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‘Consistent with dignity, socially acceptable’, SC mulls panel to examine less painful method of execution

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is open to set up a panel of experts, while asking the Centre to initiate a discussion and collect relevant information to examine if there is a less painful method alternative to hanging by the neck to execute the death penalty.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said one of the aspects could be to look at the matter from the point of view of science and technology.

The Chief Justice queried if there was a method which is consistent with human dignity and socially acceptable, based on today’s knowledge of technology and science.

“Do we have any data either in India or overseas relating to the circumstances as they transpired in the execution of sentence of death with alternate methods?”

The bench, also comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha, said: “alternatively, do we constitute a committee, thinking it aloud, not passing an order now. Committee to reflect on it. We can have two national law universities to be on the committee, experts dealing in execution of the sentence of death… We can also have people drawn from medical sciences, maybe one or two professors or doctors from AIIMS. We can have other distinguished people from the country.”

The top court allowed Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani time till May to ascertain if any study has been conducted to find a more humane method of execution.

“There two perspectives to look at, one, is there any alternate method, which is more consistent with human dignity so as to render this method of execution as unconstitutional. Two, even if there is no alternate method, does this method satisfy the test for proportionality so as to be uphelda”, the Chief Justice told the AG to examine.

The bench further added that change in technology or availability of better science is a ground for relooking it and in order to relook at hanging, the court must have some underlying data.

“At legal level, we must have some scientific data in our handsawe can hear you on the remit of the committee, the ambit of the committee you can come back to us,” the Chief Justice told the AG.

The apex court was hearing a writ petition by advocate Rishi Malhotra seeking a direction for quashing of the provision contained under Section 354(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code as ultra vires the Constitution and especially Article 21 being discriminatory and also in contravention of the constitution bench judgment in Gian Kaur’s case.

Malhotra contented that he is challenging the method of execution of death sentence in India i.e. by hanging by the neck till the prisoner is dead.

The plea, citing Kaur’s judgment, said: “the Right to Life including the Right to Live with human dignity would mean the existence of such a right up to the end of natural life. This also includes the right to a dignified life up to the point of death including a dignified procedure of death. In other words, this may include the right of a dying man to also die with dignity when his life is ebbing out.”

In october 2017, the apex court had issued notice to the Centre noting the contention of the petitioner that the convict whose life has to end because of the conviction and the sentence should not be compelled to suffer the pain of hanging.

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NITI Aayog to launch national workshop series on lessons from 25 years of PM Modi’s leadership

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NITI Aayog will launch a series of five national workshops on Tuesday to draw lessons from 25 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Head of Government, with the series studying this quarter century of public leadership so that its lessons become part of the nation’s shared knowledge, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

It will document the experiences of those who were part of this journey and translate them into knowledge that benefits all, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

The Prime Minister assumed office as Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001. After serving for more than 12 years in that office, he assumed office as Prime Minister in May 2014 and is now serving his third successive term. With the completion of 25 years on October 7, 2026, this marks the longest continuous tenure at the head of an elected government in India. Throughout this period, governance has been anchored in the idea of the ‘Pradhan Sevak’, under which every office of government exists to serve the citizens.

Antyodaya has set the measure of progress at the last person. Jan Bhagidari has made development a people’s movement. The principle of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas has further strengthened this as a shared national undertaking. The goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047 has provided this approach a long horizon, asking every institution to plan and act for India as it approaches the centenary of Independence, the statement said.

Much of what India has learnt about governing at this scale is held in the experience of the officers, institutions, and citizens who took and carried through these decisions. The series will record their first-hand accounts and examine them with academic rigour. It will develop them into institutional learning material, including case studies, research papers and teaching material, for civil servants, training institutions, universities, students and the wider public.

The five national workshops will focus on the following governance themes: “Leadership as Mission” in November 2026, “Governance as Delivery” in January 2027, “Development as Inclusion” in April 2027, “Civilisational Identity” in July 2027, and “India as a Global Force” in September 2027.

The first national workshop, “Leadership as Mission”, will be held at Bharat Mandapam, in the national capital on November 17. It will study leadership through the specific decisions in which it becomes visible and the manner in which those decisions are translated into outcomes for citizens.

Around 900 participants are expected to attend the workshop, of whom 250 will participate directly in the deliberations. These will include 150 government officers, including Secretaries and senior officers of the Union and state governments and District Collectors of Aspirational Districts. The participants will also include 25 students of leading institutions and universities, and 50 community partners and beneficiaries of national flagship schemes. The group discussions will be guided by 25 case facilitators trained under the Amrit Gyaan Kosh initiative of the Capacity Building Commission. The proceedings will be streamed on the iGOT Karmayogi platform.

