Death penalty: SC rejects Centre’s plea to lay down victim, society-centric guidelines

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 8, rejected the Centre’s application to lay down victim and society-centric guidelines in heinous crime cases where death penalty was awarded.

The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria.

“We do not find any merit in this MA (miscellaneous application),” the bench said.

The Center moved the application in the top court in January 2020 saying the prevailing guidelines were only accused and convict-centric.

On January 31, 2020, the Apex Court agreed to examine the application and sought responses from various stakeholders on whose plea the apex court in 2014 laid down guidelines related to the execution of death row convicts.

The guidelines were laid down in the Shatrughan Chauhan vs Court of India case in 2014.

The apex court had made it clear in January 2020 that the issue of conviction and sentence related to the Shatrughan Chauhan case would not be changed while dealing with the Centre’s plea.

The Center had argued that the death penalty was awarded in cases that shake the collective conscience of the court.

The top court had said that the 2014 case had attained finality as both the review and curative petitions had already been dismissed.

“There is no time limit for a death row convict to avail of the legal and constitutional remedies available to him. The court must now keep in mind the interest of the victim and the society and keep in mind the guidelines which are over and above the guidelines already laid down for the accused,” the Center had argued.

It had filed the application saying that those convicted of heinous crimes were “taking the judicial process for a ride”.

The Center had urged the top court to set a seven-day deadline for execution of condemned prisoners after issuing black warrants, amid the delay in hanging four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case.

The execution in that case was delayed due to the filing of review, curative and mercy petitions over a period of several months.

Seeking modifications to the directions issued in 2014 in the Shatrughan Chauhan case, the Center had said, “All the guidelines provided… are accused-centric. These guidelines, however, do not take into account the irreparable mental trauma, suffering, turmoil they have caused to their family members and are not intended to be a cogent assurance to the members of the country.”