rarest of rare doctrine

THE DEATH PENALTY UNDER BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA: JUSTICE, RETRIBUTION, OR AN OUTDATED PRACTICE? Khushi Sharma, 3rd semester B.A.LL.B(H) Student Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2025.v03.148 “Justice is not found in punishment alone, but in understanding the value of human life.” The death penalty remains one of the most debated aspects of India’s criminal jurisprudence. With the enactment of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the discussion has resurfaced over whether the death penalty aligns with modern constitutional morality. This paper explores the legal, moral, and philosophical dimensions of capital punishment in India under the BNS framework. Through an examination of historical evolution, constitutional principles, and landmark as well as recent judicial decisions, it assesses whether the death penalty today represents justice, retribution, or an outdated practice. The analysis maintains a neutral stance, emphasizing that the debate must reconcile justice with humanity in an evolving legal order. In continuation of this discourse, the introduction of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 has renewed national attention on whether capital punishment remains an effective and ethically defensible component of India’s criminal justice system. The persistence of the death penalty under the BNS, despite global shifts toward abolition, highlights the tension between societal expectations of retribution and the constitutional commitment to human dignity, fairness, and proportionality. This paper therefore extends the discussion by examining not only the legal foundations of capital punishment under the BNS but also the broader ethical, social, and global considerations that shape its contemporary relevance. The expanded analysis aims to contribute to an informed and balanced understanding of whether the death penalty today serves the true purpose of justice or represents a vestige of an older penal philosophy.