PUCL Statement on Landmark Ruling of the Supreme Court on Commutation of Death Sentence
Tags: mercy petition, death penalty, article 21, criminal justice
Related Issue: Article 21 of the Indian Constitution (Right to Life and Personal Liberty)
PUCL welcomes the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court today (21st January, 2014) authoritatively holding that inordinate delay in considering mercy or commutation petitions of death row convicts by the President of India / Governors will form a legal ground for commutation of the death sentences. The SCs judgment is historic for 2 other reasons: the apex court has held that apart from delay, the mental health condition of the convict, including schizophrenia and mental illness, as also solitary confinement are grounds warranting commutation.
Very significantly the SC has reversed the ruling of 12th April, 2013 of Justices Singhvi and Mukhopadhyaya in `Devinder Singh Bhullar’s’ case which made an invidious distinction by distinguishing terrorist crimes as being different from other crimes for which the constitutional remedies and also delay as ground for commutation will not apply. The Supreme Court has overruled this proposition holding that any person on death row, irrespective of whether it is mass murders or terrorist crimes, can equally appeal to the Supreme Court on grounds of delay.
In a noteworthy and a momentous way the SC, taking note of the controversy over the surreptitious, furtive and unconscionable manner in which Afzal Guru was hanged without informing his wife and family, has now held that the death row convict and his close family should be informed at least 14 days before the execution date about rejection of mercy petition so that he/they can take recourse to legal proceedings and also so that the prisoner can meet his wife, family and friends before the execution, partake of food he likes and be entitled to humane treatment. The court has also held that condemned prisoners are entitled to free legal aid to help draft mercy petitions and legally challenge its rejection. Post mortem of executed prisoners has also now been mandated to ascertain the manner in which hanging caused the death.
This ruling will give a new lease of life to the 4 Veerappan case death row prisoners as also others, and be of use to others including the 3 persons convicted in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case whose mercy petitions were pending for 11 years before being rejected.
The SC’s ruling is a momentous ruling for asserting that human values and humane justice should ultimately be the cornerstones of modern, constitutional India. We hope this will mark a significant step towards eventually abolishing death penalty altogether from our law books.
Prabhakar Sinha, National President, PUCL; Dr. V. Suresh, National General Secretary, PUCL