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KIRIT P. MEHTA SCHOOL OF LAW (KPMSOL)

2020 – 2025
B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) Semester 1

Sociology Assignment

“IS DEATH PENALTY MORALLY ACCEPTABLE”

Submitted By: Animesh Pratap Submitted To: Vrinda Mohan

Singh Rathore Professor (NMIMS)
FY.BA.LLB
Roll Number: B046
SAP ID: 81012019279
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INDEX

1. Research Questions
2. Introduction
3. Statement of Purpose
4. Review of Literature
5. Objectives
6. Analysis
7. Conclusion
8. Bibliography
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
 In which crimes should the capital punishment be given?
 Is death penalty always necessary punishment after Murder, culpable
homicide or manslaughter?

1
INTRODUCTION
The death penalty also known as Capital Punishment which is one of the legal
process in which an accused is punished and put to death for a crime and it’s
decided by the judiciary. It is considered as the denial of the human rights. If a
person is punished in this manner, a death sentence is a command by judiciary,
whereas Execution is the real cause of death of the person. This punishment
contains a lot of ambiguity because people are always confused whether death
penalty should be given or not, some people support it whereas some people are
completely against it and considers it as a degrading, inhuman and cruel
punishment in the name of justice. It ignores the right to life which is announced
public friendly or officially in the Universal declaration of Human Rights. Death
penalty is not considered as mandatory rather it is considered as discretionary in
all the capital offenses except the murder case and before deciding death penalty
many factors are taken into consideration such as aggravating and mitigating
factors. Background of crime, physical and mental condition of the accused and
age of the accused is taken into account by the judges for various capital offenses
such as murder, rape and treason. It is valid and justified form of punishment but
only to some extent. One calls it as deterrence while it is regarded as potential of
executing innocent people by the others. Also, one calls it justice, punishment and
retribution while the others say that execution is murder because the accused
should be given a chance of rehabilitation.

1
The Introduction to Death Penalty Philosophy Essay. (2021). Retrieved 9 January 2021, from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/the-introduction-to-death-penalty-philosophy-essay.php
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DEATH PENALTY IN INDIA:

India may be a country which contains sizable number of crimes and criminals.
In India all punishments are supported by the motive to offer penalty for the
wrongdoer. There are two main reasons for imposing the punishment, one is
that the wrongdoer should suffer and other one is imposing punishment on
wrongdoers discourages other from doing something wrong or unacceptable
according to the society. There are different kinds of punishments in India
based on the offence committed by the accused, such as life imprisonment,
death penalty, imprisonment with fine, fine and life imprisonment. In this
research I focused on capital punishment or death penalty. Capital
Punishment is one among the important parts of Indian criminal justice
system. Crimes ending in execution are referred to as capital crimes or capital
offences. The term execution springs from the Latin word “capitalis” means
“regarding the head”. The term execution is additionally referred to
as execution. Capital Punishment may be a process by an individual is put to
death by a state for his or her criminal offence. Capital punishment
or execution means the offender sentenced to death by the court of law for a
criminal offence. Capital punishment which has been awarded for the
foremost grievous crimes against humanity. Death penalty differs from
place to put, state to state and country to country. There are many human
rights movements in India which says execution is immoral. The human rights
organizations argued that capital punishment affects one person's right. In
jurisprudence, criminology and penalty, execution means a sentence of death.
Indian criminal jurisprudence is predicated on the mixture of two theories. The
constitution gave powers to the president and governor to suspend or pardon
death sentence if necessary. In India execution is awarded for the
foremost serious and grievous offences. Capital punishment is given for
murder, robbery with murder, waging war against the govt and abetting
mutiny, etc., The death sentence is given only the court decides that life
imprisonment is insufficient and death penalty is the last option in hand and
there is no chance of rehabilitation of the accused.

HISTORY: (Worldwide)
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Death penalty was set up as a punishment for the people who committed crimes
because at that time committing crime was something that was common. The
king of Babylon, Hammurabi in 18th century BC put into the form of a code the
death penalty for almost 25 different crimes and murder was not included in
them. In 16th century BC Egypt, the first death sentence occurred which was
historically recorded where the wrongdoer was ordered to take his own life.
Hittite code also practiced death penalty in 14th century BC. Death was made the
penalty by Draconian code of Athens in 7th century BC for every crime which was
committed. In 5th century death penalty was codified by the Roman Law.

