Balancing Justice And Humanity: Capital Punishment’s Impact On Right To Life

Ganji Varsha, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

The constitution provides all the citizens of India, certain fundamental rights. These fundamental rights are considered the heart of the Indian constitution, among which right to life and personal liberty under article 211 is a very crucial one, which has gone through many additions and debates which led to the vast scope of article 21 under Indian constitution. This research delves into the intense debate of practice of capital punishment which has been subjected to various questions about its ethical, legal and constitutional implications with respect to article 21. Capital punishment has been questioned over various subjects such as societal and ethical dimensions, public opinions and political debates are looked into to provide a broader perspective regarding this subject matter. The perspective of international human rights with regard to capital punishment and India’s take on it is explored in the paper. The research aims to establish an analysis through various landmark judicial decisions which have shaped the landscape of capital punishment in terms of Article 21 and that determined its appropriateness.

Keywords: capital punishment, death penalty, Indian constitution, fundamental rights, life imprisonment