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Supreme Court of India ruling in Shatrughan Chauhan & Anr. Versus Union of India & Ors.

By P. Sathasivam / Supreme Court of India / Ranjan Gogoi / Shiva Kirti Singh, on 8 September 2020


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The Court (pictured) ruled in favour of two prisoners who petitioned for a commutation of their death sentences to life imprisonment, claiming “the unconscionably long delay in deciding the mercy petition has caused the onset of chronic psychotic illness”. It acknowledged the “unbearable mental agony after confirmation of death sentence” and added that in some cases “death-row prisoners lost their mental balance on account of prolonged anxiety and suffering experienced on death row”.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list India
  • Themes list Mental Illness, International law, Death Row Conditions, Death Row Phenomenon,



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