Death Penalty: Supreme Court asks government whether death by hanging is most suitable, painless method; moots formation of expert committee

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday suggested the formation of an expert committee to examine whether death by hanging is the most suitable and painless method to implement death penalty..A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha also asked Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani to furnish details on whether there is any data or study undertaken regarding the impact and pain caused during death by hanging and whether it is the most suitable method available today."Mr. AG, come back to us and we should have better data before us on the impact of death by hanging, pain caused and the period taken for such death to take place, availability of resources to effectuate such hanging by death. And is today's science suggesting that this is best method today or is there another method which is more suitable to uphold human dignity," the Court said.If the government has not undertaken such a study, then the Supreme Court suggested that it can form a committee to conduct a study into the same."If Central government has not done this study, then we can form a committee which can have experts from national law universities like NLU Delhi, Bangalore or Hyderabad, some doctors from AIIMS, distinguished people across the country and some scientific experts," the Court stated. We may still come to the conclusion that death by hanging is appropriate but we need to be aided by a study, the bench added.The top court was hearing a plea field by advocate Rishi Malhotra to do away with death by hanging and to instead adopt alternative methods like injection or electrocution which he claimed are comparatively painless. The plea said the Law Commission in its 187th Report had noted that there was a significant increase in the number of countries that abolished hanging and substituted it by electrocution, shooting or lethal injection.“It had categorically opined that hanging is undoubtedly accompanied by intense physical torture and pain,” the plea said..Malhotra, appearing in-person, argued that the process in India of hanging till death is absolutely cruel and inhumane.Justice Narasimha said that there should be dignity in death and it should be as painless as possible and hanging seemed to satisfy the same."Hanging seems to satisfy both these conditions... Does lethal injection satisfy on this count. Union government also says in USA, it was found that with lethal injection, death is not immediate," he said."Have you looked at anecdotal incidents of lethal injection? If it is a heavy weight patient, the patient struggles to die," CJI Chandrachud weighed in."No process is fool proof.. we have to compare it with hanging," said Malhotra."In US, there is strong evidence about the pain caused by lethal injection. I do a lot of reading on this side," said the CJI."There are hardly hangman available and for a hanging in Delhi, such a hangman is called from Calcutta, Mumbai etc," Malhotra said.The Court eventually posted the case for further consideration on May 2 while asking the AG to furnish details about death by hanging method."We have to see if this method satisfies the test of proportionality or whether there is another method which can be adopted so that death by hanging can be declared unconstitutional," the bench remarked..[Read order]