NEW DELHI: The Law Commission of India has recommended the abolition of death penalty in all cases exceptthose with charges of terrorism and waging war against the state.
In its report submitted to the government, the panel held that capital punishment was constitutionally unsustainable as the ‘rarest of rare’ principle, applied in death penalty cases cannot be operated without the element of arbitrariness.
Six members of the law commission, including Justice AP Shah, have signed the report. Three members – Justice (Retd) Usha Mehra, Law Secretary and the Secy, Legislative Department gave dissent notes.
The panel has suggested that the abolition of death penalty be done in a phased manner.India is among 60-odd countries in the world where courts still award capital punishment.
The Commission’s recommendations come amid a raging debate on the issue of death penalty that was stoked by the hanging of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon in July.