{"id":81995,"date":"2026-08-20T19:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=81995"},"modified":"2026-08-20T19:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:30:58","slug":"hanging-constitutional-mode-execution-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-08-2026\/hanging-constitutional-mode-execution-india","title":{"rendered":"Hanging as a Constitutional Mode of Execution in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has <strong>upheld the constitutional validity <\/strong>of hanging as a mode of executing a death sentence, holding that the method <strong>does not violate the right to dignity under Article 21.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About \u2018Hanging as a Mode of Execution in India\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hanging has been the principal statutory method of execution in India since the <strong>colonial-era Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The present <strong>Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023<\/strong> provides that a death sentence shall direct that the person <strong>\u2018be hanged by the neck till he is dead\u2019.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The method generally uses a calculated <strong>long drop<\/strong>, intended to cause cervical fracture and rapid loss of consciousness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Its constitutional validity was upheld earlier in <strong>Deena v. Union of India (1983)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional &amp; Legal Aspects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 21<\/strong> guarantees the right to life and personal liberty and requires procedure established by law to be fair and non-arbitrary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab (1996)<\/strong>, the Supreme Court recognised that the <strong>right to life includes the idea of living<\/strong> and, where relevant, dying with dignity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The constitutional question is therefore whether execution can be carried out with <strong>decency, dignity and without unnecessary brutality<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Law Commission\u2019s 187th Report (2003)<\/strong> recommended an alternative method of execution through lethal injection, while recognising the need for further consideration of execution practices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, <strong>Parliament retained hanging under the BNSS<\/strong>, providing legislative continuity to the existing framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recent Supreme Court Decision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court of India found that the scientific material placed before it did not sufficiently displace the reasoning in <em>Deena (1983)<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It noted that alternatives such as lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas or shooting had not been demonstrated to provide a clear constitutional or humanitarian advantage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Court did <strong>not treat the issue as permanently closed<\/strong> and recognised that constitutional interpretation and scientific knowledge can evolve and that fresh evidence could justify reconsideration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related Concerns &amp; Issues<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scientific Reliability:<\/strong> Incorrect calculation of the drop may result in prolonged asphyxiation or, at the other extreme, severe physical injury<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dignity Under Article 21:<\/strong> The State\u2019s obligation to protect dignity does not end at the gallows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Psychological Suffering:<\/strong> Death-row confinement and the anticipation of execution raise separate human-rights concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Colonial Legacy:<\/strong> Retaining a method originating in colonial criminal law raises questions about whether contemporary constitutional values require reform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alternative Methods:<\/strong> The relative reliability, pain and dignity implications of lethal injection and other methods require independent empirical assessment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Death Penalty Itself:<\/strong> The debate also intersects with concerns regarding arbitrariness, proportionality, wrongful convictions and the irreversible nature of capital punishment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Examples of Hanging as a Mode of Execution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hanging has largely declined internationally. It has nevertheless remained legally available or historically used in some jurisdictions, including <strong>Japan, Singapore and certain countries in the Middle East and Asia<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several countries have <strong>abolished capital punishment altogether, <\/strong>reflecting a broader global movement towards restriction or abolition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Commission <strong>updated medical and scientific studies<\/strong> on execution methods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establish transparent, evidence-based <strong>protocols and safeguards<\/strong> to minimise suffering.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Examine the Law Commission\u2019s recommendations and internationally accepted human-rights standards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Periodically review the statutory method in light of <strong>Article 21 and evolving constitutional morality<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen safeguards against wrongful execution and ensure that the death penalty remains subject to the strictest judicial scrutiny.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/supreme-court-hanging-constitutional-death-penalty-10839650\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the constitutional validity of hanging as a mode of executing a death sentence, holding that the method does not violate the right to dignity under Article 21.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nAbout \u2018Hanging as a Mode of Execution in India\u2019<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\n<p>Hanging has been the principal statutory method of execution in India since the colonial-era Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>The present Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 provides that a death sentence shall direct that the person \u2018be hanged by the neck till he is dead\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-08-2026\/hanging-constitutional-mode-execution-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81995"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81997,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81995\/revisions\/81997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}