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Capital Punishment - Indian Perspective

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INDEX 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………..4 2. Procedure when Death Penalty is Imposed………………………..6 3. Constitutional Validity of Death Penalty……………………………7 4. Evolving Parameters for Imposition of Death Penalty………..9 5. Similar Crimes, Different Punishment………………………………11 6. Sentencing Policy……………………………………………………………14 7. National Crime Record Bureau………………………………………..18-20 8. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..21

INTRODUCTION

The Death Sentence is the harshest of punishments provided in the IPC, which involves the judicial killing or taking the life of the accused as a form of punishment. The question of whether the state has a right to take the life of a person, howsoever gruesome the offence he may have …show more content…

The statutory provisions do not provide an guidelines as to when the judges should impose capital punishment in preference to imprisonment for life, or to award lesser sentence of life imprisonment. A wide judicial discretion in opting for either of the punishments is vested with the judiciary. When the court decides that death penalty is appropriate sentence to be imposed in the light of the circumstances of the case, the nature of the offence committed and the absence of mitigating factors, then the court under the provisions of s 354 of the CrPC has to give ‘special reasons’ as to why it came to this conclusion.
The above provision was brought into the CrPC necessitating the court to give ‘special reasons’ for awarding death penalty. This was in contrast with the earlier provisions which made death penalty the rule, in case the court came to the conclusion of guilt of murder against the accused, and the requirement that the court was required to give special reasons only when awarding life sentence. Thus, the amendment in 1973, in form of the present provision, makes it mandatory for the court sentencing to death to record special reasons. Thus under the existing law, life imprisonment is made the normal sentence for murder and death sentence is allowed to be passed only in exceptional cases.
There is yet another procedural safeguard provided in the context

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