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 10, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian Law Commission said that public opinion...
The Indian Law Commission said that public opinion on the mode of executing prisoners on death row favoured an amendment to the law, which stipulated hanging as the method of execution
- AUGUST 7, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
India's Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of...
India's Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of Ram Pal, a man convicted of murdering 21 people including women and children, to life imprisonment as the murders he committed 17 years ago appeared to have been an act of extreme provocation
- AUGUST 5, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence...
The Indian Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence awarded to four men convicted of killing 15 people at a wedding party in a village in Punjab's Amritsar district in 1991 to avenge their humiliation at the hands of the bridegroom's father
- JULY 10, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Indian Health Minister Sushma...
It was reported that Indian Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said he wanted the death penalty for manufacturers of "spurious drugs"
- JULY 7, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
"The prison department in Jharkhand has a strange problem:...
"The prison department in Jharkhand has a strange problem: The state's jail has 12 men who have been sentenced to death, but no hangman to execute these sentences," the Hindustan Times reported
- JULY 4, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta...
It was reported that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court sought views from colleagues on ways to execute people in a less painful manner
- JULY 3, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court changed...
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court changed the life sentence of Sardar Khan to a death sentence for murdering his wife in 1997
- JUNE 27, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Additional district judge L S Pavshe sentenced to death...
Additional district judge L S Pavshe sentenced to death Shivaji Alhat, 45, a former schoolteacher, for raping and murdering 10-year-old Hemalata Nanavre of Junnar, in Pune district, on January 14, 2002
- JUNE 23, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
A district court in India sentenced to death Surendrapal...
A district court in India sentenced to death Surendrapal Shivpal, who was arrested on charges of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in September 2002
- JUNE 16, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Sixth additional district and sessions judge, Ashoke...
Sixth additional district and sessions judge, Ashoke Kumar Chand sentenced to death Hani Mian, Suresh Sao and Hiraman Sao, three Maoist Communist Centre activists responsible for the 2001 "Beltu massacre" which killed 14 people
- JUNE 6, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Gaya additional district and sessions court in Bihar,...
Gaya additional district and sessions court in Bihar, India, sentenced eight people to death and six to life imprisonment for the mass killing of lower caste Hindus in 1988
- MAY 23, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Raghuwar Dayal was sentenced to death for raping and...
Raghuwar Dayal was sentenced to death for raping and strangling to death a woman named Kalawati