Law Panel Recommendations on the Death Penalty

The hanging of Yakub Memon generated a furious debate on capital punishment as a deterrent. The recommendations of the Law Commission of India released recently come as a shot in the arm for abolitionists: it is no greater a deterrent than life imprisonment.

An extensive study conducted by a panel of 10 members examined the issue of the death penalty in order to ‘allow an up to date and informed discussion and debate on the subject’. The committee, chaired by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, found terminal sentences unworthy of application except in cases of terror.

In India, the death penalty is only granted in ‘rarest of rare cases’. Even this is seen as harsh. India is one of 59 countries across the world that puts convicts to death. But over the past few years, there has been a global movement for abolition of the death penalty. The Supreme Court, too, has expressed concern over the point of it. In the last 15 years, Indian trial courts have sentenced nearly 120 people to death annually. Taking note of the high number of convictions, the Commission recommended that the law and order machinery should instead focus on various provisions for police reforms, witness protection and a victim compensation scheme. The panel also took into account the disparity in the penalty’s imposition. Convicts of socially and economically disadvantaged classes are more likely to be awarded death sentences.

The commission’s recommendations, however, have had their share of dissent. Three people on the panel, including two representing the Ministry of Law and Justice, disagreed with the report. They have filed notes of dissent against the panel’s recommendation to abolish the death penalty, citing the rights of the victims of injustice.

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