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 28, 1999IndiaDEATH 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 on April 28 (1999/61)
- APRIL 14, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On April 14, intellectuals, students and journalists...
On April 14, intellectuals, students and journalists in a meeting convened at Pethiagachi condemned the rape of a teenage girl at Bokaro and demanded that a special court be set up to try the criminals who perpetrated the heinous crime
- APRIL 4, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On April 4, Radical Sikh organizations, reactivated...
On April 4, Radical Sikh organizations, reactivated ever since the Badal-Tohra spilled out in the open, demanded that the 1,000-odd Sikh Tada detainees jailed in the Punjab and elsewhere be released in view of the Khalsa tercentenary celebration
- APRIL 1, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On April 1, a large number of school children in New...
On April 1, a large number of school children in New Delhi took to the streets against the spurt in violence in the capital in the past few months
- APRIL 1, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
In April, the Supreme Court awarded a life term to...
In April, the Supreme Court awarded a life term to Kumudi Lal for raping and murdering a scheduled caste girl in a UP village in 1995
- MARCH 19, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On March 19, in New Delhi, the Supreme Court ordered...
On March 19, in New Delhi, the Supreme Court ordered the death sentence for Dharampal, who was convicted for raping the daughter of his neighbor and while on bail murdered 5 members of the rape victim's family with his brother Nirmal's help in the village
- MARCH 12, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On March 12, the European Parliament examined the report...
On March 12, the European Parliament examined the report by Belgian Liberal Anne Andre-Leonard on strengthening the EU-India partnership
- FEBRUARY 12, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On February 12, the Maharashtra Control of Organized...
On February 12, the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Ordinance, 1999, was signed by President K
- FEBRUARY 1, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
In February, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence...
In February, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of Om Prakash (23), convicted for killing 7 persons with his service self-loading rifle in Haryana in 1990, to a life sentence
- JANUARY 27, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
On January 27, the Maharashtra cabinet passed a resolution...
On January 27, the Maharashtra cabinet passed a resolution supporting the Central Government's proposal to award the death penalty to those convicted of rape
- JANUARY 1, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian legislative system also provides for different...
The Indian legislative system also provides for different levels of appeal, and death sentences are frequently commuted to life imprisonment upon appeal
- JANUARY 1, 1999IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in Bachan...
The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in Bachan Singh v State of Punjab, held that the death sentence as a punishment should be awarded only in the "rarest of rare" cases