Don't hang them

India is a victim of terror attacks. Some of the terrorists are suicide bombers. If one is ready to kill many knowing full well that he will lose his life, imagine if they are sure of some punishment other than capital punishment, there will be more and more attacks. The approach of countries like India which are subject to terror attacks,some of them state sponsored,should be different from that of many other countries who are fortunate not to be victims of terroism can have a liberal approach to capital punishments.

Sad trend in our attitude to show mercy towards CONFIRMED criminals; this will send wrong message to would be culprits to achieve their goals, killing opponents boldly, and then "spend" life in prison with Govt funding maintenance! Such callous acts deserve highest form of punishment - may sound medieval, but it is necessary to maim the culprits - limbs cut - and make sure they suffer body pain and mental agony till their life span is over. Death will remove this trauma, end their story! Make sure they are put to excessive hardhsip to ensure others will stand corrected. NO kindness need be shown to such alarmist terrorists please!

Reading this article and taking in consideration what happened today, doesn't only make me angry and call words to terrorists but also to people like you, who are against capital punishment. Delhi high court blast today happened becasue a terrorist who commited a harsh crime, slapped in face of India by attacking Parliamnet of India is being kept in prison for 7 years waiting to be hanged, and his people want him not to be hanged. I guess you would have liked this act of terrorist as you people have same thinking. If keeping these mass murderers, who killed our brothers and sisters, in prisons and feeding them with our money sounds a better option to u. then you dont deserve to be called a son/daughter of Mother India.

In my opinion, humans are easier at judging others than at judging themselves. So we say, such and such person deserves to die for crimes committed. We dont however, pause to judge what that says about us as humans, that we are a lot of blood lusting and/or self righteous animals. I commend The Hindu's stand on abolishing the death penalty. If tax payer's money is going to be spent feeding and sustaining lesser criminals (murderers, rapists and mobsters included) then I dont see why a handful should be penalized for our blood lust because we think they are the 'rarest of the rare'.

Do not agree to your view. Why should tax payers money be wasted on criminals and terrorists sentenced to death for providing them comfort in our Jails? A system / mechanism should be evolved to ensure that the convicts are hanged as soon as all judicial remedies are exhausted and there should not be inordinate delay due to political reasons or whatever else in decision on mercy petitions. It may be acceptance or rejection. Whatever may be the decision by the Hon' President, there should be a reasonable time frame for it.

Terrorists who have committed heinous crime should be punished severely and hanging is what they deserve.

In my opinion, it is an unfair decision, death penalty shouldn't be abolished. If the trio showed such an inhumane behavior, we are supposed to be equally harsh on them.

The perfect example of"justice delayed is justice denied" is here.the Indian judiciary along with home ministry takes 11 years to deciced that a death sentences should be given or not and another 11 years to hang them!so that they die their natural deaths and then we wont have any role to play except to think think and think! Why should be capital punishment be abolished? Does the lifes of the victims have no value in the eyes of courts? What wrong these innocent people have done to anybody/whose life has been taken unnessary what this govt could give to them accept justice?giving life imprisonment for such persons will send a bad message for another Kasab and Afssal Guru a strict punishment should be deliver to create fear in the mind of these criminals .

My question to the writer is, what if someone whom you love was present at the venue of blast and incurred permanent injury/dead, would you still write similar lines? A human who takes life of another with complete pre-planning must be given death sentence. It's because of this mercy plea, its because of this all human rights noise, such in-human are allowed to live in this world and make it dirty. Doesn't these people know what they were doing, they were aware that they are going to take few humans life through their meticulous planning and extending support for this activity. And now why can't they accept the same for themselves. I earn, I pay taxes, and my money goes to protect some human killers for more than a decade and somebody wastes time in writing article, justifying this atrocity.

So far I have not come across any news or OP-ED article focussing on the politicisation of the issue related to execution of death penalty of these 3 culprits on the basis of Tamil issue. Why, is it not the responsibility of THE HINDU to present every facet of the issue ???? Are not we first an Indian and then Bengali,Tamilian,Bihari etc. to support for the mercy plea of a murderer???

I oppose this view of "The Hindu". As lot of them has said before in the previous comments, these people who does this kind of hineous crime should not be considered as humans. So then why show a kind gesture to them?