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NHRC summons Punjab chief Secy over Tarn Taran bus tragedy; had flagged serious safety risks

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a conditional summons to the Punjab government over “serious safety violations” in buses operating under the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana.

The summons was issued by a Bench presided over by member Priyank Kanoongo to the Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab.

Five people were killed, and 16 others sustained injuries after two buses carrying pilgrims collided head-on on the Tarn Taran-Bathinda National Highway near Naushehra Pannuan village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on Saturday.

The NHRC, in a press statement on Saturday, said that in its earlier proceedings, it had flagged recurring fatal accidents involving passenger and sleeper buses, structural deficiencies and violations of CIRT guidelines, and had called for urgent preventive measures.

“A subsequent complaint by the Network for Access to Justice & Multidisciplinary Outreach Foundation highlighted serious safety concerns in buses deployed under Punjab’s Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, including alleged unauthorised structural modifications, obstruction of emergency exits, and deficiencies in fire safety and emergency evacuation arrangements,” it said.

The NHRC had directed the Punjab government to inspect all buses operating under the scheme and immediately withdraw vehicles that failed to meet mandatory safety standards.

“However, the state government failed to demonstrate effective action on these directions,” the statement mentioned.

The NHRC said that despite the specific and time-bound directions of the Commission, the Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab, “has not submitted the requisite Action Taken Report. No report indicating the inspections conducted, safety deficiencies identified, corrective measures undertaken or accountability fixed has been received from the State Government till date.”

“The subsequent collision between two buses under the same scheme in Tarn Taran on 14 November 2026, resulting in four reported deaths and injuries to around 30 people, has brought these concerns into sharp focus,” it added.

Taking serious note of the continued non-compliance and the reported tragedy, the Commission deplored the “lackadaisical approach of the authorities” and issued a conditional summons to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, directing him to appear before the Commission.

“The Commission observed that ensuring the safety of passengers, particularly senior citizens and other vulnerable persons travelling under a Government-sponsored welfare scheme, is a direct responsibility of the State and the competent regulatory authorities. Such schemes cannot be implemented at the cost of human life, and compliance with mandatory vehicle safety standards cannot be reduced to a mere procedural formality. The continued failure to respond to the Commission’s directions, particularly when the very risks highlighted in the complaint have now reportedly culminated in a fatal accident, is viewed with utmost seriousness,” the NHRC statement said.

The NHRC has directed the Chief Secretary to submit details of bus inspections, safety compliance, corrective measures, action against non-compliant vehicles and a detailed report on the Tarn Taran accident. “Failure to submit comprehensive reports by the stipulated deadline will require the Chief Secretary to appear before the Commission. The Commission has reiterated that passenger safety, particularly that of senior citizens and other vulnerable persons, is the direct responsibility of the State and regulatory authorities,” it said.

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Four of a family killed after truck topples onto car in Haryana Rewari

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In a tragic accident, a truck loaded with chickpeas toppled onto a car on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Haryana’s Rewari, killing four members of a family. A five-year-old child was injured in the accident, officials said.

The accident occurred on late Saturday night near Banipur Chowk in Bawal.

When the car reached near the flyover at Banipur Chowk on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway in Bawal at around 11:30 p.m, the truck, loaded with chickpeas, lost control and overturned onto the vehicle.

Eyewitnesses said the truck driver was speeding and that it first hit another vehicle and then toppled onto the car.

According to officials, the impact of the accident was such that the car was completely crushed under the truck, trapping the occupants inside. Two people died on the spot.

After receiving information about the incident, police personnel arrived at the spot and initiated an operation to rescue the trapped occupants. The windows of the car had to be cut open to pull them out.

The injured were taken to a civil hospital, where two victims were declared brought dead. Two more people later succumbed to their injuries. The injured five-year-old child is currently undergoing treatment.

The deceased have been identified as Deepak, Sarita, Nitin, and Divya.

Deepak, a resident of Bholawas village in the Aluwali area of Banpur, Rajasthan, had been living in Delhi with his family. The family had recently visited their ancestral village. On Saturday, they were returning to Dwarka, Delhi, in their car when the tragic incident took place.

This comes days after a similar accident in Delhi’s Sonia Vihar area claimed three lives and left five others injured a few days ago.

A police team, upon reaching the site, found that a dumper truck had collided with an auto-rickshaw.

The driver of the truck fled the spot after the accident.

Subsequently, eight injured persons, comprising five males, two females and the six-month-old child, were immediately shifted to JPC Hospital.

Two persons, namely Satbir (approximately 30-32 years) and one unidentified person, and the infant were declared brought dead by the attending doctors.

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