RISHI MALHOTRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard.

(2.) The instant writ petition in form of a public interest litigation under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been instituted by the petitioner Shri Rishi Malhotra, challenging the constitutional validity of Sec. 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [For short, "CrPC"] (Corresponding to Sec. 393(5) of the Bhartiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 [For short, "BNSS"]) insofar as it prescribes hanging as the sole method of execution. The reliefs sought by the petitioner are as follows:

(3.) Before proceeding to examine the submissions of the parties and the issue of constitutional validity posed for determination, it would be apposite to briefly notice the background in which the present challenge has been laid. The issue raised in the instant petition cannot be viewed in isolation but must be examined within the broader framework of capital punishment jurisprudence and the historical development of the method of its execution. Background