Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of capital punishment by hanging in India. A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed a petition seeking the adoption of alternative methods of execution that are less painful than hanging. The petition had requested the adoption of an alternative method—instead of hanging—that would cause less pain to the convict while preserving their dignity. The bench did not accept this plea and upheld the existing legal framework for execution by hanging. While dismissing the petition, the Supreme Court kept the door open for a future constitutional review of the issue should concrete and effective medical or scientific evidence emerge indicating that hanging causes unnecessary pain or violates the constitutional right to human dignity.
The Court also observed that the Central Government could, if it wished, constitute a committee of experts to conduct a comprehensive review of alternative methods of execution. According to the Supreme Court, such an expert committee could assess whether an alternative method might better fulfill the constitutional objectives of minimizing pain and upholding human dignity. The petitioner had also sought to refer three earlier Supreme Court judgments on this issue to a larger bench. However, the bench stated that there were no sufficient grounds to refer those judgments to a larger bench for the purpose of harmonizing them. The Supreme Court remarked that it was not convinced a case had been made out to refer the three previous judgments to a larger bench. The bench also considered the petition in the context of Section 354 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 393 of the current Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The Supreme Court had concluded the hearing and reserved its verdict on January 22. The petition was filed by lawyer Rishi Malhotra, who described hanging as a cruel and inhumane method of execution. The petitioner had suggested lethal injection as an alternative to hanging. The Attorney General, representing the Central Government, informed the Court that the government has constituted a committee to consider this issue. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has directed both the petitioner and the Central Government to submit their written submissions within three weeks.
Plea seeking a change in the execution process
The petition filed in the Supreme Court seeks a change in the procedure for carrying out the death penalty. On October 15, 2025, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure that the Central Government was unwilling to alter the existing method. During the hearing, a suggestion was made to offer the convict a choice between hanging and lethal injection; however, the Centre stated in its affidavit that doing so was “not practically feasible.” The Court expressed dissatisfaction with this stance, remarking that the Centre appeared unwilling to evolve with the times. Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur, representing the Centre, argued that the matter involved a policy decision. During Wednesday’s hearing, the bench comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Vikram Nath orally observed, “The problem is that the government is not willing to change.” They further noted that the current procedure is archaic and that times have changed.
What does the petition state?
The petition suggests alternatives to hanging—such as lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chambers—that could result in the convict’s death within minutes. Filed by Advocate Rishi Malhotra, this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) describes hanging as excessively painful, inhumane, and cruel. The petitioner seeks to have the execution of the death penalty by hanging—as prescribed under Section 354(5) of the CrPC—declared unconstitutional, and argues that the right to a dignified death should be recognized as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The petition also highlights that the process of declaring death by hanging takes approximately 40 minutes, whereas execution by shooting or lethal injection takes only about five minutes. Malhotra has also referred to the United Nations resolution stating that where the death penalty is imposed, it should be carried out in a manner that causes the least possible suffering.
