Supreme Court upholds hanging as execution method, leaves door open for review

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation seeking to abolish death by hanging, upholding the constitutional validity of Section 354(5) of the CrPC. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta held that the petitioner failed to make a case to revisit the 1983 Constitution Bench judgment in Deena @ Deena Dayal vs Union of India, which upheld hanging as a valid method.

The court clarified that the dismissal does not bar future constitutional scrutiny if compelling medical or scientific evidence emerges. It also said the Union government remains free to review the method through an expert body. LiveLaw reports the court had earlier asked the Attorney General to explore forming a committee. Hindustan Times notes the government had already constituted a committee at the highest level.

Senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, who filed the PIL, had argued that hanging causes prolonged pain and sought replacement with lethal injection, shooting, or electrocution. The Union opposed this, calling hanging the safest and quickest method and citing botched lethal injections in the US. The petition had been pending since 2017.