News Excerpt:

At the end of 2023, 120 death sentences were imposed by trial courts and 561 prisoners were living under a death sentence in India, according to the Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report, published by Project 39A.

Background:

• The Death Penalty India Report (DPIR) was launched on 6 May 2016 and contains the findings of the Death Penalty Research Project (DPRP) which was conceived in June 2013, with an aim to address the glaring absence of empirical research on the death penalty in India. 

• The DPIR is divided into two volumes: 

• The first volume of the report contains quantitative information regarding the number of prisoners sentenced to death in India, the average duration they spend on death row, the nature of crimes, their socio-economic background and details of their legal representation. 
• The second volume contains narratives of the prisoners on their experiences in police custody, through the trial and appeal process, incarceration on death row and impact on their families.

Key highlight of the 2023 report:                                                                                  

• It is the eighth edition.
• It revealed that in 2023, trial courts across the country imposed 120 death sentences with the highest number of sentences from Uttar Pradesh i.e. 33 followed by 12 in Jharkhand and 11 each in Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh and 10 in West Bengal.
• This marks the largest death row population in nearly two decades. 
  • Only one death sentence was confirmed in 2023, making it the year with the lowest rate of death sentence confirmations by the appellate courts since 2000. 
  • The year 2023 also witnesses a 45.71% increase in the death row population since 2015.
• The report noted that the rate of disposal of death penalty confirmation proceedings at the high court in 2023 had seen a decrease of 15% in prisoners since the previous year.
• This year marked the highest number of prisoners sent to death row in nearly 20 years, with 561 prisoners living on death row at the end of the year.

• Uttar Pradesh had the largest death row population at 119 prisoners. 
• The highest number of trial courts death sentences in 2023 was imposed in murder cases involving sexual offences, which is 64 (53.33%) out of 120 death sentences. 
• The rate of disposal of death penalty confirmation proceedings at the high court in 2023 had seen a decrease of 15% in prisoners since the previous year.
• From the 57 cases decided by the High Courts involving 80 prisoners, 1 prisoner had their death sentence confirmed and 36 prisoners saw their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment. 
• 36 prisoners were acquitted of all charges and 5 had their cases sent back for re-trial to trial courts due to procedural errors concerning examination of witnesses and fair trial violations in the original trials.
• The Supreme Court did not confirm any death sentences in 2023 while deciding 10 cases involving 11 prisoners and acquitted 6 prisoners who were on death row, criticizing the quality of evidence and police investigation.
• The President of India rejected one mercy petition in March 2023 in a case of kidnapping, rape and murder of a minor in 2008. There are a total of 488 death row prisoners awaiting judgment from the high courts.
• 541 and 490 inmates were on death row at the end of 2022 and 2021, respectively, and 167 and 146 death sentences were awarded in 2022 and 2021.

Conclusion:

The Death Penalty Research Project is an attempt to answer questions concerning the socio-economic profile of prisoners sentenced to death in India along with enquiring into how they are sentenced to death. Through personal interviews with prisoners and their families, the aim was to focus on aspects of the death penalty that have received very little attention in India and explore new fronts for discussion beyond the analysis of Supreme Court judgments.