On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, India’s Supreme Court voiced its concern over the government’s apparent resistance to progress, especially after the Centre suggested that offering death row convicts a choice of lethal injection as an execution method might not be “very feasible.”
The observation came during a hearing by a Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. The case involved a petition to eliminate hanging as the statutory method of execution for condemned prisoners.
Senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, who filed the original petition, argued that death row convicts should at least have the option to choose between hanging and lethal injection for their execution.
Malhotra emphasized that lethal injection is a superior method, citing its adoption by 49 of the 50 U.S. states.
He further contended that lethal injection provides a swift, humane, and dignified execution, contrasting it with hanging, which he described as cruel and barbaric due to the prolonged suffering of the body on the rope, often for up to 40 minutes.
Justice Mehta then advised the Centre’s counsel to convey Malhotra’s proposal—that death row convicts be given an execution method choice—to the government for consideration.
In response, the Centre’s counsel reiterated that their counter-affidavit already addressed this, stating that providing such an option might not be “very feasible.”
Justice Mehta countered, remarking that “the problem is that the government is not ready to evolve over the period of time… Things have changed over a period of time.”
The government’s lawyer clarified that the counter-affidavit categorized this as a policy decision, leaving it to the government’s discretion.
The counsel also referenced the Supreme Court’s order from May 2023 regarding this very issue.
In that earlier order, the bench acknowledged Attorney General R. Venkataramani’s statement that the government was contemplating forming a committee to examine the concerns brought up in the petition.
The Centre’s counsel confirmed they would seek updated instructions from the government regarding the status of the proposed committee.
The Bench has scheduled the next hearing for November 11.
Earlier, in March 2023, the apex court had indicated that it might establish an expert committee to assess whether hanging as an execution method for death row convicts is proportionate and causes less pain. It had also requested “better data” from the Centre on various aspects of execution methods.
However, the Bench had clarified that it does not possess the authority to compel the legislature to adopt a specific method for executing condemned convicts.
Malhotra originally filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2017. His plea sought to abolish the current practice of hanging death row convicts, advocating instead for less painful alternatives like “intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber.”
Back in 2018, the Centre had vigorously defended the legal provision mandating hanging for death row convicts, informing the bench that other methods such as lethal injection and firing were not necessarily less painful.
The counter-affidavit, submitted by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, asserted that death by hanging is “quick, simple” and avoids anything that would “unnecessarily sharpen the poignancy of the prisoner.”
This affidavit was a direct response to the PIL, which itself cited the Law Commission’s 187th Report, a document that recommended removing the current execution method from legal statutes.