Don’t hang, give injection! Supreme Court asked sharp questions to the government on death penalty

On hearing this word ‘hanging’… a horrifying picture is formed in the mind. For centuries, the noose has been used in our country to give death penalty to serious criminals. But now the country’s biggest court, the Supreme Court, has raised a big question on this:

Is it necessary for this method of death penalty to be so cruel and painful? Can there be no other ‘humane’ method other than hanging?

This question arose during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which has demanded that other than hanging, less painful methods of death penalty should be adopted.

What is the whole matter and what does the petitioner say?

The petition said that while the Constitution gives the “right to live with dignity”, the “right to die with dignity” is equally important. Hanging is an extremely inhuman and painful process.

• What are the options? Citing the example of countries like America, the petitioner said that lethal injection is now used for death penalty there, which is considered less painful. Apart from this, there are also methods like firing squad or electric current, in which the convict dies in just 5 minutes, whereas hanging can take a long time.
• A unique demand: The petition also demands that the convict should be given the choice as to how he wants to die.

Government’s old tune, Supreme Court got angry

The attitude of the Central Government was a bit lax in this matter. The government reiterated its earlier reply saying that this is a “policy matter” and it is not practical to adopt any other method other than hanging.

The Supreme Court expressed strong displeasure over this stance of the government. The judges said:

“The problem is that the government itself is not ready to change this old way of thinking. Times have changed… but it seems that the central government is not ready to change its views with time.”

When the government again invoked “policy”, the court clearly said that the government needs to think seriously on this issue.

Now all eyes are on November 11, when the next hearing of this case will take place. On that day, the government will have to explain that when the world is looking for humanity even in the methods of giving death penalty, then why can’t India move ahead from this centuries-old painful process?