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
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 3 GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF FOUR-YEAR-OLD SHIMLA BOY
In a historic judgment, the District and Sessions Court, Shimla on September 5, 2018 sentenced all three convicts, Chander Sharma, Tajender and Vikrant, to death in the sensational murder of four-year-old Yug.
SEPTEMBER 10, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: TWO GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR 2007 HYDERABAD TWIN BLASTS
A special court in Hyderabad sentenced two convicts to death and a third to life sentence for the 2007 Hyderabad twin bomb blasts which had claimed 42 lives.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: ASSAM TEEN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR GANG RAPE, MURDER
A teenager was sentenced to death by a court in central Assam’s Nagaon for the gang rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl five months ago.
AUGUST 31, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING MINOR
A POCSO court in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district sentenced a 23-year-old man to death for raping a three-year-old girl at Dabri Dheer village
- AUGUST 6, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: PARLIAMENT PASSES CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2018, DEATH PENALTY FOR CHILD RAPE CONVICTS
The Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 with the Rajya Sabha clearing it by a voice vote.
- AUGUST 1, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: ONE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER
A court in Assam pronounced death sentence to one person and life imprisonment to another for their involvement in the brutal rape and murder of a school teacher last year.
- JULY 26, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: YOUTH GETS DEATH SENTENCE AFTER QUICK TRIAL IN MINOR’S RAPE AND MURDER CASE
A 25-year-old youth was awarded a death sentence in Madhya Pradesh for raping and killing a six-year-old girl
JULY 24, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: HC SETS ASIDE DEATH SENTENCE, ACQUITS CONVICT OF ALL CHARGES
The Madras High Court set aside the conviction as well as death sentence imposed by a trial court on 24-year-old P. Manikandan
- JULY 21, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
RAJASTHAN: 19-YEAR-OLD GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPING INFANT IN ALWAR
A special court in Alwar sentenced a 19-year-old to death for raping a seven-month-old child in Rajasthan’s Laxmangarh area.
- JULY 17, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: PUNJAB & HARYANA HC CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY FOR HARYANA WOMEN & HER LOVER
The Punjab and Haryana High Court confirmed the death sentence awarded to a Haryana woman and her boyfriend for poisoning and strangulating seven members of her family, including four children, in September 2009.
- JULY 9, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES OVER 2012 DELHI GANG RAPE
India's Supreme Court upheld death sentences for three men over the infamous gang-rape and murder of a woman in New Delhi in 2012 that sparked national protests and soul-searching.
- JULY 7, 2018IndiaDEATH PENALTY
MADHYA PRADESH COURT PRONOUNCES DEATH PENALTY TO MAN WHO RAPED 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A man who was accused of raping a nine-year-old girl in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, was convicted for the heinous crime and awarded capital punishment by a Bhopal court.