HISTORY: (INDIAN)
A careful scrutiny of the debates in British India's legislature reveals that no
issue was raised about execution within the Assembly until 1931, when one
of the Members from Bihar, Shri Gaya Prasad Singh thought of introducing a
Bill to abolish the punishment of death for the offences under the Indian legal
code. However, the motion was negatived after which then Home Minister
replied to the motion. The Government's policy on execution in British
India before Independence was clearly stated twice in 1946 by the Home
Minister, Sir John Thorne, within the debates of the Legislative Assembly. "The
Government didn’t think it was wise enough to remove the punishment
of execution for any sort of crime for that the punishment is now provided". At
independence, India retained several laws put in the space by British colonial
government, including the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (‘Cr.P.C. 1898’),
and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’). The IPC gave six punishments that
would be given under the law, including death penalty. In 1955, the
Parliament repealed Section 367(5), CrPC 1898, significantly altering the
position of the death sentence. The execution was not given in the norm, and
courts didn't need special reasons for why they weren't imposing
the execution in cases where it had been a necessary punishment. The Code of
Criminal Procedure was re-enacted in 1973 (‘CrPC’), and a number of
other changes were made, notably to Section 354(3). This was a
big modification from things following the 1955 amendment (where terms of
imprisonment and therefore the execution were equal possibilities during
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a capital case), and a reversal of the position under the 1898 law (where death
sentence was the norm and reasons had to be recorded if the
other punishment was imposed). Now, judges need to provide special reasons
for why they imposed the death sentence.

2
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
As we know crime prevails in India in various shape and configuration such as
murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, human trafficking,
poaching and prostitution etc. These crimes have different statistical trends
mentioned in books and people also know it, it changes with change in time. The
crime issue in country (India) is more serious as compared to other developed
countries. Crime is not any longer viewed as just one problem to a given
society. Rather it's an integral a part of understanding a nation’s socio,
cultural, political, and economic situation. India is no exception. Crime exists in
India in various forms like murder, extortion, drug traffic, concealment, fraud,
human trafficking, poaching and prostitution etc. It is very difficult  to offer an
accurate and precise definition of crime. Glanville Williams, admitting the
impossibility of getting a workable content-based definition of crime, points
out that the definition of crime is one among the thorny intellectual problems
of law. Russell also admitted that ‘to define crime may be something that thus
far has been unsatisfactorily accomplished by anyone who writes. JW Cecil
Turner, who edited Kenny’s Outline of legal code, during a similar one, also
conceded that ‘the definition of crime has always been considered a matter of
great difficulty’ and ‘the truth appears to be that no satisfactory definition has
yet been achieved, which it’s, indeed, impossible to get a legal definition of
crime’. Sometimes various social problems stem from ‘uncoordinated and
unsystematic’ social changes, particularly among those that are unable to
adapt to ever-changing new environments. Rapid social change always
tends to supply social disorganization, which incorporates crime. Although
every society in India experiences a number of degrees, of social change and
gradual increases in crime and crime rates, rates of crime differ from one
society to a different. If this is often indeed the case, then it's possible to
2
Singh, V. (2021). Crime, Crime Rates and Control Techniques: A Statistical Analysis - Academike.
Retrieved 9 January 2021, from https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/crime-crime-rates/
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know a society by examining changes in crime and crime rates

