Most death penalty cases in 2022 involved sexual offences, highest number of death row prisoners since 2016: Report

In 2020, majority of the cases for which death penalty was imposed involved sexual offences, revealed a report by Project39A, a collective that works on death penalty cases in India. .A total of 52 persons were given the death penalty in 41 cases of sexual offences - the highest among all categories - comprising 51% cases for which the death sentence was awarded in 2022. The report also showed that 57 persons were given capital punishment in 26 murder cases..The report recorded a gradual increase in death penalty cases involving sexual offences from 2016, when 27 persons were sentenced to death in 24 cases.At the end of 2022, there were 539 prisoners on death row, the highest since the report was first published in 2016. "This increase can be attributed to the large number of death sentences imposed by trial courts and the accompanying low rate of disposal of death penalty cases by appellate courts. In the year 2022, High Courts across India decided 68 matters, while the Supreme Court decided 11 matters this year," the report stated..Another key finding showed that 165 death penalties were awarded by trial courts, with those in Gujarat awarding the highest number of capital punishments (51), followed by 32 capital punishments given by courts in Uttar Pradesh and 17 by courts in Jharkhand..A Sessions Court in Ahmedabad sentenced 38 persons to death in one case for their involvement in a series of bomb blasts in Ahmedabad in 2008. This is the highest number of persons sentenced to death in a single case since 2016..In Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court had commuted to life imprisonment the sentence of three death row convicts while issuing detailed guidelines for collection and consideration of the status of mental health of prisoners before imposition of death penalty.The report found that at the trial courts, one such evaluation was called for in 24 cases, whereas two evaluations were sought in 2 out of 53 death sentences post the apex court'sverdict on May 20, 2022..Acquittals, Commutations and Confirmations.According to the report, High Courts commuted the death penalties of 51 death row prisoners, and confirmed 4 capital punishments in 2022. In 19 cases, the High Courts acquitted 40 persons on death row..The Patna High Court acquitted 23 death row prisoners, making it the highest number of acquittals among all High Courts.The death penalties, on the other hand, were commuted to various prison sentences. There were 39 such cases where 51 persons were sentenced to various jail sentences after their capital punishment was commuted. .In 2022, the Supreme Court acquitted 5 persons on death row while commuting the punishment of 7 death row prisoners with varying jail sentences. .Supreme Court acquittal verdicts noted the abysmal investigative processes, lack of fair investigation, and the lack of consideration of procedural failures by the Sessions courts in these cases..The apex court, however, confirmed the death penalty of two prisoners — one prisoner involved in a terror case and the other accused of sexual offences. In a post mercy litigation, there was one commutation by the apex court.The report underlined that in the 5 cases where the death sentence of severn prisoners was commuted, the apex court emphasised the probability of reform of the prisoner. “The court repeatedly found that the Sessions Courts had imposed the death penalty despite evidence suggesting the probability of reform or the lack of material on record to prove its improbability,” the report added..In Part I of Bar & Bench’s series on death penalty, Dr Anup Surendranath, Executive Director at Project39A and Professor at National Law University, Delhi, had underscored that every death sentence that is not confirmed was a strategic victory to show that the Supreme Court was less inclined to impose the death penalty..International abolitions.The report has cited abolition of death penalty by several nations across the globe. While Papua New Guinea, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea have abolished the death penalty, Zambia and Malaysia have initiated the process to abolish it. At the end of 2022, 113 countries had abolished the death penalty, whereas 125 countries voted in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty at the United Nations General Assembly on December 15, 2022, with India voting against the same, the report stated..Way forward.The report outlined a “historic shift” in death penalty jurisprudence, with a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reconsidering the sentencing process for the first time since Bachan Singh in 1980. In Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh, guidelines were laid down emphasising on the importance of collection and presentation of mitigating circumstances at the trial court stage, with the focus on reform. The Court had also underlined the duty of the State to present evidence concerning the same..[Read Report].Death Penalty Series Part II: Stories from the frontlines.Death Penalty Series Part III: From hell to heaven