CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -UPSC Mains. Q. Which institution released the ‘Death Penalty in India’ Report? Notes: Death Penalty in India Report was released by the criminal law reforms advocacy group at the National Law University, Delhi- named Project 39A.

Detailed explanation-2: -Following its independence, the Republic of India adopted various colonial-era laws, including the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The IPC imposed six punishments, including the death penalty.

Detailed explanation-3: -According to the report, at the end of 2022, there were 539 prisoners on death row, a 40% increase since 2015. The report attributes this to an increase in the number of death sentences imposed by trial courts and fewer cases being heard in appeal by higher courts.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Death Penalty India Report (DPIR) was launched on 6 May 2016 and contains the findings of the Death Penalty Research Project (DPRP) which was conceived in June 2013, with an aim to address the glaring absence of empirical research on the death penalty in India. The DPIR is divided in two volumes.

Detailed explanation-5: -Currently, there are around 488 prisoners on death row in India. The most recent executions in India took place in March 2020, when four of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder perpetrators were executed at the Tihar Jail in Delhi.