NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to abolish the present practice of executing death sentences by hanging.
A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta reserved the order after hearing submissions from Attorney General R. Venkataramani, the Centre's second-highest law officer; senior advocate Meenakshi Arora appearing for Project 39A; and petitioner-in-person advocate Rishi Malhotra.
During the hearing, Malhotra relied on a Law Commission of India report to support his plea, placing before the court a comparative chart suggesting alternative and reportedly less painful modes of execution.
The Justice Nath-led Bench asked him to place on record a brief note on the report along with relevant case law.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora submitted that Project 39A had made detailed submissions on the alternative of lethal injection, particularly based on experiences from other jurisdictions such as the United States.
"It has been found that it's not really successful," Arora stated, referring to reported complications and failed executions.
"What is your suggestion then?" the Justice Nath-led Bench asked. (IANS)
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