Hanging as Death Penalty in India: Supreme Court Judgment Explained

Subject: GS 2: Polity & Governance

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of hanging as a method of executing a death sentence.

• The court rejected the challenge that argued that the method is cruel, scientifically uncertain and inconsistent with the right to dignity under Article 21.

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Key Observation of the Supreme Court on Hanging

The Court’s reasoning rested principally on precedent, evidence and legislative choice:

• Existing Precedent: The Court found no compelling basis to depart from the three-judge Bench decision in Deena (1983).
• Scientific Evidence Not Decisive: The material placed before the Court did not sufficiently establish that the scientific assumptions underlying Deena had become untenable.
• Parliamentary Endorsement: Parliament retained hanging in Section 393(5) of the BNSS while replacing the earlier criminal laws, indicating continuity of legislative policy.
• No Established Superior Alternative: The Court found no conclusive evidence that lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas or shooting provides a consistently safer or more humane outcome.
• Execution with Dignity: The Court reiterated that Article 21 protection does not disappear at the gallows and that execution must be carried out with decency and without unnecessary brutality or degradation.

Existing Legal Framework for Hanging

• Statutory Provision: Section 393(5) of the BNSS, 2023 provides that a death sentence shall direct that the person be hanged by the neck till death.
• Historical Continuity: The provision substantially continues the earlier position under the CrPC and ultimately traces its origin to the colonial criminal-law framework.
• Method: Hanging generally follows the long-drop principle, under which the drop is calculated with the objective of causing rapid loss of consciousness through cervical injury.

Ethical Concerns

The judgment leaves a continuing ethical debate:

• Punishment vs Humanity: The State may impose the death penalty in constitutionally permitted circumstances, but should not inflict avoidable suffering while enforcing it.
• Retribution vs Dignity: Justice for victims and society must coexist with the principle that conviction does not completely extinguish the dignity of the condemned.
• Colonial Legacy vs Constitutional Morality: A method’s historical origin does not by itself make it unconstitutional, but its continued use should be tested against contemporary scientific knowledge and constitutional values.
• Irreversibility: Since execution is irreversible, concerns relating to wrongful conviction, arbitrariness and procedural error acquire exceptional importance.

Way Forward

• Independent Scientific Review: Undertake contemporary studies involving forensic experts, medical professionals and bioethicists.
• Uniform Safeguards: Standardise execution protocols, equipment checks, personnel training and medical oversight.
• Examine Alternatives: Reassess alternative methods on measurable parameters such as pain, reliability, failure risk and dignity.
• Parliamentary Deliberation: Consider whether the law should provide a regulated alternative to hanging.

• Strengthen Death-Penalty Safeguards: Ensure rigorous judicial scrutiny at every stage, given the irreversible nature of capital punishment.
• Periodic Review: Keep the method of execution open to reassessment as science and constitutional morality evolve.

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Conclusion

The Supreme Court has retained the existing position on hanging, but not foreclosed future reconsideration. Article 21 demands dignity even in lawful execution, keeping the practice subject to scientific evidence, constitutional scrutiny and evolving human-rights standards.

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