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
- MAY 21, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SEEK AFZAL GURU'S RELEASE
several Indian civil liberties and democratic rights organisations sought the immediate release of Mohammed Afzal Guru, who was falsely implicated in the Indian parliament attack case on December 13, 2001, and awarded capital punishment.
- MAY 18, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: DEATH SENTENCE IN HIGHWAY MURDER CASE
the first accused in the sensational Kanichukulangara highway triple murder case that rocked Kerala in 2005 was sentenced to death
- MAY 16, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SC UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR CHILD MURDER AND RAPE
the Indian Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for the rape and murder of two minors in December 1999 in Satara district of Maharashtra.
MAY 14, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR ACCUSED IN MULTIPLE CAB DRIVER MURDERS
in India, Additional Sessions Judge Balbir Singh awarded the death sentence to a man accused
- MAY 12, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: DEATH SENTENCE OF SIXTH MUMBAI BLAST CONVICT SUSPENDED
the Indian Supreme Court temporarily suspended the capital punishment awarded to a convict for killing 88 people during the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai.
- MAY 7, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: HC UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPE, MURDER
the Orissa High Court in India upheld a death sentence awarded by a lower court and confirmed the conviction terming it as “rarest of the rare” incident.
- MAY 2, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
AMNESTY URGES INDIA TO BAND EXECUTIONS
Rights group Amnesty International urged the Indian government to impose an immediate moratorium on executions and move to abolish the death penalty.
- APRIL 30, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: HC UPHOLDS DEATH TERM TO FATHER FOR MURDERING SONS
the Punjab and Haryana High Court in India upheld the death sentence...
- APRIL 30, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SC RESERVES VERDICT ON SHRADHANANDA'S PLEA AGAINST DEATH SENTENCE
the Indian Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a petition filed by Swami Shradhananda, alias Murli Manohar Mishra, challenging his death sentence handed down for burying his wife alive in 1991.
- APRIL 29, 2008PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: SARABJIT’S EXECUTION PROCEDURALLY DELAYED BY 14-21 DAYS
the execution of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan was procedurally delayed by 14 to 21 days, Dawn News reported.
- APRIL 28, 2008KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: KERALA YOUTH SAVED FROM GALLOWS IN KUWAIT
after months of suspense, Simil, a youth from Kerala, India, who was sentenced to death in Kuwait for inadvertently killing a fellow Indian worker, was pardoned.
- APRIL 27, 2008IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: BENCH COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE
the Madras High Court Bench in India commuted the death sentence imposed on a 25 year old man to life imprisonment.