New Delhi: In a major legal reform, the Law Commission has recommended abolition of death penalty for all crimes other than terrorism related offences and waging war.
The commission headed by Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi and Madras High Courts, in its 262nd report said the award of death penalty has become “judge centric” resulting in arbitrariness. There is inconsistency and arbitrariness in the clemency powers exercised by the President or Governors in commuting death sentence to life term.
The report said that although there was no valid justification for treating terrorism differently from other crimes, “concern is often raised that abolition of death penalty for terrorism related offences and waging war, will affect national security. However, given the concerns raised by the law makers, the commission does not see any reason to wait any longer to take the first step towards abolition of the death penalty for all offences other than terrorism related offences.”
The 242-page report said, “Retribution has an important role to play in punishment. It cannot be reduced to vengeance. The notion of an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth has no place” in India.
