Capital punishment in India

Death penalty in India
Ministry of Law and Justice
  • Capital Punishment Legislature and functioning in India
CitationSource
Territorial extentAll over India
Enacted byGovernment of India
Summary
The legislation dealing on the subject of capital punishment and its working in Republic of India.
Keywords
Capital punishment, India
Status: In force
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Capital punishment in India is the highest legal penalty for crimes under the country's main substantive penal legislation, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly Indian Penal Code), as well as other laws. Executions are carried out by hanging as the primary method of execution. The method of execution per Section 393(5) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is "Hanging by the neck until dead", and the penalty is imposed only in the 'rarest of cases'.

Currently, there are around 564 prisoners on death row in India. The most recent executions in India took place on 20 March 2020, when four of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case perpetrators were executed at the Tihar Jail in Delhi.