No death sentences confirmed by Supreme Court for third consecutive year

The Supreme Court of India has not confirmed a azygous decease punishment successful the past 3 years, according to an yearly statistic study connected death penalties successful India published by The Square Circle Clinic, a transgression justness inaugural astatine the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

In fact, successful 2025, the apical tribunal acquitted 10 prisoners who had been connected decease row, the highest fig of specified acquittals successful the past decade.

The report, which examined death punishment trends crossed India implicit the past 10 years, recovered that the Sessions Courts handed down 1,310 decease sentences nationwide betwixt 2016 and 2025. “Despite increasing judicial scepticism astatine higher levels,” the little courts sentenced 128 individuals to decease successful 2025 alone, the study said.

High complaint of acquittals

Of the 1,310 decease sentences, 842 verdicts were handed down by the High Courts, of which 70 — that is, conscionable 8.31% — were confirmed. The High Court acquitted 285 radical connected decease row, portion 411 decease sentences were commuted.

The Supreme Court’s stance has been adjacent much restrictive, with nary decease condemnation confirmed successful the past 3 years. Also, successful cases wherever Sessions Courts imposed decease sentences which were confirmed by the High Courts, not a azygous condemnation has yet been affirmed by the Supreme Court. Of the 37 specified decease sentences which person been decided by the Supreme Court, 15 resulted successful an acquittal and 14 were commuted.

“What is starkly wide from these figures is that errors astatine Sessions Courts are not lone starring to wrongful imposition of decease condemnation but are besides resulting successful wrongful convictions. The precocious complaint of acquittals by the appellate judiciary requires a superior introspection of however Sessions Courts deem a lawsuit worthy of adjacent a conviction,” the study said.

Sentencing guidelines ignored

The study besides showed that India had 574 prisoners — 550 men and 24 women — connected decease enactment arsenic of December 31, 2025. This is the highest fig of persons connected decease enactment since 2016. The mean clip spent connected decease enactment earlier acquittal was implicit 5 years, with immoderate prisoners languishing for astir a decennary earlier being exonerated. However, 138 individuals were besides removed from decease enactment during the twelvemonth done acquittals, commutations, oregon remand orders, underscoring the instability of superior sentencing, it found.

One of the report’s astir alarming findings concerns procedural violations astatine the sentencing stage. Despite wide guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court successful Manoj vs State of Madhya Pradesh, which mandate intelligence evaluations, situation behaviour reports, and mitigation hearings — which were elevated to a just proceedings close request successful Vasanta Sampat Dupare vs Union of India — successful 2025, astir 95% of decease sentences successful 2025 were imposed without compliance. Sentencing hearings were often conducted wrong days of conviction, leaving small scope for meaningful defence representation, the study said.

Another emerging inclination is the increasing usage of beingness imprisonment without remission arsenic an alternate to the decease penalty. While courts presumption it arsenic a mediate ground, the study flags concerns implicit excessively agelong fixed-term sentences — immoderate extending up to 60 years — raising caller questions astir proportionality and rehabilitation.