In 2023, the High Courts confirmed the death sentences of 1% of prisoners whose cases were up for decision. This is the lowest confirmation rate by the appellate courts since 2000. The lone confirmation came in the Karnataka High Court in a murder simpliciter case. If the dominant intention of the act was to kill a person, it is ‘murder simpliciter’; otherwise, it is categorised as an accidental murder. These were some of the findings of the ‘Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics 2023’ report, which was released by Project 39A, an advocacy group with the National Law University, Delhi.
Editorial | Abolition is the way: On the higher judiciary’s move on the death penalty
The death sentences of 45% of prisoners were commuted. An equal share of prisoners were acquitted. The remaining 6% were remanded to trial courts (Chart 1).
