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
MAY 23, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: UP COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR KILLING SIX PEOPLE
A court in Uttar Pradesh on 21 May 2020 awarded death sentence to a person in connection with the murder of six members of a family seven years ago over a property dispute.
APRIL 26, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR KIDNAPPING, MURDER OF MINOR COMMUTED
The Supreme Court on 24 April 2020 commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to two men for murdering an eight-year-old son of a dentist couple in Nagpur in 2014 after kidnapping him for ransom.
APRIL 1, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: ONE GETS DEATH, 11 LIFE TERM IN TRIPLE MURDER CASE
A court in Assam on 13 March 2020 sentenced one man to death and sentenced 11 others to life imprisonment for killing three members of a family in Majuli district on suspicion of practising witch-craft in 2012.
MARCH 31, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GUJARAT MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING, KILLING 3-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A court in Rajkot in Gujarat on 17 March 2020 sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in February 2018.
MARCH 20, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: FOUR MEN EXECUTED FOR BRUTAL 2012 DELHI BUS RAPE AND MURDER
India hanged four men on 20 March 2020 who were convicted for the rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi in 2012, in a case that shocked the world and shamed the country over its appalling record for crimes against women.
MARCH 17, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: 3 CONVICTS GET DEATH PENALTY FOR GANG RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR GIRL IN 4-DAY TRIAL
A Jharkhand court on 3 March 2020 sentenced three persons to death for the gangrape and murder of a six-year-old girl, in a judgement that came in less than a month after the crime was committed.
- MARCH 10, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY CITING CONVICT’S MENTAL STATE
The Supreme Court on 5 March 2020 commuted the death sentence of a man who murdered three children aged between eight and four, concluding that he was suffering from “extreme mental disturbance” at the time of the “abominable crime”.
MARCH 2, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GUJARAT HC GIVES DEATH PENALTY TO MAN FOR RAPE & MURDER OF 3-YEAR-OLD
Death Penalty was given to a man by the Gujarat High Court accused of raping and murdering a three-year-old girl in Gujarat’s Surat in 2018, Kolkata Times 24 reported on 27 December 2019.
- FEBRUARY 28, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPE-MURDER OF MINOR GIRL
A court in Maharashtra's Parbhani district on 18 February 2020 awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing a five year-old girl, observing the crime was 'more cruel' than the act of the most dreaded animal.
FEBRUARY 20, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: THREE MEN GET DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING AND MURDERING A DALIT
Winding up the trial in little over a month, a special court in Telangana on 30 January 2020 sentenced three men to death for raping and murdering a Dalit woman last year. The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 26,000 on them.
FEBRUARY 19, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TRIPURA FOR RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR
A district court in Tripura on 13 February 2020 sentenced two people to death for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in December last year.
- FEBRUARY 5, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: TELANGANA COURT AWARDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR THREE IN SAMATHA CASE
The special fast track court in Adilabad convicted the three accused in connection with the sensational Samatha gangrape and murder case and sentenced them to death by hanging on 30 January 2020.
- JANUARY 28, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: CHILD RAPIST SENTENCED TO DEATH
A 23-year-old man in Haryana was on 27 January 2020 sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.
JANUARY 24, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: CONDEMNED PRISONERS CANNOT FIGHT DEATH PENALTY ENDLESSLY (SUPREME COURT)
While hearing a plea to commute the death sentence of two convicts for killing a family of seven, the Supreme Court on 23 January 2020 underlined that the “finality” of death sentence is extremely important and said that condemned prisoners should not be
JANUARY 23, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: MAN AWARDED DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING, KILLING OWN MENTALLY UNSOUND DAUGHTER
A special court in Kota (Rajasthan) awarded death penalty to a 45-year-old man for repeatedly raping and impregnating his 17-year-old mentally unsound daughter before killing her, PTI reported on 21 January 2020.
- JANUARY 13, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF MINOR IN UP
A special POCSO court in Bareilly, in the indian State of Uttar Pradesh, on 9 January 2020 sentenced to death the two accused of rape and murder of a minor in January 2016.