One should understand the constitution & its importance before zeroing on the right thing. As of now almost no one has enough knowledge about the Death penality. There are atleast 2 groups, one which opposes Capital punishment & the other which agrees with it. Now the fate of those criminals has been decided by law. Now lets don't argue against the verdict of Supreme Court or rejection of pleas by President. They have done their duty although lately.
Lets see why Death penality should be there atleast for rarest of rare cases (don't want to discuss the other part as our Editor has briefed it): 1) Why should the innocents bear the Govt's expenditure on these anti-social elements? 2) What is the loss for the country in executing them? 3) What good they can do for the nation or for their families serving 'life in prison'? 4)Do the torture is more at 'death in 5 mins or at life in prison'?
Answers to these questions will Support Death Penality however, it will not solve the purpose.

Basically it seems many comments are saying that those terrorists who are hindus must be forgiven and those terrorists who happen to be muslims must be given death penalty. Well hypocrisy at its best can be read in the comments section of this article.

Capital punishment is the ultimate deterrent. Under the Manu Smriti, a murderer when given capital punishment reduces his or her sinful reactions in the next life. Besides, what sort of deterrent is there? A rapist,murderer or other people spend their lives in jails ....This is no justice at all

I think the HINDU'S view is right to abolish capital punishment as it gives the person another chance and the three persons Murugan,Santhan, and Perarivalan have almost spent twenty years in prison and despite this, the president has rejected the mercy petition showing no clemency on them but this would great lesson to all others.

i am not happy with capital punishment to anybody.. but if its stopped., the criminals will become more courageous and do harm the most., because that., they know., they are about to go to such a place., where they will get briyani, egg, chick etc..feast...something to be done to avoid capital punishment., at the same time something to be done to deter the culprits too

I am considering myself the most unfortunate person to read this. Before writing this article Did you ever think about the people who have lost their near and dear ones because of Ajmal Kasab. Shouldn't we hang him publicly? This is the best and only way to stop heinous crimes. By abolishing capital punishment like death penalty,Indian goverment will only insult Indian Citizens and nurture terrorism.

The trio are only part of the conspiracy and have not actually committed the crime. Moreover they are already in the prison for more than 10 years. Life imprisonment could be a better judgement. At this point I would definitely agree that the actual criminals should not be left for 20 long years like this for prosecution but should be shot at sight without any trail so that fear and hesitation will creep in, in the mind of conspirers and crime would automatically vanish.

No doubt the culprits deserve capital punishment.And it should be death sentence whoever is taking someones life.Death sentense should be for any murderer. It will not be surprise to see from judical system to come up with another verdit to hang the soul's of these people. It should not delayed at all for long 20 years for a court order. Its grave mistake from our Judicial system to make such delay. By now the culprits would have got ample time to realise thier mistake. So let them live in prison in their remaining life.

We must not see who these criminals are - whether they are muslims or tamils or hindus..what we have to see is the crime they are in for..when we talk about the punishment death penalty still can be imposed in rarest of the rare cases- which are heinous and shakes societal concise and i dont think that rarest of the rare cases cant be distinguished.. the crims like parliament attack case or this one should not be decided on sentiments of a particular sect or religion.
I agree that death punishment is not considered to be reformative in modern criminal justice system but it must be to an extent and the peoples' interest should not be at stake..
I dont want to comment on whether they should be hanged or not..because i may be partial in one or the other consideration. Its the authority which has to decide by being within the bounds of law..and it will surely do so..

For these activists, human rights are only for criminals and terrorists.
It appears rights are not violated for victims and their relatives.

The government if want to commute the capital punishment to life sentence for Rajiv assassins then it should by proper law and not because people in TamilNadu are protesting or because the respective legislative assembly has passed a resolution. Or else it leads to some sort of disharmony within the society where people start identifying themselves with the culprit's ethnicity and take government's decision on an individual cases personally as happened with J and k CM.

Lets decide whether we are run by a constitution or by emotion.In all these hysteria we should not forget to do justice to the kin of those who were killed.Remember 17 people apart from Rajiv Gandhi were killed.Its because of death penalty criminals give a thought before killing.

