India
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary republic
- CONSTITUTION
- January 26, 1950; amended several times
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law; partial review of legislative acts by the judiciary
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court, judges appointed by the President and serve until 65 years of age
RELIGIONS
80% Hindu; 11% Muslims; 2% Christians; 2% Sikhs; Buddhist minorities and others
From the country
- DECEMBER 8, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. GOVERNMENT: NO DEATH PENALTY TO ABU SALEM
the Indian Government declared that extradited underworld don Abu Salem would not be punished with the death penalty or with a prison term exceeding 25 years, as per the guarantee given to the Portuguese Government prior to extradition.
- DECEMBER 7, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. FTC AWARDS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO MAN IN MURDER CASE
a Fast Track Court in Davangere in India’s Karnataka state, sentenced to death Prakash Yadhav, 35, on charges relating to the murder of a two-year-old girl.
- NOVEMBER 23, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. COURT AWARDS DEATH PENALTY TO LABOURER FOR MURDERING OLD COUPLE
a Sessions Court in Goa, India, sentenced to death Sarvanand Gaoncar after finding him guilty of murdering an elderly couple.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. FOUR PEOPLE HAVE DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED
a division bench of the Kerala High Court, India, commuted into life imprisonment the death penalties of four people accused in the Panniyannur Chandran murder case in 1996.
- NOVEMBER 11, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
India. India will not execute Abu Salem, CBI chief
India agreed not to execute Abu Salem before Portugal extradited him, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Misra said.
- NOVEMBER 10, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. DEATH PENALTY FOR MILITANT
tribal militant Ashok Debbarma alias Achak was sentenced to death by the West Tripura Additional District and Sessions Court, India, for killing 15 Bengalis in Tripura in 1997.
- NOVEMBER 8, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPE, MURDER UPHELD
the Karnataka High Court, India, upheld a lower court order sentencing to death Shiva and Jadeswamy, two villagers from Kollegal, Chamarajnagar district, for raping and murdering an 18-year-old girl. The court had on October 27 upheld a ruling by the Ch
- NOVEMBER 2, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. PUDR GIVES ITS REASON FOR ABOLISHMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY
the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a civil rights body in India which is in the process of gathering information on the number of people executed in the country, said that its opposition to the death penalty was based on three factors.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. LEGISLATURE WILL DECIDE ON DEATH PENALTY: CHIEF JUSTICE
India's new chief justice, Y.K. Sabharwal, sought to distance himself from the debate on the death penalty, saying the legislature would have to take a final call on the issue.
- OCTOBER 31, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. PAKISTANI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR INDIA FORT ATTACK
a Delhi court sentenced to death Mohammad Ashfaq, a Pakistani, over a militant attack at New Delhi's famous 17th Century Red Fort in December 2000.
- OCTOBER 31, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE AND MURDER
the Manjeri Fast Track Court in Malappuram, India, sentenced a man to death after convicting him of raping and murdering a 12-year-old schoolgirl.
- OCTOBER 29, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. UNION LAW MINISTER IN FAVOUR OF DEATH PENALTY, CALLS FOR DEBATE
the Indian government is yet to take a decision on the abolition of the death penalty and is going by the Supreme Court’s guideline that it be awarded in only in the rarest of rare cases, said Union law minister H R Bhardwaj.