Retain death penalty only for terrorism, sedition: Law panel to govt

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 31 

The Law Commission today recommended abolition of death penalty for all crimes, barring those involving terrorism and sedition.

“Although there is no valid penological justification for treating terrorism differently from other crimes, concern is often raised that abolition of death penalty for terrorism related offences and waging war will affect national security,” the commission said explaining the reason for its recommendation in its 262nd report submitted to the government.

The report, titled “The Death Penalty” was made public by its Chairman Justice AP Shah, a couple of hours before demitting office at the completion of the three-year tenure of the 20th Law Commission.

Addressing a press conference, Justice Shah said death penalty “does not serve the penological goal of deterrence any more than life imprisonment.” Further, life imprisonment under Indian law meant jail term for the whole of life subject to remissions, which in many states were granted only after several years of imprisonment ranging from 30-60 years in cases of serious crimes, he noted.

“Retribution cannot be reduced to vengeance. The notion of an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth has no place in our constitutionally mediated criminal justice system. Capital punishment fails to achieve any constitutionally valid penological goals,” he said.

The commission expressed the hope that its report would contribute to a more rational, principled and informed debate on the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes. It also hoped that the “movement towards absolute abolition will be swift and irreversible.”

The law panel noted that numerous committee reports and Supreme Court judgments had acknowledged that the criminal justice system in the country “is in deep crisis.” Lack of resources, outdated modes of investigation, over-stretched police force, ineffective prosecution and poor legal aid were some of the problems besetting the system.

“Death penalty operates within this context and therefore suffers from the same structural and systemic impediments. The administration of capital punishment thus remains fallible and vulnerable to misapplication.

“The vagaries of the system also operate disproportionately against the socially and economically marginalised who may lack the resources to effectively advocate their rights within an adversarial criminal justice system,” it explained.

Further, the mercy power conferred on the President and the Governors under Articles 72 and 171, respectively, had failed to serve as the final safeguard against miscarriage of justice in the imposition of the death sentence. The SC had repeatedly pointed out gaps and illegalities in how the executive had discharged its mercy powers, it said.