-The Times of India   The Supreme Court on Wednesday took exception to the delay in getting information relating to pending mercy pleas by condemned prisoners before the President and the governors and asked the Centre and states concerned to provide details about such pendency within three days. Expressing anguish over the casual approach of the governments, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyay said this was the final...

-PTI Expressing concern over delay by the Centre and state governments in deciding mercy pleas of prisoners on death row, the Supreme Court today sought from them the records of all such cases. A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyay said the home secretaries of all the states would send the records of all cases of mercy pleas to states within three days to the Centre, which would...

-PTI President Pratibha Patil , seems to be the most merciful of all presidents during the last three decades. She has commuted death sentences of 23 petitioners to life imprisonment, which is over 90% of the total pardons granted since 1981. On February 9, she accepted the clemency petition of Sushil Murmu, pending since 2004, who was convicted for giving 'bali' (sacrifice) of a nineyear-old-boy in Jharkhand for his own prosperity,...

-The Indian Express   Expressing concern over delay by the Centre and state governments in deciding mercy pleas of prisoners on death row, the Supreme Court today sought from them the records of all such cases. A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyay said the home secretaries of all the states would send the records of all cases of mercy pleas to states within three days to the Centre,...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court last week ruled as unconstitutional the mandatory imposition of the death penalty under the Arms Act in view of the absence of judicial review. The verdict is a reiteration of current jurisprudence that for criminal offences, life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence the exception. The impugned section 27 (3) of the Arms Act stipulates capital punishment for offences that may result in the loss...