Story in numbers: Not a long rope for death penalty adjudication

At the end of 2022, 539 convicts were on death row - the highest number of prisoners facing the gallows since 2016.

The number of death row inmates has increased steadily over the years, with Year 2022 seeing a 40 per cent jump since 2015.

Year 2022 represents a significant shift in death penalty adjudication, with the Supreme Court (SC) recognising the need to reconsider the capital sentencing framework for the first time since it was enacted in the Bachan Singh versus State of Punjab in 1980.

In a momentous order, the SC noted the gaps in the death