The Central government has recently submitted a petition to the Supreme Court, calling for a seven-day limit for death row convicts to submit a mercy plea. This petition targets amendments to a ruling made in 2014 during the case of Shatrughan Chauhan versus the Union of India and others. This verdict outlined the process and regulations to be followed in cases of death row prisoners. The catalyst for this move is the numerous pleas made by convicts in the infamous 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case, which have resulted in the postponement of their execution.
Additional Demands
The petition extends beyond this solitary demand. It also advocates for time constraints on the filing of curative and review petitions for those on death row. Additionally, it stipulates that it should be compulsory to issue a death warrant for a convict within seven days of his mercy plea’s rejection by the appropriate courts, State governments, or prison authorities.
It further insists upon the execution of the death sentence no later than seven days post the release of a convict’s death warrant. This would hold true regardless of the stage of review petition, curative petition, or the mercy plea of any co-convicts.
Background
There have been cases where the death sentence has not been executed because co-convicts, either intentionally or inadvertently, opt to file a review, curative, or mercy petition one after the other. This often happens even at a late stage, which consequently delays the execution of the sentence for other co-convicts whose mercy plea has already been rejected.
The current guidelines for carrying out the death penalty are predominantly “convict-centric” as opposed to “victim-centric”. These guidelines do not consider the irreversible psychological distress experienced by victims and their families, and neglect the collective conscience of the nation.
As time has progressed, it has been noticed that the convicts of severe crimes exploit Article 21 (Right to life) to prolong the legal proceedings and, as a result, delay death sentences.
| Key Facts |
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| Filed by: Central Government |
| Petition Target: Amendment to 2014 Ruling |
| Time Limit Sought: 7 days for Mercy Plea |
| Mandatory Death Warrant Issue: Post 7 days of Mercy Plea rejection |
| Execution Timeframe: Within 7 days post Death Warrant issuance |
