Over 400 death row prisoners in Indian jails till 2020, shows data

As many as 413 prisoners, who have been awarded the death sentence, were lodged in jails across the country till the end of 2020, according to a new central government data.

Of the total death row prisoners, 94 were sentenced to capital punishment in 2020, stated the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual “Prison Statistics India 2020”.

The death sentence of 29 convicts was commuted to life imprisonment in 2020, according to the NCRB, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“A total of 94 persons were awarded death penalty during 2020 in the country. Out of 94 persons awarded with capital punishment, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan reported 15 persons each, followed by West Bengal (14), Bihar (8) and Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu (6 each),” the report stated.

Out of 29 convicts whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, 24.1 per cent (seven) were reported from Maharashtra followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu (5 and 17.2 per cent), it added.

“A total of 413 convicts (including 319 persons of previous years and 94 persons sentenced during the year 2020) sentenced with capital punishment were lodged in various jails, accounting for 0.36 per cent of the total convicts,” the report stated.

Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest number of such convicts accounting for 12.8 per cent (53 out of 413) of total convicts sentenced with capital punishment in the country followed by Maharashtra (49, 11.9 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (40, 9.7 per cent), it noted.