Constitutional validity confirmed for hanging as death penalty method

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of hanging as a mode of executing a death sentence under Article 21.
• 02The method of execution by hanging was devised in colonial India.
• 03The Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) arguing that hanging violates the right to a dignified death under Article 21.
• 04The Court declined to issue any judicial mandate for replacing hanging with a 'less painful or humane' method of execution.
• 05The ruling holds that hanging is constitutionally valid under Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and dignity.
• 06The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta upheld the constitutionality of hanging in a recent judgment.

Trap alerts

• Most people think the Supreme Court has banned hanging as a mode of execution, but actually it has upheld its constitutional validity under Article 21.
• Most people think hanging is a cruel and barbaric method of execution, but actually the Supreme Court has affirmed its constitutional validity without mandating a change.