SUPREME COURT REJECTS PLEA TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY BY HANGING

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ – The Supreme Court of India has rejected a petition seeking the abolition of the death penalty by hanging in the country, Indian media reported.

The court also rejected a proposal to replace hanging with less painful methods, primarily lethal injection.

The petition was filed in 2017 by lawyer Rishi Malhotra, who sought to have hanging removed from the law and replaced with lethal injection, shooting, the electric chair or the gas chamber.

The court rejected these requests but noted that its decision does not prevent the Government of India, with the participation of a panel of experts, from conducting a comprehensive review of the existing method of carrying out the death penalty.

The most recent execution in India took place in 2020, when four men convicted of gang rape were executed.