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Sunday, February 22, 2026
TopicDeath penalty

Topic: Death penalty

Why was Chittoor mayor’s 2015 murder ‘rarest of rare’? The family feud behind death penalty

Five people have been sentenced to death for the brutal killing of Chittoor Mayor Katari Anuradha and her husband in 2015. A year earlier, they’d staged a dharna for the ‘mastermind’.

DNA tests by botanist, a ‘confession’ & a missing witness—2 acquitted by SC in minor’s rape-murder

The Supreme Court has set aside the death penalty of the main accused, and the jail sentence of another suspect in the 2014 POCSO case.

Trial held in absence of death-row convict. What led SC to acquit UP man

The man was sentenced to death for killing his wife & daughter. Ordering a retrial in the 2014 case, court said even those accused of most heinous crimes are entitled to protection of law.

Death penalty in Sharon Raj murder case, life term to RG Kar rape-murder convict? Here’s why

Both courts acknowledged that death penalty can only be granted in 'rarest of rare' cases.

‘Blatantly erroneous’ — how 56 death sentences in 14 months defied latest Supreme Court guidelines

From not seeking mental health reports of convicts to ignoring mitigating factors, many trial courts have sidestepped Supreme Court’s guidelines while awarding the death penalty.

China executes kindergarten teacher for poisoning nursery children four years ago

The former teacher, Wang Yun, poisoned the preschoolers' porridge with sodium nitrite, resulting in the death of one child and injuries to 24 others.

Psychiatric report, conduct in jail — what led Delhi HC to commute death sentence of minor’s killer

Bench relied on landmark 2022 judgment when Supreme Court issued guidelines and made psychological evaluation mandatory when considering death penalty for a convict.

Palwal ‘psycho killer’ and the long night of carnage—death penalty doesn’t end it

Former Armyman Naresh Dhankar bludgeoned six people to death within 90 minutes in January 2018. A district court sentenced him to death, rejecting his insanity plea.

How a 15-yr-old spent 5 yrs on death row for rape-murder before being released by Supreme Court

The accused was sentenced to death for the 2017 rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh. SC has upheld his conviction, but set aside his death sentence.

‘Women considered goddesses, but raped’, says UP court awarding death penalty to two men

They were convicted of gang raping & brutalising a minor. JudgePankaj Kumar Srivastava noted it was the rarest of rare cases, a blotch on society and severe punishment necessary for peace of parents.

On Camera

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.