where they're used as an index for measuring societal changes and their
characteristics. Accordingly, this paper will attempt a summary of the trends
and characteristics of crime and crime control in India and in doing so will
provide a general understanding of crime in Indian society. To begin
with, we'll present an overall picture of crime in India by examining the trends
and patterns of crime over the past four decades. We will then explore the
various aspects of crime problems in India from a comparative sight, by
conducting cross-national comparisons of crime problems in other countries.
By examining the crime data, we will get a far better picture of how safe it's to
reside in India. This will be followed by a summary of crime control practices
of the criminal justice system in India. This article will conclude with a
discussion of the case of India because it experiences rapid change.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This article talks about the how no one shall be deprived of his life except to
procedure established by law under article 21 of the constitution of India and how
it makes sure the existence of a person deprived of his life in a procedure that is
reasonable and fair, just procedure death penalty a person depriving of his life.
Dr. Shallu has explained Rajiv Gandhi in the year 1991in this case twenty-six
accused guilty committing crime under the POTA act1987 death sentence them in
the year 1998.The supreme court in the 1999. The Rajiv Gandhi’s killer is waiting
their execution. The president has not yet taking decision on mercy petition social
economical background of the person. One of the point delays in execution of the
death sentence which considered the delay in the mercy petition disposal against
the principle of rule of law. It also tells us about the rights of a man such as social
right and cultural right, natural right as well as right to live death sentenced
condemns or curtails most of these rights. The human rights organization as
improve the quality of life rather than finish life. Death penalty is not necessary
no person is never a born criminal and everyman is born good but some
circumstances or fanatism compel him to commit crime. As in criminal
jurisprudence it is said “Don’t hate the criminal but hate the crime”. There are
just so many reasons in capital punishment that are against the human rights as
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well as the abolition of the capital punishment “every saint has his past and every
sinner has his future‟. There are many offences of death penalty such as murder,
highway dacoit, robbery, atrocities on women and child gang rape internet
obscenity and economical offences or white-collar offences.

OBJECTIVES
This research paper aims to review the objectives those are necessary for Indian
Judiciary to keep in mind before giving a decision to a criminal and to decide
whether the accused should be given death penalty or not. This process is similar
to that, when mitigating and aggravating factors are kept in mind before deciding
the penalty for an accused. The important objectives are:

 To study causes and roots of execution of death penalty in Indian laws.

 To study contemporary conditions in India those are responsible for capital
punishment.
 To compare background of Indian retentionist’s mode with other
abolitionist countries.
 To suggest corrective measures for minimizing execution in Indian or any
alternative to capital punishment and increase scope for rehabilitation.
 To study whether capital punishment is ethically acceptable, can ever be
humane?
 To study different of modes of execution those are given in different
countries.
 Whether death penalty should be given in rarest of rare crimes.

3
ANALYSIS
Different methods of execution are:

3
The Death Penalty in India. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://dpw.pointjupiter.co/country-
search-post.cfm?country=India
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1. Death by burning: This type of execution was seen in the famous situation
of Joan of Arc who was sentenced to death by burning on the ground that
she was a witch.
2. Wheel: The process can include rolling a wheel full of spikes on top of a
person or attaching a person to a wheel and roll him down a hill.
3. Execution by firing: The most common form of execution during World War
II whereby a firing squad is called and then the accused person is tied to a
pole and then fired upon.
4. Guillotining: Another common form of execution seen in the French
Revolution. Dr. Joseph Guillotine was the person who invented this method
whereby the accused person’s head was placed in a round hole on a
wooden block and a blade is dropped cutting the person’s head.
5. Gas chambers: The most common form of execution seen in Nazi Germany
whereby the enemies of Adolf Hitler were sent to concentration camps.
They were sent to chambers where toxic gas is to be released killing the
people.
6. Hanging by neck till death: 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. 

Crimes Punishable by Death in India:

