This topic is of utmost importance for the UPSC exam as it features in the news regularly. It comes under the polity and governance section, although it also has ramifications on social issues and societal development. Read on for more on the arguments against the death penalty for the IAS exam.

Why the Death Penalty should be Abolished?

• The Law Commission of India has taken a notable step by proclaiming that the abolition of capital punishment must become an objective for the country. It has suggested, as a small starting step, the scrapping of the death penalty for all crimes except terrorism-related offences and those that amount to waging war against the state.
• As per the report, extensive research has proved that the role of the death penalty as a form of deterrence is a myth. The ‘rarest of the rare’ phrase was also explained as being arbitrary and subject to the judge ascertaining a case. In this reference, it points out to the Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab (1980) case. This does not make it sustainable constitutionally.
• The report has tried to steer the debate on this issue to the level that the objection to the death penalty is an objection only to the taking of lives and not to the idea of punishment as such. Retributive justice is important but it must not stoop down to the level of vengeance, it reported.
• It is looking for a return to the ideas of restorative and reformative justice and suggested a change in the tone in a manner that would make victims feel that capital punishment is not the best or the sole form of punishment.
• Most importantly, it has kept the capital punishment in the context of the country’s flawed criminal justice system, stating that safeguards like right to appeal as well as mercy petitions don’t offer a foolproof protection from the miscarriage of justice when considering the irregular and flawed relief application.
• However, it seems that the commission could have gone even further. It has created an artificial distinction insofar as the terror cases are concerned despite acknowledging that there is no penological justification in it. Thus, it has created an unjust heirarchy of justice and crime.
• The Commission notes that the death penalty is not a deterrent even for a terrorist. Some of the most shocking instances of miscarriage of justice that it cites as an indictment of India’s criminal justice system is related to terrorism-related cases; the 2002 Akshardham temple attack case, for example, in which the death penalty was imposed by the trial court and confirmed by the High Court, was based on what the highest court of the land later ruled was entirely concocted evidence.
• Another concern is that capital punishment affects the economically weaker and the marginalized sections of society more. 93.5 percent of the people on death row in terrorism cases is Dalits or those from the religious minorities.
• The government and the principal opposition are unlikely to support such an abolition at this point. It can only be hoped Parliament will complete the good work the Law Commission has begun.

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The above details would help candidates preparing for UPSC 2021

Aspirants can find complete information about upcoming Government Exams through the linked article. UPSC exam-related preparation materials will be found through the links given below.