The Penal Law and Capital Punishment

Class Presentation-1

WHAT IS PENAL LAW ?

Enforced by the state in its own name. Impose penalties for their violation. Does not seek to redress private wrongs. Synonymous with criminal law.

e.g.:- Dhananjoy Chatterjee V The State Of West Bengal

WHY DOES THE STATE PUNISH CRIMINALS ?

The theory of RETRIBUTION.- An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The theory of DETERRENCE- Punishment should be strict enough to tell a person-..its not worth committing the crime.

The theory of REFORMATION.

Punish the sin, not the sinner. Every criminal can be reformed ,turned
away from his criminal intent/character, and moulded to become productive and positive member of society

WHAT IS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ?

Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the killing of a person by judicial process for retribution, general deterrence, and reformation. Capital punishment has been practiced in virtually every society, and thus can be considered to be a cultural universal or close to it, excluding those with state religious proscriptions against it.

58 countries maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.

94 countries have abolished it.

10 countries retain it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as in time of war). 35 permit its use for ordinary crimes but not used it for atleast 10yrs and believed to have a policy establish practice of not carrying out executions. 5 countries execute the execute the offenders under the age 18 at the time of the crime committed. 2390 were executed in 25 nations during 2008.

Legend Abolished for all crimes Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Abolished in practice Legal form of punishment
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FORMS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

HANGING- The act or practice of putting a person to death by suspending the body by the neck.

SHOOTING- The method of execution requires all members of the group to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the member who fired the lethal shot.

BEHEADING- Its the separation of the head of a person from his body.

LETHAL INJECTION- Practice of injecting a criminal offender with a fatal dose of drugs for the express process of executing the process.

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Guillotine- The Guillotine was a device used to carry out executions by decapitation.

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Electrocution- is an execution method in which the person being put to death is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. once the person was attached to the chair, various cycles (differing in voltage and duration) of alternating current would be passed through the condemned's body, in order to fatally damage the internal organs (including the brain).

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POISON GAS - The method consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced for execution condemned prisoners.

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STONNING- An organized group throws stones at the convicted individual until the person dies

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Capital Punishment in India

Capital punishment is granted for different crimes, counting murder, initiating a childs suicide, instigating war against the government, rape, acts of terrorism, or a second evidence for drug trafficking. Death penalty is officially permitted though it is to be used in the rarest of rare cases as per the judgment of Supreme Court of India. Amongst the retentionist countries around the world, India has the lowest execution rate with just 55 people executed since independence in 1947. (official figures) Section 302 of IPC. Punishment for murder Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or [imprisonment for life] and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 303 of IPC. Punishment for murder by life-convict Whoever, being under sentence of [imprisonment for life],commits murder, shall be punished with death.

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Special and local laws for Death Penalty

Laws relating to the Armed Forces, for example the Air Force Act 1950, the Army Act 1950 and the Navy Act 1950 and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act 1992 Defence and Internal Security of India Act 1971 Defence of India Act 1971 (s.5) Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act 1987 (s.4(1))

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Prevention) Act, 1985, as amended in 1988 (s.31A)
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987 (TADA) (s.3(2)(i))

Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 (POTA) (s.3(2)(a))

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Special and local laws for Death Penalty (continued)

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (s.3(2)(i))

Explosive Substances Act 1908, as amended in 2001 (s.3(b))

Arms Act 1959 (as amended in 1988), (s.27) Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 (as amended in 2004) (s.16(1)) A number of state laws, including: Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act 1999 (s.3(1)(i)), Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act 2000 (s.3(1)(i)), The Andhra Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act, 2001(s.3(1)(i)), The Arunachal Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act, 2002 (s. 3(1)(i))

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Controversy over the number of executions

Though there is a provision in the Constitution for convicts sentenced to death to face a firing squad, it has never been exercised. Surprisingly, the government has not compiled data on the cases in which convicts were hanged to death. The number of people executed in India since independence in 1947 is a matter of dispute; official government statistics claim that only 55 people had been executed since independence. Dhananjoy Chatterjee was the 55th case. People's Union for Civil Liberties cited information from Appendix 34 of the 1967 Law Commission of India report showing that 1,422 executions took place in 16 Indian states from 1953 to 1963, and some have suggested that the total number of executions since independence may by as high as 4,300.

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Number of executions in 16 states from 1953-63

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Prominent cases of Hanging

Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, was the first person to be hanged in the post-Independence era. Godse was hanged at Ambala Jail on November 15th, 1949 , along with Narayan Apte, the other conspirator.

Sucha Singh who was given the death sentence for killing then Punjab chief minister Pratap Singh Kairon
Ranga and Billa, two notorious criminals, were given the death sentence for killing Geeta Chopra and her younger brother Sanjay Chopra in the early eighties. Satwant Singh, assassin of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, and his co-conspirator Kehar Singh were hanged to death in Tihar Jail in Delhi in the late eighties. The last known prominent case was that of serial killer Auto Shankar, who was hanged in Chennai in 1995.

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Dhananjoy Chatterjee alias Dhana v State of West Bengal & ORS, 2004

Dhananjoy Chatterjee, 39, sentenced to death for raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in Kolkata in 1990, was hanged at dawn of 14 August, 2004 at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata where he had spent the last 13 years in solitary confinement. Dhananjoy Chatterjee was found guilty of offences punishable under Sections 376, 302 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code by judgment dated 12.8.1991 of the IInd Addl. Sessions Judge, Alipore, who sentenced him to death for the main offence punishable under Section 302 IPC. On August 4, the then President APJ Abdul Kalam rejected the mercy petition of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, after consulting Attorney General Milon Banerjee after West Bengal Governor Viren Shah turned down his mercy plea on the grounds that the crime that Chatterjee committed was reprehensible and could not be pardoned.; Earlier, Chatterjees mercy petition had been rejected in 1994 by then President Shankar Dayal

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Some facts about Dhananjoys case

As per his last wish, Dhananjoy was offered sweets and curd. He was also given a new shirt and pyjamas, which he wore to the gallows. As per the execution procedure, the body was kept hanging for 30 minutes, before the doctors formally declared Dhananjoy dead. Dhananjoy's wish to donate his eyes could not be fulfilled because his family's consent was not received.

As per sources Dhananjoy went calmly to the gallows on his birthday with a copy of Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most sacred texts.
Dhananjoy spent a sleepless night before the execution, and refused food.

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Arguments against the verdict

Dhananjoy's lawyers had argued his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence and that DNA testing was not carried out.

Human Right Activists claimed that the crime committed by Dhananjoy was obviously heinous, but death penalty may not act as permanent deterrent for the criminals.
It is not as if Dhananjoy wants to die, but the court, the government and the police are putting him to death. Will hanging him stop rapes? Does State have a right to take someone's life? What if an innocent person is hanged? The killers of Indira Gandhi were hanged, but it failed to stop Rajiv Gandhi from being assassinated.

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Pros & Cons of Capital Punishment: Pros

Deterrence: Proponents of capital punishment believe that fear of death deters people from committing crimes. Prevents Recurrence of Violence: Supporters of capital punishment argue that use of the death penalty could actually reduce the number of violent murders by eliminating some of the repeat offenders. More Humane than Life Imprisonment: It is argued that making the person suffer by rotting in jail for the rest of his life is more inhumane than execution. More Economical than Life Imprisonment: Life imprisonment costs a lot to the tax payers. Apart from the housing and feeding of prisoners, a lot money and time is wasted on numerous appeals by the prisoners.

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Pros & Cons of Capital Punishment: Cons

Violation of Human Rights: The strongest argument against capital punishment is that it violates human rights. Those in favor of abolition of capital punishment believe that it is immoral to take human life. Chance for Reform: Abolitionists argue that the criminals should be given a chance to reform. He/she should be required to compensate the victim's family with his/her own income from employment or community service. By doing so the criminal pays back to the society as also to the victim and/or to the victims family. Doesnt Deter Crime: Abolitionists cite statistics to prove that there is no correlation between the threat of death penalty and the occurrence of violent crime. Miscarriage of Justice: Death penalty is irrevocable and there is every chance of an innocent getting death penalty.

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THANK YOU

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