In reply to Gregory Basker, since the three surviving accused members were willing participants in a terrorist plot to assassinate a former Prime Minister and plunge the country into anarchy, then yes, they ARE indeed terrorists, and have a major culpability in the crime, and therefore DESERVE the highest punishment! I wonder what your views would be on drug smugglers in that regard!!

I agree with Mani Sandilya here. There has to be some kind of fear in Culprits mind which would prevent him/her from committing such a hideous crime. Moreover it is really shameful that someone who has killed your country's Prime Minister is getting the support for not getting hanged in the same country. I agree that there is too much of delay in this execution of the punishment but yes it is quite needed. If a killer of Prime Minister takes so long to get punished, then I really dont think that Kasab/Afzal can ever be punished.

I agree with the hindu. Death penalty is inhuman and it, in no ways, helps in reforming the society. These criminals must be sentenced to imprisonment for life and should be made to work very hard in prisons in producing and manufacturing goods which would contribute suitably in economic and social growth of india.

It is a sorry state of affairs that the Govt took more than 11 years to dispose their mercy petitions.when the convicts succeeded in their planning and executing the assasination so precisely and also a marathon investigation by Karthikeyan and his team to book the perpetrators of crime,and also considering the quantum of impact that the nation faced in the aftermath of the monstrous crime i want this judgement to be an eyeopener for other future crimes,the death sentence should be implemented.and also the constitutional loop holes for challenging this kind of judgements should be closed.

I think capital punishment should have no place in civilised world.We must not forget that every saint had a past and every sinner has a future.In Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case the killer had already died in the same blast and these three people had spent their 20 years in prison.So, a little bit clemency could be done here.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. Hang them high. The blood of the people they slew cries out for justice. This was a terrorist cold blooded murder, planned and operated by LTTE who has successfully waged war against a nation state. It would set a bad and dangerous precedent and HINDU IS sorely mistaken in the call for commuting their sentence to a life sentence. Would this happen anywhere else but in Tamil Nadu where dangerous radicals who waged war against India and assassinated a political leader can go free. I like to see DMK or MDMK reaction if one of their own leaders suffered such a fate.

It is observed that when corporal punishment is removed from a system,the crime rate actually shows no change or a declining trend.In this particular case the convicts have already got fruit for their deeds so why hang them? It has been proved that people after life imprisonment have changed and opposed violent methods.

I respect ur views Mr. Raju P but I think life imprisonment is much effective than capital punishment to deal/handle such terrorists or you can say unsocial elements. As far as I have seen and read these terrorists do not worry about thier life bcoz they are given a big amount for doing these wrong things and they accept that happily for their family. So I guess the best possible punishment for any terrorist is not to hang them but give them a lifetime punishment in jail and teach them a lesson what they have done so that the ones who are outside and are on the same path can see and think once before doing any such thing.

These guys killed not an ordinary man but a former Prime Minister of India. In a way, the attack was on India and its people. Killing the head of our government and the most powerful man in India in a cold blooded fashion makes a mockery of the people of India who elected their head. The law of the land has found the accused guilty. In my opinion these guys deserve the highest punishment. Waiting 20 years in prison and then hanging them is indeed the highest form of punishment. I am disappointed by Mr. Karunanidhi's statement that commuting the death sentence would please all Tamilians. I can understand people making the request on humanitarian grounds but this is clearly regional politics. Will Karunanidhi request for commuting the death sentence of Kasab or Afsal Guru? Karunanidhi and other representatives from TN are playing politics. Injecting regional chauvinism is as dangerous practice as terrorism.

What one needs to understand here, is that, the three young men did not 'kill' Rajiv Gandhi! It is really frustrating to see so many posts refer to them as 'terrorists' 'killers of our former pm' and so on. Is it so difficult to think correctly? We all know that it was a suicide attack and apart from that the mastermind of the attack, Sivarajan, was already shot dead. These three are convicted as having abetted the crime, in big or small ways. Perarivalan for one, is accused of having bought a battery for the bomb. Is this a crime that needs execution? Somebody wrote here that "they are assassins of our former pm and not a next-door neighbour". Is it right sense to divide the worth of life?? Are not all lives equal? It is not the state's authority to take life. It is foolish, aggressive, and capitalistic to still hold on to capital punishment. Most civilized countries have done away with it. This is the right time for India to follow suit. Kudos to Madras High court for this brave act!

