WRONGFUL CONVICTION IN CAPITAL CASES: DUE PROCESS FAILURES AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF DEATH PENALTY
AUTHOR – S. SAKTHI DEEPTHIKA, STUDENT AT AMITY INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES
BEST CITATION – S. SAKTHI DEEPTHIKA, WRONGFUL CONVICTION IN CAPITAL CASES: DUE PROCESS FAILURES AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF DEATH PENALTY, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 290-299, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
India’s capital punishment architecture promises rigorous constitutional protection through Articles 20, 21, and 22, reinforced by Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) confirmation procedures (Sections 407-412), pregnancy commutation (Section 456), and mercy timelines (Section 472). Yet NCRB 2024 reveals 564 death row inmates with 77.4% trial court death sentences overturned on appeal exposing systemic trial contamination rather than appellate leniency. Six failure vectors converge catastrophically: custodial torture yielding coerced confessions (70-80% cases per Project 39A), eyewitness misidentification, forensic deficiencies (29 understaffed FSLs), prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective legal aid serving 90% indigent defendants, and caste/class-biased tunnel vision disproportionately afflicting Scheduled Castes/Tribes (28-35% overrepresentation).
This doctrinal study traces due process evolution from A.K. Gopalan (1950) proceduralism through Maneka Gandhi (1978) substantive revolution to Bachan Singh (1980) “rarest of rare” balancing. BNSS analysis reveals modernization gaps, while ICCPR scrutiny highlights isolation among 112 abolitionist states. UK CCRC model contrasts India’s judge-dependent review. Landmark cases—Dhananjoy Chatterjee (1994 depravity), Santosh Bariyar (2009 two-part test), Mukesh/Nirbhaya (2017 societal shock)—demonstrate doctrinal inconsistency (82% death references fail Bachan special reasons). Twelve reforms span immediate (video interrogations), medium (forensic databases), and structural horizons (Innocence Panels, moratorium). Thesis: wrongful convictions are systemic outcomes; fallible systems cannot ethically administer irreversible punishment without Article 21 violation.
Keywords: wrongful convictions, death penalty, BNSS 2023, rarest of rare, due process, Article 21, custodial torture, forensic science, CCRC, ICCPR