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 27, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah said he would...
Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah said he would challenge the death penalty awarded to the three convicted in the Parliament attack case
- DECEMBER 25, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A group of women widowed in the anti-Sikh riots of...
A group of women widowed in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 protested the acquittal of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar the riots case and demanded a probe into the carnage in which more than 2,700 people were killed in the capital
- DECEMBER 25, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Referring to the four death sentences issued on December...
Referring to the four death sentences issued on December 23 for the murder of a traffic constable, the journalist Rasheeda Bhagat wrote "There is a point of view that the judgement is too harsh and the evidence there too is quite flimsy
- DECEMBER 23, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Following a detailed study on the issue, Justice P...
Following a detailed study on the issue, Justice P N Bhagwati was reported as saying that in India only the poor were sent to the gallows
- DECEMBER 23, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Four activists of the banned group, Al-Umma, were sentenced...
Four activists of the banned group, Al-Umma, were sentenced to death and four others to life imprisonment by the second fast track court judge, R
- DECEMBER 21, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman V
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman V
- DECEMBER 20, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International expressed its dismay at the death...
Amnesty International expressed its dismay at the death sentences handed down to Mohammad Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and Abdul Rehman Geelani for the Parliament attack, stating that the course of justice was "not served by judicial murder
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Shops and businesses were closed in Kashmir's main...
Shops and businesses were closed in Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, in protest against death sentences awarded to three Kashmiri men convicted for an attack on India's parliament
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Kashmiri separatists were planning...
It was reported that Kashmiri separatists were planning protests against the death sentences awarded to three Kashmiris convicted for the Parliament attack case
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Thirty people, including lawyers and separatist leaders,...
Thirty people, including lawyers and separatist leaders, were taken into preventive custody as violent demonstrations marked day-long demonstrations staged by the Kashmir Bar Association to protest the death sentence issued to the Parliament attack case c
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Praveen Togadia, secretary-general of the Vishwa Hindu...
Praveen Togadia, secretary-general of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad welcomed the death sentence awarded to three of the four accused in the Parliament attack case, saying that to control "jehadi" terrorism, it was imperative that capital punishment be handed
- DECEMBER 19, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistan-based militants promised to step up attacks...
Pakistan-based militants promised to step up attacks in Indian Kashmir to protest the death sentences handed to Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru on December 18 for their part in a deadly attack on the Indian Parliament