- JANUARY 9, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: NIRBHAYA CONVICTS TO BE HANGED ON 22 JANUARY
Four men sentenced to death for the gang rape and murder of a woman on a New Delhi bus in an attack that sent shockwaves across the world will be hanged on 22 January in Tihar Jail in the national Capital, an Indian court ruled on 7 January 2020.
- JANUARY 1, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Penal Code and by Art. 21 of the Constitution
The death penalty is provided for by the Penal Code and by Art. 21 of the Constitution
- DECEMBER 31, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: 102 DEATH SENTENCES IN 2019
Trial courts in India delivered 102 death sentences in 2019, over 60% fewer than the 162 death sentences passed in 2018.
- DECEMBER 10, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: HC CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY FOR FIVE FROM AHMEDNAGAR FOR KILLING THREE DALIT MEN
The Bombay High Court on 2 December 2019 confirmed the death penalty for five upper caste men convicted of the murder of three Dalit men in Sonai village, Ahmednagar, in 2013 because one of them fell in love with a girl from the upper caste family.
- DECEMBER 6, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SC STAYS EXECUTION OF DEATH PENALTY OF CONVICT IN RAJASTHAN BOMB BLAST CASE
The Supreme Court on 2 December 2019 stayed the execution of death penalty awarded to a convict in the 23-year-old case of bomb blast in a bus at Samleti in Dausa district, in which 14 persons were killed.
NOVEMBER 14, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: GOVT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF BEANT SINGH KILLER TO LIFE
The Union Home Ministry on 12 November 2019 commuted the death sentence of Babbar Khalsa terrorist Balwant Singh Rajoana who was sentenced to death in 2007 for the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.
NOVEMBER 13, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: FOUR GET DEATH PENALTY FOR 2008 RAMPUR ATTACK
Four persons, including two Pakistani nationals were sentenced to death in the Rampur ‘terror’ attack case by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sanjay Kumar Singh on 2nd November 2019.
NOVEMBER 11, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: BOMBAY HC COMMUTES DEATH PENALTY OF TWO YOUNG MEN IN BHANDARA ROBBERY AND MURDER CASE
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on 5 November 2019 commuted death penalty awarded to two young men convicted for robbery and murder of a woman and for injuring her minor son.
- NOVEMBER 8, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SC RECONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY FOR CONVICT
The Supreme Court on 7 November 2019 rejected a plea by one Manoharan — a convict in a double murder case involving a 10-year-old girl and her seven-year-old brother — seeking reconsideration of the top court verdict upholding his death sentence.
- OCTOBER 31, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: HC UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPIST & KILLER OF MINOR
The High Court of Uttarakhand has upheld the death penalty sentence awarded by a lower court to Akhtar Ali who was convicted of raping and murdering a minor at Kathgodam in 2014, the Daily Pioneer reported on 19 October 2019.
OCTOBER 25, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: COURT AWARDS DEATH SENTENCE TO CYANIDE MOHAN
Serial killer Cyanide Mohan, 56, on 24 October 2019 was awarded death sentence for the murder of an anganwadi assistant from Dakshina Kannada in Bengaluru.
- OCTOBER 23, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: BOMBAY HC CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCE TO TRIO WHO RAPED, KILLED TEEN
The Bombay high court (HC) on 17 October 2019 confirmed death penalty for three men from Ahmednagar district who had raped a 16-year-old girl multiple times and tortured her to death in 2014.
- OCTOBER 16, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: SC ADMITS MISTAKE IN AWARDING DEATH SENTENCE, COMMUTES IT TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
More than eight years after awarding death penalty to a man for killing his wife and four kids including 10-month-old baby in Nanded district in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has now found fault in its verdict for coming to the conclusion about the sever
OCTOBER 11, 2019IndiaDEATH PENALTYINDIA: PRESIDENT COMMUTES 20 DEATH SENTENCES IN NINE YEARS
President Ram Nath Kovind commuted death sentences to life imprisonment in at least 20 cases over the past nine years, based on the recommendations received from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), The Hindu reported on 4 October 2019.