Supreme Court Issues Guidelines On Death Penalty Execution & Mercy Petitions To Avoid Delay In Process

The Supreme Court on Monday (December 9) directed all states and union territories to constitute a dedicated cell for the prompt processing of the mercy petitions by death row convicts within the timeline laid down by the respective governments.

“A dedicated cell shall be constituted by the Home Department or the Prison Department of the State Governments/Union Territories for dealing with mercy petitions. The dedicated cell shall be responsible for the prompt processing of the mercy petitions within the time frame laid down by the respective governments”, the Court held.

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Augustine George Masih also held that Sessions Court on receiving order confirming death penalty must immediately issue notice to the public prosecutor seeking information on pending appeals, review/curative petition or mercy plea and periodically monitor pending proceedings to ensure timely issuance of execution warrants once all legal avenues are exhausted.

“If information is received regarding the pendency of review/curative petitions or mercy petitions, the Sessions Court shall keep on listing the disposed of case after intervals of one month so that it gets the information about the status of the pending petitions. This will enable the Sessions Court to issue a warrant for the execution of the death sentence as soon as all the proceedings culminate”, the Court emphasised.

The Court laid down detailed procedural guidelines to be followed by the executive as well as the judiciary for handling mercy petitions and execution of death sentences to prevent delays in the process.

The Court dismissed appeals by the State of Maharashtra challenging the 2019 Bombay High Court judgment that commuted the death sentences of two convicts, Purshottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade, to life imprisonment with a fixed term of 35 years. The case involves the 2007 gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old Pune BPO employee.

The Supreme Court reserved the judgment after raising several questions about the procedural lapses and delays in this case.

Directions to State Governments and Union Territories

1. Dedicated Cells for Mercy Petitions
   • State Governments and Union Territories must establish dedicated cells within their Home or Prison Departments to handle mercy petitions. These cells should promptly process mercy petitions within the prescribed timeframe.
   • An officer-in-charge of the dedicated cell shall be nominated by designation, and the contact details will be shared with all prisons.
2. Attachment of Judiciary Officials
   • An official from the Law and Judiciary or Justice Department will be attached to the dedicated cell.
3. Information Sharing and Documentation
   • Prison authorities must immediately forward mercy petitions to the dedicated cell and call for information from police stations and investigation agencies, including details about the convict's antecedents, family, economic condition, incarceration period, and relevant legal documents.
   • Jail authorities must promptly forward various documents, including police reports, FIRs, arrest and chargesheet details, committal orders, trial evidence, convict conduct reports, and judgments from the Sessions Court, High Court, and Supreme Court, along with English translations where required, to the officer-in-charge of the dedicated cell and the Secretary of the Home Department.
4. Coordination with Governor and President's Secretariats
   • Mercy petitions must be forwarded to the Secretariats of the Governor or President immediately for further action.
5. Electronic Communication
   • As far as possible, all communication should be conducted via email to ensure efficiency, barring cases where confidentiality is required.
6. Guidelines and Reporting
   • State Governments are required to issue executive orders detailing procedures for handling mercy petitions. They must report compliance to the Supreme Court within three months.

Guidelines for Sessions Courts

The Court outlined specific responsibilities for Sessions Courts once a death sentence is confirmed by the High Court:

• Maintain a record of cases involving death sentences and ensure timely listing on the cause list after receiving High Court or Supreme Court orders.
• Issue notices to State Public Prosecutors or investigation agencies to ascertain the status of appeals, reviews, or mercy petitions.

“As soon as the order of the High Court confirming or imposing the death sentence is received by the Sessions Court, a note thereof must be taken, and the disposed of case shall be listed on the cause list. The proceedings can be numbered as Misc. Application depending upon the applicable Rules of the procedure. The Sessions Court shall immediately issue notice to the State Public Prosecutor or the investigating agency calling upon them to state whether any appeal or special leave petition has been preferred before this Court and what is the outcome of the said petition/appeal; b. If the State Public Prosecutor or the investigating agency reports that the appeal is pending, as soon as the order of this Court confirming or restoring the death sentence is received by the Sessions Court, again, the disposed of case or miscellaneous applications should be listed on the cause list and notice be issued to the State Public Prosecutor or the investigating agency to ascertain whether any review/curative petitions or mercy petitions are pending.”

• Ensure that a clear 15-day gap exists between the issuance of an execution warrant and its implementation. Convicts must be informed of their right to legal representation, and legal aid should be provided upon request. "Copies of the order issuing the warrant and the warrant shall be immediately provided to the convicts, and the Prison authorities must explain the implications thereof to the convicts. If the convict so desires, legal aid be immediately provided to the convicts by the Prison authorities for challenging the warrant." 

The State government must immediately apply for an Execution Warrant once the death penalty becomes final and enforceable.

Implementation

The Supreme Court directed its Registry to forward copies of the judgment to the Home Departments of all States and Union Territories, which must report compliance within three months. The judgment will also be sent to Registrar Generals of all High Courts for dissemination to Sessions Courts. The Court kept the matter of reviewing compliance on March 17, 2025.

Case no. – Crl.A. No. 2831-2832/2023

Case Title – State of Maharashtra and Ors. v. Pradeep Yashwant Kokade and Anr. with connected case

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 997

Click Here To Read/Download Judgment