Which Supreme Court judgment upheld the death penalty but limited it to the "rarest of rare" cases?

Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980). Bachan Singh (1980) upheld the death penalty. It held that death may be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases, and life imprisonment is the rule. Machhi Singh (1983) only built on it with a balance sheet of circumstances. Shatrughan Chauhan dealt with delay in mercy petitions. Manoj dealt with mitigation material. Read more: Death Penalty in India: Rarest of Rare to the 2026 Debate

Law Commission Report No. 262 (2015), chaired by Justice A.P. Shah, recommended abolishing the death penalty for all crimes except which category?

Terrorism-related offences and waging war. Report 262 recommended abolition for all crimes other than terrorism-related offences and waging war. It kept death for these citing national-security concerns. The other options were not the exceptions it kept. Read more: Death Penalty in India: Rarest of Rare to the 2026 Debate

Assertion (A): On 7 October 2026, the Supreme Court deleted Para 13(A) of its Aman Singh v. State of Bihar direction on mitigation reports. Reason (R): The Court found that the duty on trial courts was unworkable because they may lack resources. Which one of the following is correct?

Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A. Para 13(A) (27 April 2026) required trial courts to call for mitigation reports in every death-punishable case. On a NALSA application, the Court deleted it on 7 October 2026. It called the duty unworkable for resource-limited trial courts. The High Court duty remains. Read more: Death Penalty in India: Rarest of Rare to the 2026 Debate

Consider the following statements: 1. 574 people were on death row on 31 December 2025, the highest year-end figure since 2016. 2. Trial courts imposed 128 death sentences in 2025. 3. India's last executions were on 20 March 2020, when the four Nirbhaya convicts were hanged. 4. Amnesty recorded at least 2,707 executions in 2025, including China's confirmed figures. How many of the statements given above are correct?

Only three. Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct. Statement 4 is wrong. Amnesty's figure of at least 2,707 executions in 17 countries excludes China, which keeps its figures secret. Read more: Death Penalty in India: Rarest of Rare to the 2026 Debate

Consider the following statements about mercy petitions in India: 1. Under BNSS Section 472, the petition must be filed within 30 days of the jail superintendent informing the convict that appeals have ended. 2. Article 161 gives Governors a power similar to the President’s power under Article 72. 3. Section 472(7) bars all judicial review of the President’s or Governor’s order. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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