Our publication covers movements in the death row population in India as well as political and legal developments in the administration of the death penalty and the criminal justice system. The statistics is compiled through a combination of processes such as data mining of court websites, media monitoring and Right to Information applications.
The ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics’ attempts to create a comprehensive year-by-year documentation of movements in the death row population in India. The publication tracks important political and legal developments in the administration of the death penalty and the criminal justice system in the year 2018.
Total number of Prisoners on Death Row as on 31st December 2017
Total number of Prisoners on Death Row as on 31st December 2018
The 162 death sentences imposed by trial courts in 2018 is the highest in a calendar year since 2000. The year also witnessed the legislative expansion of the death penalty for non-homicide offences, most prominently for sexual violence against children. However, the Supreme Court moved in the opposite direction, commuting 11 out of the 12 death sentence cases it decided in 2018.
162 death sentences were imposed by trial courts across India this year and made it the highest in the last 19 years.
With 22 death sentences, Madhya Pradesh used the death penalty the most in 2018. This was a dramatic increase (over 4 times) compared to 2017 when 6 persons were sentenced to death in Madhya Pradesh. The government in Madhya Pradesh had consistently pushed for punishing child sexual assault with the death penalty and the 2018 IPC amendments to the IPC introducing the death penalty for the rape of girls below 12 years has been used most in Madhya Pradesh.
Neetika Vishwanath
Neetika Vishwanath
Pritam Raman Giriya
Varsha Sharma
Ananya Agarwal
E. Sarashika