New Delhi, 18 August (H.S.):

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking an alternative, painless method of execution instead of hanging for carrying out the death penalty in the country. A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath made it clear that the Central Government may, if it wishes, constitute an expert committee to examine alternative methods of execution that could minimise the pain and suffering of condemned prisoners while remaining consistent with the spirit of the Constitution. The Supreme Court’s ruling does not prevent the government from taking such an initiative.

The petition was filed by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, who sought recognition of the right to die with dignity as part of the fundamental right to life. The plea argued that an alternative method should be adopted in place of hanging for carrying out the death penalty. Describing hanging as one of the most painful and barbaric methods of execution, the petition sought consideration of alternatives such as lethal injection, shooting, the gas chamber and electrocution. It claimed that death by hanging could take up to 40 minutes, whereas execution by shooting or electric chair could take only a few minutes.

Malhotra had argued that the Law Commission had also observed that developing and developed countries had adopted methods such as lethal injection or shooting instead of hanging. According to the plea, these methods could provide a more humane and acceptable means of execution involving the least possible pain and suffering for a prisoner.

The petition referred to the Law Commission’s 35th Report of 1967, stating that several countries had adopted electrocution, shooting or gas chambers as alternatives to hanging. It sought a declaration that Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that a person sentenced to death shall be hanged until dead, violates the constitutional right to life.

The plea further sought recognition of the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right and urged the adoption of a method of execution that would cause the least possible pain and suffering.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar