Our publication covers movements in the death row population in India as well as political and legal developments in the administration of the death penalty and the criminal justice system. The statistics are compiled through a combination of processes such as data mining of court websites, media monitoring and Right to Information applications.
You can access the previous reports as well [2018] [2017] [2016].
The ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics’ attempts to create a comprehensive year-by-year documentation of movements in the death row population in India. The publication tracks important political and legal developments in the administration of the death penalty and the criminal justice system in the year 2019.
Total number of Prisoners on Death Row as on 31st December 2018
Total number of Prisoners on Death Row as on 31st December 2019
162
102
Murder involving sexual offences comprised the majority of death sentences imposed by sessions court, and confirmations of death sentences by the High Court and Supreme Court. The proportion of death sentences for sexual offences by sessions courts has been steadily increasing since 2016.
Out of the 54 cases of sexual offenses for which the death penalty was given in 2019, 40 cases (74.07%) had a victim that was below 12 years of age; making it 39.21% (40 out of 102) of the total number of death sentences.
Proportion of cases of murder with sexual offences at the High Court and Supreme Court (both confirmations and commutations):
The Supreme Court in 2019 pronounced the highest number of decisions (27) in capital cases since 2001, primarily under Former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s tenure and attributed to the listing priority given by him to capital cases. The 27 cases involved 6 confirmations, 17 commutations, 3 acquittals and 2 being remanded for fresh trial.
10 persons were acquitted of all charges in the 3 acquittals, where the Supreme Court highlighted the lackadaisical nature of investigation and malafide prosecution. They had served a maximum of 13 years on death row.
Of the 17 commutations, 8 were eligible for remission after 14 years, 3 of them were sentenced to a fixed term of 25 years, 2 others for 30 years fixed term and 4 persons for imprisonment for natural life with no possible release.
In one remand for de novo trial, the Court observed that a fast-track trial within 13 days essentially meant that the accused had not received a fair trial.
In two cases from 2012 and 2015, the Supreme Court invoked the policy considerations underlying the 2019 POCSO amendments (inapplicable in those cases) to confirm the death sentence.
The POCSO Act was amended in August 2019 to introduce the death penalty for the non-homicide offence of penetrative sexual assault on children.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed amendments to Indian Penal Code introducing the death penalty for rape and sent it for approval of the President under Article 254(2) of the Constitution. This was in response to the outrage following a brutal gangrape and murder in Hyderabad in December 2019.
Gale Andrew
Preeti Pratishruti Dash
Varsha Sharma
Pritam Raman Giriya
Hardik Baid
Supriya Shekher
