Report Overview and Institutional Source
- Annual report published by Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
- Study analysed death penalty trends across India from 2016 to 2025.
- Focused on confirmations, acquittals, commutations, and procedural compliance in sentencing.
Supreme Court’s Recent Position
- Supreme Court has not upheld a single death sentence in the last three years.
- In 2025, the Court acquitted 10 death row prisoners, the highest in a decade.
- No High Court–confirmed death sentence has yet been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Lower Court Sentencing Patterns
- Sessions Courts imposed 1,310 death sentences nationwide between 2016 and 2025.
- In 2025 alone, 128 individuals received death sentences at the Sessions Court level.
- Report highlights a gap between lower court convictions and appellate scrutiny standards.
High Court Review Outcomes
- High Courts reviewed 842 death sentence cases during the decade.
- Only 70 cases, or 8.31%, were confirmed by High Courts.
- 285 prisoners were acquitted, while 411 sentences were commuted to lesser punishments.
Supreme Court Case Dispositions
- Of 37 High Court–confirmed cases decided by the Supreme Court, outcomes varied.
- 15 resulted in acquittal, and 14 were commuted to life or lesser sentences.
- Data suggests significant appellate correction of lower court decisions.
Death Row Demographics and Duration
- As of December 31, 2025, 574 prisoners remained on death row.
- This included 550 men and 24 women across Indian prisons.
- Average time before acquittal exceeded five years, with some nearing ten years.
- During 2025, 138 individuals exited death row through acquittal, commutation, or remand.
Procedural Compliance and Sentencing Gaps
- Supreme Court guidelines mandate psychological evaluation, mitigation hearings, and prison conduct reports.
- These safeguards were reinforced as fair trial requirements in Vasanta Sampat Dupare judgment.
- In 2025, nearly 95% of death sentences ignored these mandatory procedures.
- Sentencing hearings often occurred within days of conviction, limiting effective defence preparation.
Emerging Judicial Trends
- Growing reliance on life imprisonment without remission as an alternative punishment.
- Report flags concerns over wrongful convictions and sentencing reliability at trial courts.