Capital Punishment : Rebuttal to the Law Commission of India

Abstract

Capital Punishment or Death Penalty is a well-known term to every individual and the huge cry around the world for the termination or depletion of capital punishment by seconding the Human Right Conventions is a controversial issue in today’s time so as to discuss. Termination of Capital Punishment completely where the heinous and grievous crimes against humanity is increasing day by day is even been supported by the recent report of the Law Commission of India. A new draft report of the law Commission has recommended ending death penalty except in terrorism- related cases. The draft report, circulated among the members, supports doing away with capital punishment but again it raises many questions which are left unanswerable on the same place by the Law Commission of India. The hanging of YakubMemon gives us a good reason to start the debate over the death penalty. I would like to make out a case in favour of retaining the death penalty. The main arguments trotted out in favour of the abolition of capital punishment are these. First, we should not be party to taking precious human life. Second, sentencing someone to death when facts may later prove him or her innocent means irreparable injustice will be done. Third, death is never a deterrent. And, a fourth, that retribution should never be the aim of capital punishment. It is primitive and barbaric to seek death even for the worst crimes. Let researcher here agrees that none of these arguments are invalid but they are not as strong as they appear to be at first glance and a brief discussion will be done in the dissertation to come to a conclusion. On the other hand, considering the theories of punishment under jurisprudence, the researcher faces problem to come to the point as to which theory is been followed in India? The other problem raised by the researcher in the concerned dissertation is to analyze the extend of the intention of the criminals and analyze the punishments as been given in the Legislation