Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking abolition of execution by hanging

On August 18, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the abolition of the practice of executing death row convicts by hanging and replacing it with less painful methods. The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta stated their verdict would not prevent the government from conducting a thorough review of the existing execution method through an expert body.

This review would examine if any alternative method better aligns with the constitutional objective of minimizing unnecessary pain while preserving the dignity of the condemned prisoner. The petition, filed in 2017 by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, requested the removal of the present method of execution by hanging from the statute.

Mr. Malhotra suggested allowing a condemned prisoner the option to choose between hanging or lethal injection as the mode of execution. In March 2023, the court had indicated it could consider setting up a committee of experts to assess whether execution by hanging was proportionate and less painful, requesting more comprehensive data from the government on execution methods.

However, the court emphasized it could not direct the legislature to adopt a specific method of sentencing for condemned convicts. In 2018, the Centre maintained that death by hanging was quick, simple, and devoid of any unnecessary suffering, contrasting this with the lack of perceived painlessness in methods like lethal injections or firing.

The government’s counter affidavit to the petition claimed that hanging was a swift and painless process.