1. Aggravated Murder: Murder is punishable by death under Article 302 of
the Penal Code, and in Bacchan Singh v. State of Punjab, India's Supreme
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Court held that the death penalty was constitutional only when applied as
an exceptional penalty in” the rarest of the rare” cases.
2. Other Offenses Resulting in Death: According to the Penal Code, if any
member of a group commits murder in the course of committing an armed
robbery, all members of the group can be sentenced to death. Kidnapping
for ransom in which the victim is killed is punishable by the death penalty.
Being a member of an association or promoting an association while
committing any act using unlicensed firearms or explosives that results in
death, is punishable by death.  Engaging in organized crime, if it results in
death, is punishable by death.  Committing, or assisting another person in
committing sati – the burning or burying alive of widows or women – is also
punishable by the death penalty.  Under the Prevention of Atrocities Act,
bearing false witness in a capital case against a member of a scheduled
caste or tribe, resulting in that person's conviction and execution, carries
the death penalty. Assisting individuals who are under the age of 18,
mentally ill, mentally disabled, or intoxicated in committing suicide is
punishable by the death penalty. 
3. Aggravated Rape: Under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, a
person who in the course of a sexual assault inflicts injury that causes the
victim to die or to be left in a “persistent vegetative state” may be punished
by death. Repeated gang rapes may also be punishable by death. These
changes were imposed after the 2012 gang rape and death of medical
student Jyoti Singh Pandey in New Delhi. Under the Criminal Law
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, the death penalty may be imposed for the
rape of girls under 12 years of age, and the minimum punishment is 20
years in prison, along with a fine. The 2018 Amendment also specifies the
imposition of the death penalty or life imprisonment for the gang rape of a
girl under 12 years old These changes to the criminal law followed the rape
and murder of an eight-year-old girl, Asifa Bano, which triggered a great
deal of political unrest in Jammu and Kashmir State and throughout the
country. 
4. Treason: The act of Waging or attempting to wage war against the
government and assisting officers, soldiers, or members of the Navy, Army,
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or Air Forces in committing mutiny are punishable by the death penalty.

(Article 121 and 136 of the Indian Penal Code,1860)
5. Terrorism-Related Offenses Resulting in Death.
6. Terrorism-Related Offenses Not Resulting in Death.
7. 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.

Does the country have a mandatory death penalty?

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 most heinous offenses (“the rarest of the rare”), illustrate that
application of the death penalty is, while not always predictable, still highly
restricted.

The Categories of Offenders Excluded from the Death Penalty:

1. Individuals 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. 
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2. Pregnant Women: According to a 2009 amendment, a pregnant woman

sentenced to death must be granted clemency. 
3. 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 cannot
be held criminally liable. This could be interpreted to exclude intellectually
disabled persons from the death penalty.
4. 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. 

CONCLUSION
According to me, after analyzing the given arguments for and against capital
punishment, I have reached to the conclusion that the death penalty is morally
right to only an extent. When a criminal commits a grievous crime, they should
go through a punishment which is equal to the crime and it is a necessary
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thought that the worst punishment possible is the death penalty since it does
not only remove a criminal's physical freedom by imprisoning them but it
removes their psychological freedom by withdrawing their choice to live.
Currently, the death penalty is administered as death by hanging which is the
most humane way possible in comparison to earlier methods such as chopping
the head off or the electric chair for electrocuting. Therefore, the argument that
it’s a cruel system and is invalid since in present ways, torture is avoided and in
the modern day, capital punishment is administered in a humane manner. When
a criminal is humanely killed for his or her crimes, this means that they cannot
re-offend once released from prison, which is highly common, and even if they
are planned not to be released, there is a minor possibility of their escape. This
is incredibly beneficial for society and will increase the confidence of innocent
individuals who may otherwise be afraid to leave their home. Therefore, capital
punishment is better for the majority so more people are happier. Capital
Punishment also warns future criminals and dissuades them from performing
capital crimes and this increased the safety of the public. Some would argue that
Capital Punishment has not seemed to make a difference in the crime rate
however, the fact that it is in place makes the criminal system in a country seem
more severe and would generally deter future criminals. It is also though
hypocritical for the government to murder, as a punishment for murder.
However, the legal system counteracts the immoral actions with a punishment
that matches the horrific crime; and in these circumstances the death penalty is
the only possible match for murder. The fact that the criminal will not learn and
does not have the ability to change his or her ways; but it can be argued that
every human is given one chance at life and their morality is their own choice
which they must pay the price for. To conclude, I believe that capital punishment
is morally right since the society benefits greatly, it is administered in a humane
manner and is the only punishment that levels with the crime.

BIBLIOGRAPY
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 The Ethics of Capital Punishment: A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and

Its Consequences.
 Neither Cruel nor unusual by Frank Carrington.
 Capital Punishment is Too Expensive to Retain.
 The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Crime.
 Does the Death Penalty Save Innocent Lives?