Death Penalty, whether justified or not: A critical Analysis
Keywords:
Capital punishment, death sentence, execution, human rights commission, mercy petition, non-governmental organisations, pardonAbstract
ABSTRACT:
The debate of “should death sentence be allowed in modern world” is secondary aspect to be discussed in the context of Indian Criminal Justice system. The first and the foremost question relevant in the Indian Context is “Can Death Sentence Be Executed in India in Reality”. To our dismay, its quite difficulty at least procedurally (if not technically) to execute death sentence in India. The concept of death sentence has been a subject matter of debate for long period of time in and across the world. Majority opinion of public is that death penalty must be abolished as it violates the Human Rights at large. Modern jurists are of the opinion that if killing is wrong, nothing can make it right either the legal or social sanction. If it is wrong for a man to kill another man, so it is even for the State to do. It is debated that death penalty has had no visible effect as a deterrent and has utterly failed to reduce the number of murders, which, accordingly makes the inflection of capital punishment completely useless. The accused in India under the safeguards of the Indian Criminal Justice system has lot of options to delay his execution after the apex court finds him guilty of offence, namely Review Petition, Curative Petition, Mercy Petition simultaneously to Governor and the President and then delay in disposing Mercy petition also gives him ground to commute his sentence. The death penalty or the capital punishment is terrible in listing itself and when it is used for someone of horrify all those whose hear this word. In this paper the researcher tries to analyse the historical background of death penalty in India and origin of death penalty in Arab countries. And to study the alternative to capital punishment and religious views on capital punishment and role of Human Rights commission in execution of death sentence.
Keywords: Pardon, Death sentence, Human Rights Commission, Capital Punishment, Mercy Petition, Execution, Non- Governmental Organisations.
References
1. Pardoning power is a superior power, it rescinds both the sentence and the conviction and absolves the offender from all sorts of disqualifications and punishments as if he has taken a holy dip in a River Ganga while others (commutation, remission, etc.) only reduce the sentence or change the character of punishment from one form to another without absolving the conviction.
2. Criminal Appeal No. 143 of 2007.
3. Snell, Tracy. Capital Punishment, 2010 – Statistical Tables . Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice: NCJ 236510, 2011.
4. Johnson Robert. Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process . (2nd ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth ; 1998. Chessman, Caryl W. Cell 2455, Death Row, Prentice-Hall, Inc, New York, 1954.
5. RK Sen. Penology old and new. London; Longmans, Green & Co. ;1943. p. 219.
6. Religion of the Samites . London; 1901. p. 219.
7. Cr. L.J. (April, 2000). p. 49.
8. Kane PV. History of Dharamshastra . p. 339.
9. Nar. App 50, quoted in Shukla Das. Crime and Punishment in Ancient India . New Delhi: Abhinav Publications; 1977, p.56.
10. Brahaspati Smriti, xxii, 29.
11. Narada Smriti, xiv, 6-8
12. Manu Smriti, viii, 244.
13. Armshastra of Kautilya, 4.11
14. Raghwansam, ix, 81.
15. Kathasarita Sagar, Tarang, Origin of Patilputra.
16. (1983) 4 SCC 645: 1983 SCC (Cri) 879; AIR 1983 SC 1155.
17. (1992) 1 SCC 96: 1992 SCC (Cri) 24.
18. AIR 1986 SC 467.
19. AIR 1979 SC 916.
20. AIR 1983 SC 465.
21. AIR 1983 SC 361 (2).
22. HM Seervai. Constitutional Law of India . Universal Law Publishing; 2015. p. 787.
23. Now we are following “Cod of Criminal Procedure 1973”, which talks about Sec. 402(1) statutory powers under Sections 432-433.
24. DD Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 20th edition. Lexis Nexis; 2013.
25. Pardoning powers under the Constitution of India . Available at: http://shodhganga. inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/128311/16/ 10_chapter%203.pdf. Accessed on 3th March, 2020. Death Penalty, Whether Justified or Not: A Critical Study Janees Rafiq JHRLP (2020) 1–25 © Law Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Page 24
26. Kamas Maneckshaw Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra. 1961 AIR 112.
27. State of Tamil Nadu Through Superintendent of Police, Cbi/si v. Nalini & 25 Ors.
28. Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi . Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinati on_of_Rajiv_Gandhi. Accessed on 5th March, 2020.
