The Death Penalty in India: Examining Its Constitutional Validity and Contemporary Relevance

Abstract

As the nation's highest court, the Supreme Court of India has occasionally rendered authoritative rulings on a range of legal issues. The Supreme Court has reviewed the method, constitutionality, and numerous other aspects of the death penalty and provided its views the decision on multiple occasions during the past 60 to 70 years. The death penalty's validity has been contested multiple times before the Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates clauses included in the Indian Constitution. According to Bhagwati, J., however, Sec. 302 of the I.P.C. (now section 103 BNS) does not conflict with the ultimate law of the land, as the Court has often stated. Since it does not establish any legislative guidelines regarding when life should be allowed to be extinguished by the imposition of a death sentence, its provision that allows the death penalty to be applied as an alternative to a life sentence is ultra vires and void as a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. Through a variety of case laws, the views of distinguished jurists, and the opinions of honorable judges, the author of this research paper will address the constitutionality of the death penalty and current trends surrounding it. Finally, the author would like to offer recommendations regarding the constitutionality of the death penalty.