India
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The Indian legislative system also provides for different...
- News items in the archive
- 1,856
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
India is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 1,856 news items on India, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: NIA COURT AWARDS DEATH PENALTY TO TWO ISIS-LINKED MEN WHO MURDERED RETIRED SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IN UP
An NIA Special Court in Lucknow on September 14, 2023 awarded death penalty to Atif Muzaffar and Mohammed Faisal Khan who were held guilty of murdering retired school principal Ram Babu Shukla in Kanpur with the motive of advancing their ISIS agenda by in
AUGUST 7, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF TWO-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A court in Gujarat’s Surat city on August 2, 2023 awarded death sentence to a 23-year-old man for the rape and murder of a two-year-old girl in February.
JUNE 29, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING, KILLING 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN UP’S AURAIYA
A local court on June 28, 2023 awarded the death sentence to a man for raping and killing an eight-year-old girl in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh in March this year.
JUNE 27, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: DELHI HIGH COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN CONVICTED FOR KIDNAPPING, MURDER OF 12-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOUR
The Delhi High Court on June 26, 2023 commuted the death sentence awarded earlier to a man convicted of kidnapping and murdering a 12-year-old child in the year 2009.
JUNE 13, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: KARNATAKA HC CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCE TO MAN WHO KILLED FIVE INCLUDING THREE OF HIS MINOR CHILDREN
The man who killed five people including three minor children has been given a death sentence by a division bench of the Dharwad Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, Outlook India reported on June 10, 2023.
JUNE 7, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 2 BUNDI MEN ON DEATH ROW FOR RAPE, MURDER ACQUITTED BY HC
Two men who were found guilty and sentenced to death by a POCSO court last year for the gang-rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Bundi district in 2021 were acquitted on June 2, 2023 by Rajasthan High Court.
JUNE 1, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MATHURA COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR BOY IN 15-DAY TRIAL
A special court in Mathura, dealing with cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on May 29, 2023 sentenced a man to death for raping and killing a 9-year-old boy.
- MAY 14, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: THREE MEN GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF JABALPUR COUPLE
A court in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur has sentenced three men to death for killing a couple living next door in the city in 2021, terming the offence as "rarest of the rare".
- MAY 3, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: 82-YEAR-OLD GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR 2008 'MASS MURDERS' IN RAJASTHAN'S DHOLPUR
An SC/ST court in Dholpur district on April 25, 2023 sentenced an 82- year-old man in a 15-year-old case of shooting four MGNREGS workers to death.
MAY 2, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF MAN WHO KILLED SISTER AND HER LOVER
India’s Supreme Court on April 28, 2023 commuted the death sentence of a man to life sentence, namely Digambar who murdered his sister along with her lover.
- APRIL 17, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAHARASHTRA MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 5 FAMILY MEMBERS
A court in Maharashtra's Nagpur on April 15, 2023 sentenced a man to death for killing five members of his family over a property dispute.
APRIL 12, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: BIHAR GANGSTER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR COURT BLAST
A court in Bihar's Arrah on April 5, 2023 sentenced dreaded gangster Lambu Sharma to death for the 2019 bomb explosion in the district court that killed two people, including the woman tasked with planting it.
MARCH 29, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 4 MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2008 JAIPUR SERIAL BLASTS ACQUITTED BY HIGH COURT
The Rajasthan high court on 29 March 2023 acquitted four men sentenced to death by a trial court for nine blasts that went off in Jaipur in May 2008, killing 71 people and injuring over 170.
- MARCH 28, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT RELEASES DEATH ROW PRISONER AFTER 28 YEARS ON FINDING HIM TO BE A JUVENILE AT THE TIME OF OFFENCE
The Supreme Court on 27 March 2023 released a death row convict upon finding that even though he was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence he was tried as an adult and was sentenced to death.
