While 170 countries worldwide have either abolished or stopped using the death penalty, India continues to execute prisoners by hanging - a method most nations abandoned decades ago. This stark contrast raises crucial questions about India's position in the global capital punishment landscape.
The Rare But Persistent Noose
India's use of capital punishment remains exceptionally rare, with only four executions carried out in the past decade. Yet the method of execution hasn't evolved since British colonial times. The persistence of hanging creates a peculiar paradox: a nation rapidly modernizing in every other aspect clings to a 19th-century execution method.
Why Hanging Endures in Indian Law
Several factors explain why hanging remains India's primary execution method:
- Legal inertia: The Code of Criminal Procedure still specifies hanging as the method of execution
- Supreme Court validation: Courts have repeatedly upheld hanging as constitutional and painless
- Political sensitivity: No government wants to appear soft on terrorism or heinous crimes
- Public sentiment: Strong support for capital punishment in extreme cases
The Global Shift Away From Execution
Most developed nations have moved to more humane methods or abolished capital punishment entirely. Lethal injection, electrocution, and firing squads have replaced hanging in countries that retain executions. The European Union and United Nations have consistently pressured nations to abandon capital punishment.
Legal Challenges and the "Rarest of Rare" Doctrine
India's Supreme Court has attempted to limit capital punishment through the "rarest of rare" doctrine, established in the landmark Bachan Singh case. This principle restricts death sentences to only the most extreme circumstances, yet the execution method remains unchanged despite legal challenges advocating for more humane alternatives.
The Future of Capital Punishment in India
As India positions itself as a global leader, its retention of hanging creates an uncomfortable contradiction with its modern aspirations. The debate continues between human rights advocates pushing for abolition and those arguing capital punishment serves as necessary deterrence for extraordinary crimes.
The question remains: How long can India maintain this colonial-era practice while the world moves toward more progressive justice approaches?
