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
- APRIL 24, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
India abstained from the resolution on the death penalty...
India abstained from the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva
- MARCH 25, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Sikh body Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee...
The Sikh body Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) called upon the Federal government to abolish the death penalty saying it would raise India's image in the eyes of the world
- MARCH 25, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Chris Pond, MP for Gravesham, threw his support behind...
Chris Pond, MP for Gravesham, threw his support behind the Sikh community by writing to Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam urging him to take Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller off death row
- MARCH 11, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Indian national Arun Abraham, sentenced to death by...
Indian national Arun Abraham, sentenced to death by Qatar's Sharia court for killing his Indian colleague, was executed by firing squad in Doha's central prison
- MARCH 4, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International said that if Portugal extradited...
Amnesty International said that if Portugal extradited Indian gangster Abu Salem, who is accused of masterminding bombings in Bombay that killed nearly 300 people, it would violate the Portuguese constitution
- FEBRUARY 26, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Eight Indian Muslims, including four who had been sentenced...
Eight Indian Muslims, including four who had been sentenced to death, were acquitted over the 1997 killing of a policeman that had led to deadly communal riots in southern India
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Dharam Deva Yadav, an Indian national, was sentenced...
Dharam Deva Yadav, an Indian national, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering New Zealand backpacker Diana Routley, 24, in August, 1997
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand Justice Minister Phil Goff said that the...
New Zealand Justice Minister Phil Goff said that the Government does not support the death penalty but that it is for India's justice system to decide what sentence to pass on Diana Routley's killer
- FEBRUARY 22, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Chandrasekar, 46, was sentenced to death by a fast...
Chandrasekar, 46, was sentenced to death by a fast track court after being convicted of beheaded his son, Shanmugam, with a hacksaw on September 3, 2001, following a quarrel over the latter's inability to find a job
- FEBRUARY 15, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A man reportedly named as 'Munesh' was sentenced to...
A man reportedly named as 'Munesh' was sentenced to death by a Special Sessions Court in Bulandsahar, India, for the rape and murder of a minor girl
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last...
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last ditch effort to save Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey from a death sentence for importing heroin into Indonesia
- FEBRUARY 11, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
China has executed 81 Tibetan political prisoners in...
China has executed 81 Tibetan political prisoners in the past 16 years and another 208 Tibetans are in detention awaiting the same fate, a human rights group said