- MARCH 22, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY OF SUNDARRAJAN WHO MURDERED 7-YEAR-OLD BOY
The Supreme Court on March 21, 2023 commuted the death sentence of a man, who had kidnapped and killed a seven-year-old boy in Tamil Nadu in 2009, to 20-year imprisonment, saying there was “possibility of reformation” even though he has committed a ghastl
MARCH 14, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: SEVEN RAPE CONVICTS GOT DEATH PENALTIES WITHIN 100 DAYS IN SURAT, SAYS GUJARAT HOME MINISTER
Within 100 days, seven persons have been given death penalty in rape cases in Surat, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told the state legislature on 11 March 2023.
MARCH 1, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: COURT AWARDS DEATH PENALTY TO 7 IN 2017 BHOPAL-UJJAIN TRAIN BLAST CASE
National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court on 28 February 2023 gave death sentences verdict to seven out of eight convicts in the 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast case.
FEBRUARY 7, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GORAKHNATH TEMPLE ATTACKER SENTENCED TO DEATH IN UP
A special court in Lucknow on 30 January 2023 awarded the death penalty to a man who was booked for waging war against the government after he assaulted a Uttar Pradesh armed police force's jawan at the Gorakhnath temple.
FEBRUARY 1, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: CALCUTTA HIGH COURT COMMUTES THE DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR TWO
The Calcutta High Court on 31 January 2023 commuted the death sentence of two persons, convicted of abduction, rape, and murder of a minor girl at Balagarh in West Bengal's Hooghly district to imprisonment for life without remission till the end of their
JANUARY 31, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF 9-YEAR-OLD
A 22-year-old man was sentenced to death on 30 January 2023 by a special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases in Vapi of Valsad district (Gujarat) for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in February 2020.
JANUARY 30, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 165 SENTENCED TO DEATH IN 2022, HIGHEST IN 2 DECADES
Trial courts in India sentenced 165 people to death in 2022, the highest in a year in the last two decades. This is up from 146 prisoners who were sent to death row in 2021.
JANUARY 30, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GUJARAT MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING THREE FAMILY MEMBERS
A court in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on 25 January 2023 convicted the accused in a 2019 triple murder case - all the victims being members of his family - and sentenced him to death.
- JANUARY 29, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ANDHRA PRADESH FOR RAPE-MURDER OF 7-YR-OLD GIRL
A court in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on 25 January 2023 awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing his relative, a seven-year-old girl in July 2021.
JANUARY 11, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING, KILLING FIVE-YEAR-OLD
A court in Uttar Pradesh on 11 January 2023 awarded a death sentence to a man for raping and killing a five-year-old girl in 2021.
- DECEMBER 21, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING, KILLING WOMAN
A court in Haryana’s Sonipat on 19 December 2021 sentenced two men to death for raping and killing a woman five years ago.
- NOVEMBER 30, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH BY ODISHA COURT FOR RAPING, KILLING 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL
Two persons were sentenced to death by a fast-track court in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on 29 November 2022 for raping and killing an eight-year-old girl.
- NOVEMBER 28, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TRIPURA FOR KILLING FIVE INCLUDING TWO MINOR DAUGHTERS
A Tripura court on 23 November 2022 sentenced a person to death after he was convicted of murdering five persons including his two minor daughters, his brother, another person and a police officer at Ramchandraghat in Khowai district of Agartala a year ag
- NOVEMBER 13, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT ACQUITS 3 MEN ON DEATH ROW FOR DELHI TEEN’S RAPE-MURDER
The Supreme Court of India on 7 November 2022 acquitted three men sentenced to death in the brutal gangrape-cum-murder of a 19-year-old woman in Delhi’s Chhawla in 2012.
- NOVEMBER 10, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY OF RAPE, MURDER CONVICT WHO SPENT 10-YRS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN JAIL
The Supreme Court of India on 4 November 2022 commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for the rape and murder of a widow in 1998, noting he was in solitary confinement in jail for about 10 years.
OCTOBER 19, 2022IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN RAJASTHAN FOR RAPING, KILLING 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A court in Rajasthan’s Pali district on 15 October 2022 awarded death sentence to a man for raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in January, the victim’s counsel said.