-The Hindu Hundred and nine civilian deaths occurred due to police firing in 2011, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Disproportionate use of force during demonstrations caused many deaths and at least 100 deaths were caused due to excessive use of force against demonstrators in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010. According to the NHRC, 2,560 deaths during encounters with police were reported between 1993 and 2008. Of this, 1,224 cases...
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A tale of two verdicts
-The Hindu The Supreme Court's verdict last week quashing the President's rejection of a mercy petition by Mahendra Nath Das, who was to hang for a gruesome murder, shows a salutary approach to the question of whether a prolonged delay in disposing pleas for clemency should not be a ground for commuting Death sentences to life terms. The court took note of the 12-year delay prior to the rejection of Das's...
More »Between life and death, the crucial difference -V Venkatesan
-The Hindu Had the court known that Pratibha Patil was not told of the dissent in the Bhullar case, the outcome of his appeal might have been similar to that of Das's plea The Supreme Court, in the course of just one month, has rendered two judgments that appear to be contradictory. As both the judgments have been rendered by the same Bench, comprising two judges, they need to be studied...
More »Spies of Punjab, ‘shown steps of gold’-Chander Suta Dogra
-The Hindu Chandigarh: For one Sarabjit Singh, whose death brought politicians to his funeral and financial assistance for his family, the Punjab countryside is dotted with scores of men knocking on the doors of courts seeking compensation for the years many of them spent in Pakistani jails, and recognition of their services as spies for India. Neither the government nor his family has ever acknowledged that Sarabjit - who died this week...
More »Mahendra Nath Das’s mercy plea: Why SC commuted his Death sentence -Dhananjay Mahapatra
-The Times of India Revealing the casual manner in which mercy petitions are dealt with, the Supreme Court found that former President APJ Abdul Kalam's 2005 note favouring commutation of Mahendra Nath Das's death penalty to life term was never placed before his successor Pratibha Patil, who rejected Das's mercy plea in 2011. This and the 12-year delay in deciding Das's mercy plea were cited by a bench of Justices G S...
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