Law panel wants 'gradual' stop to death penalty except in terror cases

NEW DELHI: Shying away from a blanket ban on death penalty the Law Commission is likely to recommend "gradual" abolition in all cases, except terror-related ones, as practiced in countries like the United Kingdom.

Following extensive consultations, the panel has proposed that heinous crimes be meted out harsher punishments ranging from 30-60 years as practiced in states like Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The panel headed by Justice A P Shah will submit its report to the Supreme Court and law ministry on Monday. Observing that the issue of national security was sensitive, the commission is likely to leave the decision of capital punishment for terror convicts to the government.

India is among the few countries that continue to practice death penalty. However, several SC judgments have described the sentencing system as "subjective, arbitrary and judge-centric".

A top source said the commission's recommendation may ask the government to consider complete moratorium on death penalty on heinous offences where the penalty could be for the entire natural life of a convict. The commission revised its third draft on Friday and has sent it to the members for final comments.

On the issue of death penalty on terror offences, the commission, after a wider consultation, has come to a conclusion that it is for the legislature to decide whether it wants to retain death penalty for terror offences as it involves sensitive issue of national security.

The government, however, is not in support of complete ban on the death penalty and the final report of the Law Commission may find dissent notes from the two secretaries of the law ministry, the legislative secretary and the law secretary, who are ex-officio members of the panel on death penalty.

The law panel seems to have argued strongly for adopting the UK approach which had "gradually" abolished death penalty. The UK had first reduced the number of crimes which invited death penalty. In 1998, it abolished capital punishment for treason and piracy with violence, and finally, in 1999 the British government formally abolished death penalty for all crimes.

Citing observations from the American courts and recommendations from the Justice J S Verma committee, the law panel is believed to have argued against retaining death penalty even for rarest of rare crimes as it is a "regressive step" and in no way acts as deterrent on serious crimes like rape.

Justice Verma panel, constituted after the brutal gang rape of a young woman in Delhi in December 2012, had suggested categorizing punishment for sexual offences into two: term punishment and life imprisonment. The latter had separate provision for enhanced imprisonment.