SC to hear plea on humane execution methods in January
The Supreme Court is set to hear a long-pending petition on January 21 next year that calls for ending hanging as the standard way to execute death row prisoners in India.
Filed by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, the plea suggests switching to less painful options like lethal injection or shooting, and points out that even the Law Commission has recommended dropping hanging from the law books.
Debate over humane execution methods getting harder to ignore
The government argues that hanging is still "quick" and "simple," claiming other methods might not actually be less painful.
The petitioner also wants prisoners to have a say in how they're executed—a move the Centre isn't keen on.
This debate over humane execution methods is getting harder to ignore.
The Supreme Court may soon form an expert committee to dig deeper into how much pain different execution methods cause.