-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The fact that our legal system is skewed against the poor and marginalized is well-known. And to that extent, it's only expected that they get harsher punishment than the rich. But here are figures that tell the full story. A first of its kind study, which has analyzed data from interviews with 373 death row convicts over a 15-year period, has found three-fourths of those given...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Convicts can't be hanged secretly and hurriedly: Supreme Court -Amit Anand Choudhary
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Condemned prisoners also have a right to dignity, the Supreme Court has said holding that execution of death sentence cannot be carried out in an arbitrary, hurried and secret manner without allowing death row convicts to exhaust all legal remedies and meet family members. "Right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution does not end with the confirmation of the death sentence. Even in cases...
More »Justice as a game of chance
-The Hindu The quality of mercy, Shakespeare would be disappointed to learn, seems highly strained in India. If Maganlal Barela, a convict on death row in Jabalpur Central Jail, is still alive, he has a newspaper report that broke the story of his imminent hanging to thank for the temporary reprieve. Barela was sentenced to death in 2011 by the Madhya Pradesh High Court for murdering his five infant daughters,...
More »Home ministry draws CIC’s flak for lack of records on President mercy plea since '70 -Himanshi Dhawan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has rapped the ministry of home affairs after the latter admitted that it did not have data on mercy petitions considered by the President since 1970. The Commission has asked the ministry to disclose the information within four weeks in larger public interest. The order came in response to an application by an under trial lodged in Agra's Central Jail. In...
More »Death penalty is inhuman, should be abolished: CPI(M)
-The Hindu The Communist Party of India (Marxist) described death penalty as "inhuman" and said death penalty should be abolished in the country as it is "arbitrarily implemented" and advocated imprisonment till death in rarest of the rare cases. A decision on the party's position was taken at a two-day Central Committee meeting of the CPI(M) that concluded here on Sunday. Talking to reporters here on Monday, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said...
More »