GK and monthly revision

No death sentences confirmed by Supreme Court for third consecutive year

The Supreme Court of India has not confirmed any death sentences for the third consecutive year in 2025. This trend is attributed to growing judicial skepticism towards capital punishment at higher levels. In 2025 alone, the Supreme Court acquitted ten death row prisoners. However, this contrasts sharply with the alarming rate at which Sessions Courts have handed down death sentences; over the last decade, these lower courts have imposed 1,310 death sentences. The high number of acquittals by the Supreme Court raises significant concerns regarding the possibility of wrongful convictions by the lower judiciary. This pattern highlights a critical disconnect in the application of the death penalty across different levels of the Indian judicial system, prompting a re-evaluation of sentencing practices and the potential for miscarriages of justice.

Source: The Hindu. This summary and analysis are AI-written from that report and are not individually fact-checked — confirm names, dates and figures with the source before you rely on them.