A recent report highlights a concerning trend in India's judicial system regarding capital punishment: High Courts uphold a staggeringly low percentage of death sentences imposed by trial courts, and the Supreme Court has not confirmed any in recent years.

High Courts' Confirmation Rate

The report reveals that over the last ten years, trial courts across India have sentenced 1,310 people to death. However, High Courts have confirmed only 70 of these sentences, constituting a mere 8%. This "staggeringly low number of cases" suggests significant discrepancies in the application of the death penalty at the trial level. Of the 842 death penalty verdicts that were handed down by High Courts, only 70 (8.31%) were confirmed. During this period, High Courts acquitted 285 individuals initially sentenced to death and commuted 411 death sentences.

Supreme Court's Restraint

The Supreme Court's stance on capital punishment has been even more restrictive. For the past three years (2023-2025), the apex court has not confirmed a single death sentence. Furthermore, out of the 38 death sentences confirmed by High Courts that were decided by the Supreme Court, none were upheld. In 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in over half of the cases it heard, which amounts to 10 out of 19 cases, marking the highest number of acquittals since 2016.

Reasons for Discrepancies

The report identifies several factors contributing to the low confirmation rates and the high number of acquittals by appellate courts. These include:

• Erroneous convictions: A high acquittal rate of death row prisoners by High Courts and the Supreme Court indicates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions" in the trial courts.
• Due process violations: The Supreme Court has repeatedly stressed due process and procedural safeguards in death penalty sentencing. In a landmark ruling in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India (August 2025), the Supreme Court held that death penalty sentencing hearings are an essential component of the right to a fair trial.
• Non-compliance with guidelines: A significant proportion of trial courts are not adhering to the guidelines set by the Supreme Court, including calling for psychological evaluations, probation officer reports, and prison conduct records before imposing a death sentence. In 2025, sessions courts failed to comply with the 2022 Supreme Court guidelines requirements in 79 out of 83 cases. The report records this as a non-compliance rate of 95.18%.

Implications

The report highlights a growing divide between the legislative intent and judicial behavior. While higher courts have become noticeably cautious about confirming death sentences, Parliament and state legislatures have moved in the opposite direction, expanding the scope of capital punishment.

Despite the declining confirmation rates, the number of people on death row remains high. As of December 31, 2025, 574 people were on death row in India, the largest number since 2016. This includes 550 men and 24 women. The average time spent on death row before acquittal was over five years, with some prisoners languishing for nearly a decade before being exonerated.

The report underscores the instability of capital sentencing, as 138 individuals were removed from death row in 2025 through acquittals, commutations, or remand orders. This raises serious questions about the fairness and reliability of the death penalty as a form of punishment in India.