The Offences Punishable With Death
Chapter Forty-Three
Syllabus topic 3, "The Problems of Capital Punishment"
Pages 174 to 177 of 806
In one line
Sixteen provisions of the Sanhita carry death and a dozen special statutes add more, and this chapter is the list a student needs before arguing about any of it.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: the offences punishable with death under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 fall into four groups: aggravated sexual offences, sections 65(2), 66, 70(2) and 71; homicide and offences leading to it, sections 103(1), 103(2), 104, 107, 109(2), 140(2) and 310(3); offences against the state and against public order, sections 111(2)(a), 113(2)(a), 147 and 160; and one offence against the administration of justice, section 230(2). In every case death is an alternative to imprisonment for life and nowhere is it mandatory. Special statutes, chiefly the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the Explosive Substances Act 1908, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 and the armed forces Acts, provide for more.
The four groups, and why the grouping matters
Grouping is not decoration. Each group raises a different problem, and an answer that groups them can say something about each.
Group one: aggravated sexual offences
| Section | Offence |
|---|---|
| 65(2) | Rape on a woman under twelve years of age |
| 66 | Rape causing the death of the woman or leaving her in a persistent vegetative state |
| 70(2) | Gang rape of a woman under eighteen |
| 71 | Repeat offender previously convicted under section 64, 65, 66 or 70 and again convicted under any of them |
The problem this group raises. None of these offences involves a killing except section 66. So the group is a departure from the principle that the gravest penalty is reserved for the taking of life, and it raises directly the objection dealt with in [Deterrence and Heinous Crimes Against Women]: where rape and rape causing death carry the same maximum, the offender has no additional penalty to fear from killing the only witness. Notice that the Sanhita has answered part of that objection by reserving death in this group for the youngest victims, for the case where death is caused, and for the repeat offender, rather than for rape at large.
Group two: homicide and what leads to it
| Section | Offence |
|---|---|
| 103(1) | Murder |
| 103(2) | Murder by a group of five or more acting in concert on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any similar ground |
| 104 | Murder by a person under sentence of imprisonment for life |
| 107 | Abetment of the suicide of a child, a person of unsound mind, a delirious person or an intoxicated person |
| 109(2) | Attempt to murder by a person under sentence of imprisonment for life, where hurt is caused |
| 140(2) | Kidnapping or abduction with a threat of death or hurt, or causing hurt or death, to compel a Government or any person to act or to pay a ransom |
| 310(3) | Dacoity where one of the party commits murder in committing it |
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