New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the center should consider implementing a 'less painful' way for the death penalty and find an alternative to death by hanging. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and comprising Justice PS Narasimha asked the central government for data that can indicate alternate methods of executing convicts other than hanging so that death is more dignified and less painful.
The Supreme court made the observation while hearing a PIL filed by Advocate Rishi Malhotra seeking painless death for death convicts. The court, considering the request in the petition, said that once such data is placed before the court, it can formulate a short order -- maybe constitute a committee comprising of AIIMS doctors, scientists, NLU professors, etc. that can look into methods for more dignified death of the convicts in India.
"If we have to relook at death by hanging, we need better data. We want to know the impact of the sentence of death by hanging, the pain caused, the period of actual death, and the availability of resources for hanging a person," the court observed.
During the hearing today, Advocate Rishi Malhotra contended before the court that as per a 2017 order, death by dignity is a fundamental right and when a man is hanged his dignity is lost. He said that the slightest error in the drop can result in lingering the hang, which is cruel. He contended that several countries have abandoned the hanging method because it is inhumane, further adding that cruelty and torture should be minimized in execution.
Responding to this, Justice Narasimha said that the question of dignity is not under contest, and neither is the issue of minimum pain. "The question is if the science has anything else to offer. The option for lethal injections was also rejected by the USA," the bench informed. CJI Chandrachud, also adding to it, clarified that as per some American magazines, a person really struggles even with lethal injections.
"We cannot ask the legislature to adopt a certain method. But a more humane method can certainly be suggested," the CJI said. He also pointed out a different perspective according to which there is no mode of execution that will have dignity in death. CJI said that the burden to constantly carry out surveys and studies regarding the matter lies on the Union. The court then posted the matter for hearing again at the end of May.
