Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Vikram Nath’s career trajectory and influential judgments
Justice Vikram Nath, a fourth-generation legal luminary and sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of India, joined the legal profession in 1987.
Death sentence
SC Refuses Review of Hanging as Method of Execution; Keeps Future Challenge Open
The Supreme Court declined to reconsider the constitutional validity of hanging as the method of execution for death sentences in India. The
“Not a single instance of a botched execution in India”: SC declines to refer Deena’s ‘Hanging-Method’ ruling to Larger Bench for reconsideration
A three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Deena v. Union of India, (1983) 4 SCC 645, specifically analysed and evaluated comparative merits of different methods of execution of death sentence and upheld the constitutional validity of hanging as mode of execution of death penalty.
Know Thy Judge | From Courtroom to Coram: Exploring Justice P.S. Narasimha’s journey to the Supreme Court
Appointed directly from the Bar as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice P.S. Narasimha’s tenure as an advocate and as a Judge boasts of several landmark cases.
‘Offence was not pre-meditated’; Allahabad HC commutes death sentence to life imprisonment of man who raped and killed his 5-month-old cousin
The Court reiterated that though in a rape and murder case based on circumstantial evidence, the death penalty can be awarded in the ‘rarest of rare’, normally imprisonment for life without any remission may be awarded, unless a death sentence is inevitable.
2024 Student Protestors Crackdown: Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death
A Bangladesh Tribunal on 17-11-2025, gave death penalty to the ousted PM as well as former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. Sheikh Hasina also got a life sentence under charges for crimes against humanity.
Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Joymalya Bagchi’s stellar career and notable judgments
Justice Joymalya Bagchi formerly serving as Judge of Calcutta High Court was appointed to the Supreme Court on 10-3-2025 and is in line to become the CJI in 2031.
Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Vikram Nath’s career trajectory and influential judgments
Justice Vikram Nath, a fourth-generation legal luminary and sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of India, joined the legal profession in 1987.
Whether Art. 32 of the Constitution empowers reconsideration of death sentence that has attained finality? Supreme Court answers
In a significant decision, a 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court explored the contours of Article 32 of the Constitution to answer whether death sentence which has attained finality, can be revisited at all?
All accused persons in 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts acquitted: Inside Bombay HC ruling
“Creating a false appearance of having solved a case by presenting that the accused had been brought to justice gave a misleading sense of resolution. This deceptive closure undermined public trust and falsely reassured society, while in reality, the true threat remained at large.”
Calcutta HC commutes death sentence of man convicted for raping and killing a minor girl
“Admittedly, none of the witnesses examined on behalf of the prosecution has claimed to have seen the convict committing the murder of the victim. The case is entirely based upon circumstantial evidence.”
Accused can’t said to be “brutal” though “barbaric”; MP High Court commutes death sentence to 25 yrs imprisonment in 4-yr-old minor rape case
While the crime was heinous and against a child, the Court noted that although the act was “barbaric”, it could not be termed “brutal” in the sense that it required capital punishment.
Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha
Appointed directly from the Bar as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice P.S. Narasimha’s tenure as an advocate and as a Judge boasts of several landmark cases.
Know Thy Newly Appointed Supreme Court Judge: Justice Joymalya Bagchi
Justice Joymalya Bagchi formerly serving as Judge of Calcutta High Court was appointed to the Supreme Court on 10-3-2025 and is in line to become the CJI in 2031.
‘Undue delay in issuing execution warrant for death penalty violates convicts right under Art. 21’; SC issues directions to tackle delays
“Article 21 of the Constitution does not end with the pronouncement of the sentence but extends to the execution stage of that sentence. An inordinate delay in the execution of the sentence of death has a dehumanising effect on the accused. An inordinate delay caused by circumstances beyond the prisoners’ control mandates the commutation of a death sentence.”
NRJ Series | When SC commuted death sentence to transportation for life after finding High Court’s confirmation to be based on subjective feelings and not positive evidence [(1954) 2 SCC 227]
This report covers the Supreme Court’s Never Reported Judgment, on commutation of sentence, dating back to the year 1954.
Criminal Law Roundup | A quick recap of top criminal law cases from October 2024
Read about the significant criminal law matters heard and decided by the Supreme Court and High Courts in October 2024
Know why Supreme Court decided to acquit and quash death sentence of 2012 Pune Triple Murder accused
The accused was arrested in 2012 on the suspicion of murdering his wife, mother and 2-year-old daughter. In 2016, the Trial Court convicted him and imposed death penalty which was confirmed by Bombay High Court
Supreme Court commutes death sentence of father convicted for murdering his pregnant daughter over inter-caste marriage
The Court affirmed the father’s conviction but converted the death penalty to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment without remission considering several mitigating factors favouring the accused.
‘Act quite close to cannibalism’; Bombay HC confirms death sentence of a man who killed, intended to eat his mother
The present case is the most brutal, barbaric, and gruesome murder of a 60-year-old mother by her son on 28-08-2017 at Makadwala Vasahat, Kolhapur, where her body parts, i.e., liver, intestine, heart, rib and breast were eviscerated outside