-The Indian Express The debate on the death penalty in India has gained new momentum, and the European Union (EU) is following the discussions with great interest. Under the visionary and far-sighted leadership of thinkers and politicians, Europe has come a long way from being the continent where the guillotine was invented and where Death sentences were common under the dictatorships of the first half of the 20th century, to become,...

-The Hindustan Times The tempest of public anger and revulsion against violent attacks on women in the nation's capital must catalyse long-delayed changes in laws and their implementation for a more secure and humane world for girls and women to grow up in. The students and young people who faced water cannons and tear gas shells are right in settling for nothing less. High on the list of reforms demanded - and which...

-DNA Social networking sites are abuzz with the cry of death penalty for the accused of the Delhi gang rape case. However, the major sections applied in the case, which include 376 (2) (G) (gang rape), 377 (unnatural sex), 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) read with 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, will attract a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for the accused. The sessions court,...

-The Indian Express In what could give a legal validation to severe punishments in cases with grave “social consequences”, the Supreme Court has ruled that “punishment should acknowledge the sanctity of human life” and hence not just an act but its result must weigh heavy while ascertaining adequate penalty. Sending across a strong message to all trial courts to take note of the impact of a crime on the society and its...

-The Hindu Supreme Court ruling gives the benefit of the doubt to accused The Supreme Court judgment, in the case of Sangeet v. State of Haryana, delivered on November 20 could make the government give the benefit of the doubt to 14 death-row convicts including Afzal Guru, whose mercy petitions have been turned over to it by the President for fresh advice. The one mercy petition presently pending with President Pranab Mukherjee, after...