CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Capital punishment or death penalty occupies one of the most contentious positions in Indian criminal law, where a balance has to be struck between the constitutional guarantee of the right to life and State’s authority to impose the ultimate punishment. Although, its validity has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India and its application curtailed by the criteria of the “rarest of rare” doctrine, significant concerns continue to persist regarding its arbitrariness, discriminatory application, procedural shortcomings and its compatibility with the principles of human dignity and constitutional morality.