29. Nalini case is not for pardon rather for commutation of death sentence. Commutation merely substitutes one form of punishment for another of lighter character e.g. death commuted into rigorous imprisonment.
30. Death Row Appeal . Available at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/death -row-appeal-cites-sonia-letterasking-for- pardon-for-all-four/ 840997/. Accessed on 7th March, 2020.
31. 2Premature release of Nalini-Rajiv Gandhi murder convict. Available at: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ 2010-01-21/india/28126770_1_premature- release-vellore-prisonnalini. Accessed on 7th March, 2020.
32. Mercy plea of Rajiv Gandhi convict, Available at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/ india/president-rejects-mercyplea-of-rajiv- gandhi-s-murderers-126034. Accessed on 11th March, 2020.
33. Staying Execution in Rajiv Case, High Court to hear cruelty plea; Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ta mil-nadu/staying-execution-in-rajiv-case- high-court-to-hear-crueltyplea/article241 1422.ece. Accessed on 11th March, 2020.
34. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar & Anr v. State of NCT of Delhi, 12 April, 2013.
35. Afzal Guru – Death Convict. Available at: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/pri nt.pl?file=20051118002005000.htm&date =fl2223/&prd=fline&. Accessed on 11th March, 2020.
36. Dhananjoy Chatterjee – a chronological order. Available at: http://www.frontline. in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet& rdurl=fl2117/stories/20040827005102200. htm Accessed on 11th March, 2020.
37. Sakharani Monica, Adenwalla Maharukh. Death penalty: case for its abolition. Economic and Political Weekly . 2005; 40(11): 1023–1026.
38. 2000 SOL Case No. 705.
39. 2002 Cr LJ 2645.
40. 1996(9) SCC 287.
41. 1999 SOL Case No 633.
42. Cesare Beccaria . On Crimes and Punishment (1764), Trans H. Paoluscci (1963), Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
43. Roger Hood . The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective . Third Edition . Oxford University Press; 2002. p. 230.
44. Roger Hood . The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective . Third Edition . Oxford University Press; 2002. p. 230.
45. 1990 Cr LJ 1810 at p. 1822.
46. “In Bishnu Deo Shaw v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1979 SC 964, O. Chinnappa Reddy, J. defined 'special reasons' as to those reasons which are special with reference to the offender, with reference to the constitutional and legislative directives and with reference to the times, that is, with reference to contemporary ideas in the fields of criminology and connected sciences, etc.
47. Gary Slapper. Corporate Manslaughter: An Examination of the Determinants of Prosecutorial Policy”, Vol.2 Social and Legal Studies, 423 at 430, 1993. as quoted in Sakharani, Monica and Adenwalla Maharukh, (2005).
48. Gary Slapper . Corporate Manslaughter: An Examination of the Determinants of Prosecutorial Policy . Vol. 2 Social and Legal Studies. 423 at 430, 1993. as quoted in Sakharani, Monica and Adenwalla Maharukh, (2005).
49. AIR 1983 SC 465.
50. AIR 1978 SC 1542.
51. AIR 1979 SC 916.
52. AIR 1983 SC 465.
53. AIR 1987 SC 1346; (1987) 3 SCC 80.
54. AS Anand, J. in Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of West Bengal. (1994) 2 SCC 220.
55. (1996) 2 SCC 175; 1996 SCC (Cri) 225.
56. AIR 1980 SC 898; (1980) 2 SCC 684. & AIR 1983 SC 957; (1983) Cr LJ 1457.
57. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Section 235 (2). JHRLP (2020) 1–25 © Law Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Page 25
58. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Section 235 (2).
59. Should capital punishment be abolished ? The Times of India . 27th June, 2004. op.cit.
60. Praveen Kumar Jain . Should Capital Punishment be Given Capital Punishment? - A Capital Question. I DLR (S), 2004.
61. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, Sec.300 Exception 1. 55
62. The Constitution of India, Art. 19.
63. AIR 1980 SC 898; (1980) 2 SCC 684.
64. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 300 Exception 1. & Section 299.
65. Ibid. Section 77.
66. Ibid. Chapter IV (General Exception) and Section 299. Cite this Article Janees Rafiq . Death Penalty, Whether Justified or Not: A Critical Study . Journal of Human Rights Law and Practice . 2020; 3(2): 1–25p.
