65% of Death Sentences in 2020 Involved Sexual Violence Cases: Report
In 48% of the total death sentences delivered in cases related to sexual violence in 2020, the victims were below the age of 12.
As of December 31, 2020, 404 prisoners have been sentenced to death. Photo: Reuters
Rights24/Jan/2021
Mumbai: As soon as India went under a strict lockdown in March last year, the judiciary’s functioning was one of the first things to be impacted. For several months the courts had to suspend their work entirely and when it resumed, it was only to handle âurgent mattersâ.
The delay in the disposal of cases led to relatively lesser number of death sentences imposed by trial courts as compared to the past years.
Comprehensive reforms, not just CCTVs, can end custodial torture
The realities of torture and its prosecution in India would temper our expectations from this one development. The Supreme Court needs to ensure robust implementation of its order and simultaneously plug the gaps so that incidents of torture are curtailed. Updated: December 11, 2020 2:09:31 pm
Monitoring the police through CCTVs is an important step towards combating torture but its effectiveness is contingent on broader reforms. (Representational)
Written by Aishwarya Mohanty, Neetika Vishwanath
In a bid to curb torture, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court recently mandated that CCTV cameras be installed in police stations and offices of other investigative agencies. Though a significant step to curtail custodial torture at these sites, it can have a meaningful impact only if coupled with long-pending reforms to end impunity for torture and a change in the culture of polic