Supreme Court says capital punishment can be awarded only when life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed; commutes death sentence in Uttarakhand double murder case to 25 years without remission. The Supreme Court recently observed that capital punishment can be awarded only when the alternative of life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed. Court explained that while deciding whether a convict deserves the death penalty, judges must carefully balance aggravating and mitigating circumstances, taking into account not only the nature of the crime but also the background of the offender, prior antecedents, socio-economic circumstances, and the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation.
Striving for a World without Capital Punishment