Politics
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Supreme Court keeps hanging as the method of execution
The Hindu··18 Aug
The Supreme Court on 18 August dismissed a 2017 petition by Rishi Malhotra seeking to replace hanging with lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or a gas chamber. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta declined to send the 1983 Deena decision to a larger bench. Section 354(5) CrPC, now Section 393(5) BNSS, still provides for hanging till death.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you follow death-penalty procedure, hanging till death remains the statutory method after the 18 August dismissal.
- Anyone tracking law reform can note the court left the Centre free to set up an expert review of alternatives.
- If new medical evidence appears, the bench said the constitutional question can be examined again.
What's Happening
- On 18 August 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed a PIL seeking to abolish hanging as the mode of execution.
- Justices Nath and Mehta declined to refer the Deena ruling to a larger bench.
- The court said the Centre may still review alternatives through an expert body.
Which Statute Still Names Hanging Till Death
- Section 354(5) CrPC, replaced by Section 393(5) BNSS, states that a person sentenced to death shall be hanged by the neck until dead.
- A three-judge bench in Deena v. Union of India (1983) had upheld that method.
- The Law Commission's 187th Report had earlier discussed removing hanging from the statute; the 2017 PIL relied on that report.
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