Supreme Court upholds hanging as mode of death penalty execution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, dismissed a petition that sought to abolish hanging as the method of executing death sentences and replace it with alternatives such as intravenous lethal injection.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta held that no sufficient case had been made to revisit the constitutional validity of the existing provision.

The petition, filed in 2017 by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, challenged Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, now reflected in Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. That section directs that a person sentenced to death “be hanged by the neck till he is dead.”

Malhotra argued the method involves prolonged pain and suffering and is inconsistent with the constitutional goal of minimising unnecessary pain while preserving the dignity of the condemned prisoner. He also sought at least an option for the prisoner between hanging and lethal injection.

The bench made clear that its dismissal does not prevent the Centre from undertaking a comprehensive review of the existing method through an expert body. Such a review could examine whether an alternative method better serves the objective of minimising unnecessary pain while preserving dignity.

The court also stated that it cannot direct the legislature to adopt a particular mode of sentencing.

In 2018 the Centre had supported hanging, describing it as “quick, simple” and free from anything that would “unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner.” It maintained that other modes were not less painful.

In March 2023 the court had indicated it might consider an expert committee and sought better data from the Centre on the mode of execution. That process did not lead to a change in the statute.

The judgment leaves the legal position unchanged while keeping open the possibility of future policy review by the government or constitutional scrutiny if new scientific or medical evidence emerges.