Fundamental right to life and dignity enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution also means the right to die with dignity. Analyse the capital punishments in India in that context.
Refer - The Hindu
IAS Parliament 7 years
KEY POINTS
Capital Punishment
· Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime.
· Supreme Court of India had ruled that, Fundamental right to life and dignity enshrined under Article 21 of the constitution also means the right to die with dignity.
· 187th Report of the Law Commission advocating removal of the present mode of execution from the statute.
Methods of Execution in India
Hanging
· Hanging is the method of execution in the civilian court system, according to the section 354 (5) of Indian Criminal Procedure Code.
Shooting
· Under the Army, Navy and Air force Act, hanging as well as shooting are both listed as official methods of execution in the military court-martial system.
· Though shooting is prevailing in Indian system, it is only confined to military system.
Issues with hanging
· Slow – the entire execution process takes over 40 minutes to declare prisoner to be dead
· Painful – Intense pain suffered by the convict during the process
· Mistakes during calculation further escalates time and consequently escalates pain
· Not a controlled way of execution
Recommendations
· Dynamic progress made in modern science should be leveraged in order to adopt painless methods of execution
· For instance, administering lethal injections which cause unconsciousness immediately and dies in sleep
· Study International models which uses modern way of painless execution and its feasibility in India
· Courts shall before passing the final order, hear the accused regarding the mode of execution of death sentence
