India’s burgeoning death penalty crisis 

India's death row population reached a record high of 561 prisoners by the end of 2023, marking a concerning trend since 2004. However, the Supreme Court of India made an unprecedented move by acquitting nearly 55% of the death row prisoners (six prisoners) in the cases it heard in 2023. This significant development must be viewed in the context of the Court's initiative in September 2022 to convene a Constitution Bench to reform death penalty sentencing. Despite this, the continued evidence of the flawed state of sentencing in India's courts raises doubts about the Bench's potential to bring about meaningful change. Instead, the high rate of acquittals coupled with the rising death row population should prompt the Court to consider whether India's death penalty reform should focus solely on sentencing.

Significance

• It acts as a strong deterrent for heinous crimes, reducing crime rates.
• Justice demands that those who commit the most serious crimes forfeit their own lives in return.
• The death penalty may provide a sense of closure and justice for those affected by serious crimes.
• The death penalty ensures that extremely dangerous individuals can never harm anyone again.

Criticism

• Mistakes within the legal system can lead to wrongful executions, irreversible by their very nature.
• The death penalty is often applied disproportionately against racial minorities, the poor, and the mentally ill.
• It goes against the fundamental right to life and is considered cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
• Evidence does not conclusively prove that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect on crime.
• Life imprisonment without parole is argued to be a similarly severe and just punishment, without the moral weight and risk of executing innocent people.

Global Status of the Death Penalty

• Over 140 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, with a growing global movement against its use.
• Some countries still actively use the death penalty, with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt being amongst the top executioners.
• Various international instruments, such as the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, discourage the use of the death penalty and aim towards its universal abolition.

2. The Death Penalty in India

The Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2023, released by Project 39A, provides a comprehensive and sobering analysis of the state of capital punishment in India.

Key Findings

• Record-high Death Row Population: India reached the highest number of death row prisoners (561) since 2004. This troubling trend signals potential flaws in the sentencing process.
• Supreme Court Acquittals: The Supreme Court acquitted nearly 55% of death row prisoners whose cases were reviewed in 2023. This high acquittal rate highlights systemic errors in lower courts and the urgent need for reform.
• Reluctance to Confirm Death Sentences: High Courts displayed a continued reluctance to confirm death sentences, echoing the findings from the Death Penalty India Report (2016), where only 4.9% of death sentences imposed between 2000-15 were confirmed at the appellate level.
• Failed Reforms: Trial courts consistently neglected the Supreme Court's 2022 (Manoj vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh) directive for mandatory information about the accused in death penalty cases.
• Psychological Torture: Death row prisoners experience extreme psychological trauma, often leading to long-term mental health consequences. Conditions on death row are often inhumane, exacerbating suffering.

Implications

• Urgent Need for Comprehensive Review: The report findings underscore the dire need for a comprehensive review of the entire death penalty system, encompassing investigations, trials, sentencing, and prison conditions.
• Questioning the Efficacy of Sentencing Reform: The Supreme Court's focus on sentencing reform may be insufficient due to systemic issues throughout the criminal justice process.
• Ethical Considerations: India must consider the ethics of capital punishment in light of high acquittal rates, suggesting significant errors in a system that hands down irreversible punishments.

3. More Commutations and Acquittals in Death Penalty Cases

The Supreme Court's efforts to reform sentencing in death penalty cases, as seen in the Manoj vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh case (May 2022), have not been effectively implemented by trial courts for the second consecutive year. In 2023, trial courts imposed 86.96% of death sentences without the required information about the accused, as mandated in the Manoj case.

High Court Reluctance

Furthermore, High Courts continued their reluctance to confirm death sentences in 2023. The Supreme Court did not confirm any death sentences in the 10 cases it decided, while only one death sentence was confirmed across the High Courts. This trend is consistent with the findings from the Death Penalty India Report (2016), which revealed that only 4.9% of death sentences imposed by trial courts between 2000-15 were confirmed at the appellate level. Over the years, the majority of death cases before the Court have resulted in convictions being upheld, but the death sentences being commuted to life imprisonment.

Acquittals by the Supreme Court

The acquittals of death row prisoners by the Supreme Court in 2023 are particularly noteworthy. Despite comprising a smaller proportion of death cases at the Court in previous years, these decisions highlight systemic failures by the police, prosecution, and trial courts. Acquittals have been the result of fabricated evidence, manipulated first information reports, tampered forensic evidence, and questionable recoveries of incriminating evidence by the police. The dominance of acquittals in the Court's death penalty decisions in 2023 is a significant development.

Systemic Problems

The Court has primarily focused on case-specific reprimands in acquittal decisions, without addressing systemic issues within the administration of the death penalty. However, when it comes to sentencing, the Court has been more willing to acknowledge systemic concerns. The decision in September 2022 to refer crucial issues surrounding death penalty sentencing to a constitutional bench reflects this acknowledgement. Nevertheless, the increasing number of acquittals by the Supreme Court in death penalty cases underscores the high risk of error in India's criminal justice system. Repeated instances of acquittals from death row should prompt a reevaluation of the risks associated with the current system.

4. State of Death Row Prisoners

Death row prisoners live in a constant state of distress, fearing execution at any moment. They face violence, ridicule, and humiliation within prisons, often segregated from work, education, and leisure. These conditions deprive them of the means to cope with their dehumanizing circumstances.

Psychological Ramifications

The experience of being on death row has lifelong psychological consequences, even after acquittal or commutation. The increasing death row population, driven by the unjustifiable use of the death penalty by trial courts, adds to the crisis. Project 39A's report, revealing a 15% decrease in High Court case disposal rates, exacerbates the situation. Many death row prisoners endure the horrors of death row unnecessarily before their eventual acquittal or commutation. Others, like the individual in Yerwada jail, may not be as fortunate. His death by suicide after six years on death row highlights the unacceptable nature of this punishment.

Supreme Court's Role

The Supreme Court's convening of a Constitution Bench, while commendable, may not effectively address the death penalty crisis. The failure of death penalty sentencing reform to reach trial courts suggests the futility of this approach. Furthermore, Project 39A's 2023 report highlights a disconnect between the narrow sentencing focus of the Court and the broader systemic issues within the criminal process. The Supreme Court may be undertaking an exercise that is insufficient and belated in addressing the crisis.

5. Conclusion

The death penalty in India requires a nuanced and holistic approach that considers the ethical, legal, and practical implications. The Supreme Court's role in this process is crucial, but it must be accompanied by reforms at all levels of the criminal justice system to ensure fairness, accuracy, and respect for human rights.