Struggles In Death Penalty Sentencing: Guidelines In Manoj Vs State Of Madhya Pradesh (2022) And Their Non-Compliance

Alind Gupta, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES)

ABSTRACT

In recent years, India’s death penalty administration has been criticized by various stakeholders. One of the common threads running through all the critiques is the arbitrary sentencing process in capital punishment cases. In order to ensure some consistency in consideration of relevant factors during the sentencing stage, the Supreme Court in Manoj vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2022) laid down certain practical guidelines. The guidelines seek to ensure the collection of mitigating circumstances during the trial stage itself by casting a duty on the trial court to extract information pertaining to accused from the state. Despite the importance and unequivocal nature of these directions, the Trial Courts have failed to comply with them.