously
affects the willingness of witnesses to state the truth.”
The Court had then issued notice to the Centre, inviting
suggestions on making the Courts secure through CISF
or any other agency. It had also sought its response on
framing of guidelines for witness protection.
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