The Central government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it is examining whether the death penalty should continue by hanging or be replaced with a painless method.

“The government is examining the issue at the highest level,” the attorney general R. Venkataramani made the submission before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

After hearing the submissions, the bench reserved its order in the matter.

The Court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra in 2017 challenging the constitutionality of Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which provides for hanging till death.

As per the petition, hanging should no longer be used as a mode of execution and alternatives such as lethal injection should be considered. Many countries have already moved away from hanging.

Other than India, countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Yemen, Egypt, Botswana, and several Caribbean and Middle Eastern nations still have hanging as a legal method for executing convicts under their death penalty laws.

Malhotra submitted that hanging is cruel and barbaric, and that the right to life also includes the right to die with dignity. At this point, the court asked whether the Union government had responded to the petition.

In response, Malhotra said that the Union had filed a reply by way of an affidavit opposing hanging.

He added that the attorney general had indicated that the government was contemplating the formation of a committee to examine the impact of lethal injection.

“I have suggested that lethal injection is more humane, decent, and quicker. I have data from Law Commission reports. At least in Armed Forces Act cases, options are given to prisoners regarding execution. An option must be given, and prisoners must be given a choice between hanging and lethal injection as the mode of execution,” he submitted.

Advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Project 39A, a criminal justice programme that provides legal aid and representation to death row prisoners, submitted that lethal injection has not been found to be very successful.

“We say a committee should be formed, and it should consider and examine the issue,” she added.

“Let them give this note; the government is examining the issue at the highest level," the attorney general said.

After considering the submissions, the Court reserved its order and directed all parties to submit written briefs within two weeks.