Criminological Study of Death Penalty and Ways to Remove Discrimination in Death Award

Abstract

The recent Delhi Gang Rape case followed by Justice J.S. Verma Committee’s recommendations has again triggered the debate of death penalty abolition. This is a very burning issue today. As a student of criminology, I want to put my two cents in this heated debate through this project. I have tried to do the study of death penalty cases in a criminological manner. I have attempted to highlight concerns of a criminologist through this project. This proposal seeks an effort to assess the application of the doctrine of ‘rarest of rare’ by the Supreme Court of India. It would be fascinating to analyze whether a consistent approach could be decoded while dealing with the doctrine of rarest of rare or is it contingent on the individualistic theory and biasness of the judges constituting the bench. Numerous critics have contradicted the existing non uniformity while applying the rarest of rare doctrine and in this discourse the main challenge is the outcome whether an individual get life imprisonment or death penalty on the basis of the fabrication of the judge or any consistent philosophy which can be inferred from the conceptualization of the Supreme Court.