CASE ANALYSIS: BACHAN SINGH V. STATE OF PUNJAB AIR 1980 SC 898

Abstract

One of the most hotly debated topics of criminal law is the death penalty/capital punishment. While the death penalty has been abolished in the majority of countries throughout the world, it remains legal in India. The Indian legislature and judiciary continue to believe that death punishment is justified in some instances. Murder, rape, terrorism, offences under defence laws, and narcotics offences under certain conditions can all result in the death penalty in India. The case in question has become a hot topic in terms of the death penalty. Many legislative initiatives were undertaken after the Constitution to address the practicality and legality of death punishment. In 1973, the Criminal Procedure Code was amended, requiring "special reasons" for the imposition of a death sentence, based on the recommendations of the 35th Law Commission Report. "However, taking into account the conditions in India, the diversity of social upbringing of its inhabitants, the disparity in the level of morality and education in the country, the vastness of its area, the diversity of its population, and the paramount need for maintaining law and order in the country at this juncture," the Law Commission of India stated in its 35th report.