Rukhsaar Dhaliwal & Vanshika Tuteja, University Institute of Legal Studies, Chandigarh Panjab University
ABSTRACT
The death penalty in India has gone through various phases of development. From existing as a strict law to being an exception in the court of law, the concept has evolved drastically albeit being open to several interpretations. The capital punishment like several other criminal concepts has been inherited from the British rule and the Courts of India have passed several judgments which have defined and refined the theory capital punishment.
This paper gives a brief introduction of the concept of the death sentence and its constitutional validity. It substantiates as to how the law has evolved over the years. It transverses the process of evolution of the law on the issue based in various cases and judgments passed by the courts in India where the accused was either executed or his sentence was commuted into imprisonment for life.
The paper also highlights the technicalities and the loopholes of the penalty, such as when the sentence awarded is mitigated, because of the plethora of loopholes available to the criminals.
Keywords: Death Penalty; Rarest of the Rare; Judicial process; Rape murders; Limitation period.
