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
- JANUARY 31, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Tibetan protestors, who were arrested on January 30...
Tibetan protestors, who were arrested on January 30 in New Delhi while holding a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy against the execution of Tibetan monk Lobsang Dhondup [on January 26 in China], went on a hunger strike inside Tihar jail, the Tibet
- JANUARY 29, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Seven people were sentenced to death and an equal number...
Seven people were sentenced to death and an equal number given life imprisonment by a sessions court in India for setting ablaze a bus which killed six persons in 1998 following a dispute over money
- JANUARY 24, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Indian Deputy Prime Minister L
Indian Deputy Prime Minister L
- JANUARY 16, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Tika Ram, a citizen of Nepal, was sentenced to death...
Tika Ram, a citizen of Nepal, was sentenced to death for murdering five members of a family in India in 1996
- JANUARY 10, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Patna High Court commuted the death sentence awarded...
The Patna High Court commuted the death sentence awarded to Arnit Das, a murder case convict, to life imprisonment
- JANUARY 9, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian Federal Cabinet approved its Government's...
The Indian Federal Cabinet approved its Government's decision to give a sovereign assurance to Portugal that Abu Salem, wanted in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts, would not be given capital punishment if he is extradited to India
- JANUARY 8, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
An Indian sessions court in Tuticorin sentenced three...
An Indian sessions court in Tuticorin sentenced three brothers to death for hacking to death five of their relatives after a quarrel in 2001
- JANUARY 6, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Former Chief Justice of India B N Kirpal favours stringent...
Former Chief Justice of India B N Kirpal favours stringent punishments like life sentences for rapists but is against the death sentence for them
- 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