The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a Constitution Bench, the issue of providing a âmeaningful, real and effectiveâ hearing to the accused in a death penalty case to present their mitigating circumstances before a trial judge. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit described the presentation of mitigating factors by an accused to avoid the âextreme penalty of deathâ as a âvaluable rightâ. While the state gets a chance to present aggravating circumstances against the accused through the entire duration of a trial, the accused is given a chance to show mitigating circumstances only after conviction, in a rather âformalâ if not cosmetic hearing, the Court noted. The court pointed out that the fact that an accused is given the opportunity to put forth mitigating factors after conviction, puts him at a âhopeless disadvantage, tilting the scales heavily against himâ. The three-judge Bench said that a uniform approach had to be moulded to give the accused a fair opportunity to present mitigating circumstances at the trial stage before their crime is declared ârarest of rareâ and they are sentenced to death. As a salutary norm, the Supreme Court has laid down that the death penalty can be imposed only in the ârarest of rareâ cases. The report on the apex courtâs decision to refer the question of a fair chance to a Constitution Bench appears on the front page of The Hindu as it identifies and seeks to resolve the long-standing debate on whether the death penalty, though considered a rarest of rare punishment, is being administered casually by the trial courts. As this editorial in the Tuesday edition points out, the judgement is a big stride in humanising the sentencing process as present thinking veers in the direction that the socio-economic background and the state of mind of the accused/ convict are also key factors while deciding the sentence. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editorâs Pick and more. Click here The Hinduâs Editorials Knowing the killer: On SC referring death penalty issues to Constitution Bench The best of four: On Puniaâs fourth world Wrestling Championships medal The Hinduâs Daily Quiz The Isak-Muivah faction is associated with which State in India? Sikkim Chhattisgarh Tripura Nagaland To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 20 SEPTEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Death penalty: Supreme Court calls for giving ârealâ opportunity to the accused The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a Constitution Bench, the issue of providing a âmeaningful, real and effectiveâ hearing to the accused in a death penalty case to present their mitigating circumstances before a trial judge. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit described the [presentation of mitigating factors by an accused]( avoid the âextreme penalty of deathâ as a âvaluable rightâ. While the state gets a chance to present aggravating circumstances against the accused through the entire duration of a trial, the accused is given a chance to show mitigating circumstances only after conviction, in a rather âformalâ if not cosmetic hearing, the Court noted. The court pointed out that the fact that an accused is given the opportunity to put forth mitigating factors after conviction, puts him at a âhopeless disadvantage, tilting the scales heavily against himâ. The three-judge Bench said that a uniform approach had to be moulded to give the accused a fair opportunity to present mitigating circumstances at the trial stage before their crime is declared ârarest of rareâ and they are sentenced to death. As a salutary norm, the Supreme Court has laid down that the death penalty can be imposed only in the ârarest of rareâ cases. The report on the apex courtâs decision to refer the question of a fair chance to a Constitution Bench appears on the front page of The Hindu as it identifies and seeks to resolve the long-standing debate on whether the death penalty, though considered a rarest of rare punishment, is being administered casually by the trial courts. As this editorial in the Tuesday edition points out, the judgement is a big stride in humanising the sentencing process as present thinking veers in the direction that the socio-economic background and the state of mind of the accused/ convict are also key factors while deciding the sentence. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editorâs Pick and more. [Click here]( The Hinduâs Editorials [Arrow][Knowing the killer: On SC referring death penalty issues to Constitution Bench](
[Arrow][The best of four: On Puniaâs fourth world Wrestling Championships medal]( The Hinduâs Daily Quiz The Isak-Muivah faction is associated with which State in India? - Sikkim
- Chhattisgarh
- Tripura
- Nagaland To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. Todayâs Best Reads [[Borders and belonging for those without a home] Borders and belonging for those without a home](
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