SC dismisses plea challenging hanging as method of death penalty execution

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking the removal of hanging as a mode of carrying out the death penalty.

The Court, however, left the door open for the issue to be reconsidered in the future if credible medical or scientific evidence establishes that the existing method warrants constitutional review.

The bench also clarified that its ruling would not come in the way of the union government setting up an expert panel to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the execution procedure and consider whether an alternative method could reduce pain and suffering while upholding the constitutional requirement of dignity.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta delivered the verdict on a PIL challenging Section 354(5) of the CrPC, which mandates execution of the death penalty by hanging.

The plea, filed by Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra, sought to replace hanging with methods such as lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber, arguing that hanging causes prolonged pain and suffering. (UNI)