The Death Penalty In India: Evaluating Its Moral Legitimacy And Practical Effectiveness In The Light Of Constitutional Values And Human Rights Standards
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 4
- 1 min read
Shreya Raj, NMIMS School of Law
ABSTRACT
The death penalty, or capital punishment, occupies one of the most contested intersections of law, ethics, and governance in contemporary India. Despite a constitutional framework premised on the values of Life, dignity, and equality anchored in Article 21 of the Constitution - India continues to retain capital punishment, administered in the rarest of rare cases as enunciated by the Supreme Court of India in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980). This research paper undertakes a comprehensive examination of the death penalty in India through three converging lenses: its moral legitimacy under philosophical and jurisprudential traditions, its practical effectiveness as a deterrent to crime, and its compatibility with India’s constitutional values and international human rights obligations. Drawing upon judicial pronouncements, legislative history, empirical studies, comparative jurisprudence, and academic scholarship, the paper argues that capital punishment, as presently practised in India, is morally indefensible, practically unproven as an effective deterrent, and constitutionally precarious given its irreversibility and the systematic inequalities in its application. The paper identifies five central research questions and proceeds through a structured analysis culminating in a call for abolition or, at minimum, a comprehensive moratorium and legislative review. The findings have implications not only for Indian domestic law but for India’s standing in the global human rights discourse.
Keywords: Capital Punishment, Death penalty, Article 21, Rarest of Rare Doctrine, Human Rights, Deterrence, Constitutional Law, Abolition, India.
