Annual Statistic Reports 2018
The objective of the 2018 report is to provide a comprehensive empirical overview of the use of the death penalty in India during the year. It aims to document the number of death sentences imposed by trial courts, examine how these cases are treated at the appellate level (High Courts and the Supreme Court), and analyse broader trends in sentencing, offences, and legal developments. The report also seeks to highlight systemic issues in data collection and the functioning of the criminal justice system, while situating death penalty trends within legislative and judicial developments.
Process
The report adopts a multi-source data collection methodology, combining official and unofficial sources to build a comprehensive dataset. Researchers filed 91 Right to Information (RTI) applications across prison departments, home departments, and Governor offices to collect data on death row prisoners. They also tracked cases by mining High Court and Supreme Court websites to follow appellate developments. Since most trial (Sessions) courts lack reliable online records, local newspaper reports were used as the primary source for identifying death sentences, which were then cross-verified. However, the process faced significant challenges such as incomplete RTI responses, lack of coordination among state agencies, delays, and outdated court websites.
