Death Penalty in India: Legal Framework and Contemporary Debates

This paper will investigate the legal framework surrounding the death sentence in India, tracing this framework back through the ‘Indian Penal Code of 1860’ and on to the recently passed ‘Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita of 2023’ and ‘‘BharatiyaNagrik Suraksha Sanhita(BNSS),2023’ of 2023’. This paper will investigate the validity of the death sentence in a constitutional framework through landmark Supreme Court decisions and provisions of the Indian Constitution. This paper will also illustrate the widening scope of offense liable to the death sentence in the new code with respect to gang rape, mob lynching, and organized crime. This paper will explore the procedural aspects of a death sentence and related appeals and clemency provisions. This paper will hopefully provide insight into a developing country like India with respect to the efficacy and moral justification of the death sentence in light of current international human rights provisions and a rapidly changing legal environment surrounding the death sentence in India.