SC Asks Government for Painless Method of Execution Rather than Hanging

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday said that the Center should consider if there is any painless alternative to hanging as a method of execution.

The Supreme Court requested to start a discussion and gather information to see if there is a method that is less painful than hanging by the neck. R. Venkataramani, Attorney General, was asked to report back to the court on any study on the effects of hanging.

The Court said, "Mr. AG, come back to us and we should have better data before us on the impact of death by hanging, pain caused and the period taken for such death to take place, availability of resources to effectuate such hanging by death. And is today's science suggesting that this is best method today or is there another method which is more suitable to uphold human dignity.”

The Supreme Court indicated that the government can establish a committee to carry out a similar investigation if it has not already done so.

"If Centre has not done this study, then we can form a committee which can have experts from two national law universities like NLU Delhi, Bangalore or Hyderabad, some doctors from AIIMS, distinguished people across the country and some scientific experts," the Court stated.

As it heard a petition requesting a "painless end for death convicts," the court indicated that it was open to forming a panel of experts to examine the issue. Moreover, rather than hanging, the petition suggests shooting, lethal injection, or the electric chair.                             

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