An eye for eye will make the

whole world blind

-Mahatma Gandhi.
 Capital punishment is the legally
authorized killing of someone,
punishment for a crime. Capital
punishment is the death sentence
awarded for capital offences like
crimes involving.
 Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting
waging of war, against the government of india-
121
 Abetment of mutiny- 132
 If an innocent person be convicted and executed
in consequence of such false evidence to procure
conviction of capital offence- 194
 Abetment of suicide of child or insane person -
302, 303 murder 305
 Kidnapping for ransom- 364A
 Dacoity with murder if any one of five or more
persons, who are conjointly committing dacoity,
commits murder in so committing dacoity, every
one of those persons shall be punished- 396
 Rape/sexual assault an amendment in the year
 Sati.-Under the Commission of Sati
(Prevention) Act, 1987 Part. II,
Section 4(1), if any person commits
sati, whoever abets the commission of
such sati, either directly or indirectly,
shall be punishable with death.
 The Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted to
prevent the commission of offences of
atrocities against the members of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes. Under Section 3(2)(i) of the Act,
 Drug Trafficking Not Resulting in Death- If
an individual who has been convicted of
the commission of, attempt to commit,
abetment of, or criminal conspiracy to
commit any one of a range of offenses
related to drug trafficking (e.g. trafficking of
cannabis and opium) commits another
offense related to the production,
manufacture, trafficking, or financing of
certain types and quantities of narcotic and
psychotropic substances, he or she can be
sentenced to death. Under Section 31A of
the NDPS Act .
 Rape Not Resulting in Death-Under
the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act,
2013, a person who in the course of a
sexual assault inflicts injury that causes
 No.In Mithu v. State of Punjab, the Supreme
Court ruled that the mandatory death
penalty is unconstitutional. While
subsequent legislation for drug and atrocity
offenses prescribes the mandatory death
penalty, and the Supreme Court has not
expressly struck down the penalty as
unconstitutional, Indian courts have not
applied the mandatory death penalty for these
crimes. Additionally, a line of cases since the
1980 case of Bachan Singh v. State of
Punjab, in which the Court held that the
death penalty should only be applied for the
 Bachan Singh, appellant in Criminal Appeal
No. 273 of 1979, was tried and convicted and
sentenced to death under Section 302, Indian
Penal Code for the murders of DesaSingh,
Durga Bai and Veeran Bai by the Sessions
Judge. The High Court confirmed his death
sentence and dismissed his appeal. Bachan
Singh then appealed to the SC by special
leave, which came up for hearing before a
Bench of this Court. The question raised in
the appeal was, whether the facts found by
the courts below would be "special reasons
"for awarding, the death sentence as required
 Courts may interpret Bachan Singh as
overriding other law when sentencing for
offenses resulting in death. For instance,
using, carrying, manufacturing, selling,
transferring, or testing prohibited arms or
ammunition previously carried a mandatory
death sentence if it resulted in the death of
any other person under the Indian Arms Act,
1959. However, a recent Supreme Court
ruling in February 2012 ruled this provision
unconstitutional in light of the judgments in
Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab and Mithu
v. State of Punjab. This suggests that
 Hanging:
Hanging is the method of execution in the
civilian court system, according to the
Indian Criminal Procedure Code. Under
the 1950 Army Act, hanging as well as
shooting are both listed as official methods
of execution in the military court-martial
system.
 Shooting:
Under the 1950 Army Act, hanging as well
as shooting are both listed as official
methods of execution in the military court-
 Dividuals below age 18 at time of crime:
 According to the juvenile justice (care and
protection of children) act 2000, individuals who
were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime
cannot be executed.
 Pregnant women:
 According to a 2009 amendment, a pregnant
woman sentenced to death must be granted
clemency.
 Intellectually disabled:
 According to the indian penal code, individuals
who were mentally ill at the time of the crime and
who did not understand the nature of the act or
know that the act was wrong or against the law
 Mentally Ill:
According to the Indian Penal Code,
individuals who were mentally ill at the time of
the crime and who did not understand the
nature of the act or know that the act was
wrong or against the law cannot be held
criminally liable.