Death Penalty in India: A Decade of High Acquittals and Systemic Gaps
A comprehensive study spanning ten years of death penalty data in India has uncovered a stark disparity between trial court convictions and appellate court decisions. Conducted by the Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group affiliated with NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, the report highlights a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions" at the trial level, as evidenced by high acquittal rates in higher courts.
Key Findings from the Report
Between 2016 and 2025, trial courts across India sentenced 1,310 individuals to death. However, only 70 of these sentences were confirmed by High Courts, a figure described as "staggeringly low" in the report. Of these 70 cases, the Supreme Court decided 38 and upheld none, further emphasizing the trend of overturning death penalties.
As of December 31, 2025, there were 574 people on death row, marking the largest number since 2016. This increase occurs despite appellate courts consistently overturning or commuting most death sentences imposed at the trial stage.
Acquittal Rates and Judicial Trends
In 2025 alone, sessions courts sentenced 128 people to death in 94 cases. Yet, High Courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in more than 25% of cases, while the Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in over 50% of cases it heard (10 out of 19). This represents the highest number of acquittals since 2016.
Over the past decade, 364 individuals sentenced to death were later acquitted by appellate courts. The data shows that High Courts acquitted nearly four times as many persons from death row as they confirmed between 2016 and 2025. In 2025, High Courts disposed of cases involving 131 persons, setting aside death sentences for around 90% through acquittals, commutations, or remands.
Supreme Court's Emphasis on Due Process
The Supreme Court has increasingly stressed due process and procedural safeguards in death penalty cases. In 2022, it mandated that trial courts must engage with three specific reports—psychological evaluation, probation officer’s report, and prison conduct records—before imposing a death sentence.
In a landmark 2025 ruling, Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India, the Court held that death penalty sentencing hearings are essential to the right to a fair trial under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. Non-compliance with the 2022 guidelines is now considered a violation of fundamental rights, allowing the Court to reopen sentencing for those on death row who have exhausted appeals.
This shift is reflected in the Supreme Court's decisions: for the third consecutive year (2023–2025), it confirmed zero death sentences, while acquittal rates have surged.
Gaps in Trial Court Compliance
Despite higher court directives, trial courts have struggled with compliance. In 2025, sessions courts failed to adhere to the 2022 Supreme Court guidelines in 79 out of 83 cases, a non-compliance rate of 95.18%. The report links this to rushed sentencing hearings, with 18 cases in 2025 seeing sentencing on the same day as guilt pronouncement, and over two-thirds within five days.
Such timelines "significantly constrain" the ability to secure necessary reports and present mitigation material, hindering fair trials.
Legislative and Judicial Divergence
The report flags a widening gap between legislative intent and judicial behavior. While higher courts grow cautious about confirming death sentences, Parliament and state legislatures have expanded capital punishment's scope over the past decade. This contrast underscores a disconnect in India's criminal justice approach.
Additionally, the report notes a growing use of life imprisonment without remission as an alternative, warning it is an unregulated area that "takes away from a person an important essence of life – hope."
Geographic and Demographic Insights
Death row populations remain concentrated in specific states:
- Uttar Pradesh leads with the largest number.
- Followed by Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Karnataka.
In 2025, women constituted 4.18% of the death row population. Over the decade, murder cases, including those involving sexual offences, accounted for the majority of death sentences imposed by sessions courts.
The report concludes that wrongful convictions are not random but systemic, urging reforms to align trial court practices with higher judicial standards to ensure justice and fairness in capital punishment cases.
