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
- AUGUST 25, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. 5,000 RALLY FOR ALLEGED INDIAN SPY FACING DEATH IN PAKISTAN
nearly 5,000 people held a rally as shops and businesses shut down in the home town of Sarabjeet Singh, an Indian facing death by hanging in Pakistan, demanding clemency and his immediate return home. In New Delhi, India's External Affairs Minister Natwar
- AUGUST 23, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. INDIAN LEADER TO QUESTION PAKISTAN'S MUSHARRAF ABOUT CONDEMNED ‘SPY’
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he would speak to Pakistan's president about Sarabjit Singh, an alleged Indian spy handed the death sentence in Pakistan.
- AUGUST 22, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. INDIAN FAMILY THREATENS SUICIDE IF ‘SPY’ IS EXECUTED
relatives of Manjit Singh, an Indian man sentenced to hang in Pakistan for spying, threatened to kill themselves if the execution was carried out.
- AUGUST 10, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. CITU LEADER SENTENCED TO DEATH
the Contai fast track court in East Midnapore, India, sentenced to death a prominent Citu leader, Purnendu Patra, and sentenced CPI-Ms Nilpur local committee secretary, Rabindra Jana, to life rigorous imprisonment.
- AUGUST 8, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. KASHMIR SHUTS DOWN TO DEMAND LIFTING OF DEATH SENTENCE
a one-day strike seeking the lifting of a death sentence on Mohammed Afzal, a man convicted over a deadly 2001 raid on India's parliament, paralysed much of Indian Kashmir, residents said. Most schools, shops, post offices and banks remained closed in the
- AUGUST 4, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING CLASSMATE
a court in Vijayawada awarded the death sentence to Yelchuri Manohar, convicted of killing his classmate Ravuri Srilakshmi with a butcher's knife in a classroom in their college.
AUGUST 4, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA. DEATH FOR PARLIAMENT RAIDER
the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence handed to Mohammed Afzal for involvement in a deadly attack on parliament by Muslim militants four years ago.
- JULY 27, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
HIGH COURT CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY FOR FIVE IN MURDER CASE
the Kerala High Court confirmed the death sentences handed down by to five people for December 31, 1999 murder of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (Indian Popular Youth Front ) State vice-president, K. T. Jayakrishnan.
JULY 25, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. INDIAN BEHEADED FOR KILLING COMPATRIOT
Soper Amani Rafi, an Indian national, was beheaded by the sword in the Saudi capital Riyadh after being convicted of killing a compatriot, the country’s interior ministry announced.
- JULY 7, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the District and Sessions Court in Chitradurga, sentenced to death Siddaruda, 30, after convicting him of brutally murdering an engineer of the Zilla Panchayat sub-division.
- JULY 7, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DOUBLE MURDER CASE
Panney Lal was sentenced to death by a court while his father Indrasan and mother Anari Devi were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the case of two women murdered following a dispute over a drain at Samaysthan village, Badhalganj, on
- JUNE 21, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. FILM ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENTWITHDRAWN FROM CINEMA IN WEST BENGAL
a film, which questions the West Bengal government's stand on the hanging of rape and murder convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee in August 2004, was withdrawn from a state-run theatre with its director alleging that this was done at the behest of the chief minis