On what important issue was the 262nd Law Commission report issued? What were the recommendations and grounds for the same?
The 262nd report of the Law Commission recommended that the death penalty be abolished for all crimes except for terrorism related offences and waging war. The commission came to this conclusion based on the following reasons:
Death Penalty as a Deterrent is a Myth.
Arbitrariness in sentencing in Capital Offences leading to a high number of rejections (more than 95%) of trial court decisions in higher courts.
Geographical Variations in imposition of death penalty: NCRB data points to geographical variations. Compared to the rest of the country, a murder convict in Kerala is about twice as likely to get the death sentence; in Jharkhand is 2.4 times. This number for Gujarat is 2.5 times, for West Bengal 3 times, for Karnataka 3.2 times, for Delhi 6 times.
Existence of social and economic bias.
Recent Political Developments like Tripura Assembly’s resolution and demand from various political parties for the abolition of Death Penalty.
International Developments: At the end of 2014, 98 countries abolished death penalty for all crimes. 7 countries have abolished it for ordinary crimes and 35 countries have abolished it in practice or de facto (executions did not take place). 58 countries have retained the death penalty including India.
The Commission in the 262nd report recommended various provisions for police reforms, witness protection scheme and victim compensation scheme.
