Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Replace Death By Hanging
In India, when someone gets the death penalty, the punishment is carried out by hanging.
A lawyer named Rishi Malhotra asked the Supreme Court to change this.
He said hanging is very painful, cruel and takes about 40 minutes.
He suggested other ways, like lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or a gas chamber, which can finish in about 5 minutes.
The Supreme Court said no to his request.
The judges said choosing how executions are done is mainly for the Parliament and the government to decide, not the court.
But they also said the topic could be looked at again in the future if new scientific proof is found.
The government had earlier said hanging is quick and simple.
So for now, hanging remains the way death sentences are carried out in India.
The Supreme Court of India dismissed a 2017 petition by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra seeking to replace death by hanging with less painful methods such as intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta declined to refer earlier judgments, including the three-judge bench decision in Dina, to a larger bench.
The court said its judgment is not the final word and the issue may be re-examined if compelling scientific, medical or empirical evidence on alternative execution methods is produced.
The petition argued hanging takes about 40 minutes to declare death, while shooting or lethal injection completes the process in about 5 minutes.
The Centre defended hanging in a 2018 affidavit as 'quick, simple', but during an October 15, 2025 hearing the apex court expressed displeasure that the government was unwilling to change the practice.
- Who
- A Supreme Court of India bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta; petitioner senior advocate Rishi Malhotra; and the Central government represented by Attorney General R Venkataramani.
- What
- The Court dismissed a petition seeking to replace hanging with less painful execution methods such as intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber, while leaving the Centre free to review the existing method through an expert body.
- When
- The verdict was delivered on a Tuesday; the petition was filed in 2017 and the bench reserved judgment on January 22, 2026.
- Where
- New Delhi, at the Supreme Court of India.
- Why
- The petition argued hanging is extremely painful, inhuman and cruel, but the Court declined to refer the matter to a larger bench while leaving the door open for future reconsideration if compelling scientific, medical or empirical evidence is produced.
Petition and Reform Advocates
Central Government and Current Practice
Hanging: cruel or quick?
Petition and Reform Advocates
Hanging is extremely painful, inhuman, cruel and barbaric, taking about 40 minutes to declare death and causing prolonged suffering.
Central Government and Current Practice
Hanging is 'quick, simple' and free from anything that would 'unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner'; other modes like lethal injections and firing are not less painful.
Alternative execution methods
Petition and Reform Advocates
Lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber can cause death within minutes (about 5 minutes) and should replace hanging, with condemned prisoners given a choice of method.
Central Government and Current Practice
In a 2018 affidavit, the Centre said other modes of execution, like lethal injections and firing, were not less painful than hanging.
Who decides the method?
Petition and Reform Advocates
The court should change the outdated procedure because the government is not willing to change the practice.
Central Government and Current Practice
The court cannot direct the legislature to adopt a particular mode of execution; the Centre remains free to review the method through an expert body.
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Bench
- Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta
- Petitioner
- Senior advocate Rishi Malhotra (petition filed in 2017)
- Proposed alternatives
- Intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, gas chamber
- Legal provisions in question
- Section 354(5) of the CrPC / Section 393(5) of the BNSS
- Centre's stance (2018)
- Hanging is 'quick, simple' and other methods are not less painful
- Time claim in petition
- About 40 minutes to declare death by hanging vs about 5 minutes via shooting or lethal injection
- Judgment reserved
- January 22, 2026
Sources
Hanging stays for death-row convicts: SC rejects ‘more dignified’ execution plea, Centre free to review
SC Dismisses Plea Seeking Abolition of Execution by Hanging
Supreme Court dismisses plea to abolish hanging as death penalty execution method - Telegraph India
Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Replace Death By Hanging With 'Less Painful' Methods