Abstract

This paper delves into the legal, ethical and critical dilemma of death penalties in India, portraying its necessity in several cases (‘rarest of the rare’) while also accounting for arbitrary misuse and rigorous, stringent policies to keep them in check with the help of critically analyzing the provisions and through examination of landmark judgements of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab and Chandra Mohan Tiwari V. State of MP and provisions like section 354 of the CrPC. This paper aims to explore the aspect of the appeal process and the hurdles faced by the convicts. Moreover it also analyses the impact such procedures and decisions have not just on the families and immediate close relations of the convict but on the society at large. Over the years, there have been several indisputable passing of death penalties passed by the trial court. Hence, Through this paper I wish to tackle not just the issue of arbitrary issuance of penalties but also the tardy and excruciating appeal process to counter. One needs to be mindful and understand the gravity of the punishment and the kind of precedent it sets on the society and this paper formulates it by talking about the nirbhaya case and the timeline of the evolving jurisprudence surrounding death penalties.

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