The Supreme Court has rejected the petition seeking to replace hanging with other methods of execution of the death penalty, including lethal injection. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the petition. The plea was filed in the Supreme Court to seek alternatives that could cause less pain and protect the dignity of death row convicts. The court also refused to send the three earlier judgements on the issue to a larger bench.
Supreme Court Upholds Hanging For Now
As per the SC judgement, the death by hanging will remain the legal mode of executing condemned prisoners in India. The petitioner, Rishi Malhotra, claimed that hanging is brutal and is incompatible with dignity guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.
He had also challenged Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which provides for hanging as the mode of execution for a death sentence. The petition sought recognition of a dignified death as part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.
What Did The Plea Seek?
The petition proposed several alternatives to hanging. These included lethal injection, shooting, electrocution and the gas chamber. According to the plea, some of these methods could result in death within a few minutes.
The petition also noted that in the case of a hanging, death takes some time. The petition also mentioned that death by hanging takes nearly 40 minutes, while claiming that the same process could take only five minutes in case of firing or lethal injection.
Malhotra also talked about the United Nations resolutions. According to him, wherever the death penalty is awarded, it should be executed in the most humane manner possible.
Centre Can Explore Alternative Execution Methods
While rejecting the petition, the Supreme Court made an important clarification. It said the decision does not permanently close the door on the issue. The matter could be examined again if strong scientific, medical or empirical evidence emerges.
“Before parting, we clarify that the dismissal of the present writ petition must not be understood as foreclosing future constitutional scrutiny should compelling scientific, medical, or empirical evidence emerge…”
The court also said the Central Government is free to form an expert committee to conduct a detailed review of alternative methods of execution. This leaves room for a future change if new evidence shows that another method is less painful or more humane.
Centre Had Earlier Opposed Choice Between Methods
The issue had also come up during earlier hearings in the case. The Centre had told the court that it had constituted a committee to examine the matter.
During a hearing on October 15, 2025, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over the government’s position on changing the existing practice. The possibility of allowing death row convicts to choose between hanging and lethal injection was also discussed.
However, the Centre said in its affidavit that such an option was “not practically feasible”. The court had then questioned the government’s reluctance to reconsider the decades-old method.
The Government Is Not Willing To Change: SC
During the earlier hearing, the bench had orally remarked: “The problem is that the government is not willing to change.” The court had also noted that hanging was a very old procedure and that methods and circumstances had changed over time.
Senior counsel Sonia Mathur, appearing for the Centre, had argued that the issue involved a policy decision. The Supreme Court had concluded the hearing and reserved its verdict on January 22.
For now, the court’s latest decision keeps hanging as India’s method of carrying out the death penalty. But its observations also leave the possibility of a fresh constitutional challenge if compelling scientific evidence on alternative methods becomes available.
Sudeep Singh Rawat is a Copy Editor at NewsX Digital with over five years of experience in digital journalism. He covers national and international news, with a focus on politics, crime, technology, public affairs, and trending topics. Before joining NewsX Digital, he worked with Business Standard, The Sunday Guardian, and other digital media organisations. His reporting focuses on breaking news, enterprise stories, and explainers that inform readers through accurate, balanced, and context-driven journalism.
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