Sorry to say that, it is an idiotic stand, if you want, kill these killers and spend the same amount of money on malnourished children, grew them up as good citizen and prevent them from becoming terrorists that way we can act meaningfully, what is the use of accomodating them in prison for decades and saying them "it is ok to kill a prime minister, you are set free"?

Any one thinking about becoming terrorist against India is watching, and would get comfort from the news that no capital punishment in India. Some common people will become victims of such "too nice to terrorist" attitude.

Rajiv Gandhi was killed by maniacs blinded by false revenge. He and the people surrounding him on that fateful day were blasted to pieces. Shall we leave such maniacs so lightly. Mr. Karunanidhi said that if the three convicts were not hanged then Tamil people will feel happy. In Punjab the demand is that the dreaded terrorist Bhullar shall not be hanged so that pubjabi people will feel happy. If Muslims says that they will be happy if Kasab and Afzal guru are not be hanged is it ok? Where is the end to such meaningless demands?

As such capital punishment is given only in the rareset of rare cases. We are in the age of contract killing taken up as a profession. Fear of capital punishment is a deterrent and if that is abolished then the consequence is unthinkable.

And should India abolish capital punishment just because other countries don't pursue it? How about countries who pursue it? If for every act of ours, we need to benchmark with somebody else's act, then where is our sense of conviction?

Do we take sides when or how it suits us? Just because they are Tamils (sic) there are so many voices suddenly going against such convicts getting the death penalty. What about the perpetrators of violence or acts of war against the Indian state? Like, Ajmal Kasab or Afzal Guru?Will we want to move clemency petitions for them too? A lot of arguments going around here are for/against these convicts and almost justifying their acts (as pardonable) committed during an unfinished and undeclared war. Am sure these were argued well in the SC and now the President in all his/her wisdom kept silent all along till the papers were moved with sudden alacrity.
Why mix up the whole issue? These guys killed our ex-PM, whether or not one likes Rajiv Gandhi. They deserve to be killed - and whoever says they don't deserve to be killed should be sought to bring back Rajiv to life.

I salute the wisdom of HC of Chennai to stay the hanging by 8 weeks. Irrespective of the fact whether they actually were involved in the ghastly murder of our late PM, it is totally undemocratic and inhuman to hang any culprit. The life giver is The Almighty and even own parents cannot kill their offsprings. When it is a crime to abort a foetus, it is a serious crime to take away unnaturally any ones life, howsoever the Law of land allows death penalty in the extreme of extreme cases. Life for another life is non-Gandhian & uncivilised; it does not matter if one dies in a terrorist attack or due to a legal >punishment for another crime. Government has spent crores and crores of rupees on the investigations all these years & it can afford to provide for the food & maintenance of these convicts during their life term in the jails. I also wish such a view is taken in regard to Afzal Guru and others waiting death penalty.

All these 'Human Rights' activists come with these arguments when these criminals are to be punished. What about the victims? As someone has earlier mentioned, only when you have a personal tragedy will you realize this. Hope these activists sing the same tune when a similar incident happens to them or their dear ones. As I read somewhere, these criminals are like cancer and like cancer, needs to be removed to save the whole body / society.

Wonder what opinion 'The Hindu' has about Pakistani killer Kasab? Release him after 21 years? I think it is a preposterous idea to 'consistently' believe that capital punishment has to be abolished. There are personal views and the views that a country must take. Confusing between personal views and those that benefit the country lead to grave dangers.

Criminals who execute crime on such a large scale which can be detrimental to the whole country not only one or two persons must be sentenced Capital Punishment. Life sentence can not set example for such perpetrators.

It is a pity that even respected newspapers like The Hindu have taken the extreme liberal view on capital punishment. Despite years of debate on this topic, several western societies have retained capital punishment as an essential option that should be exercised to punish the gravest of crimes. We are talking about a calculated political assasination of a head of state (former/present) here, not some little next-door neighbour murder. If this crime does not deserve capital punishment, then we may as well let terrorists and criminal walk the streets freely. If we do not exercise capital punishment in the name of democracy and human rights, it will set a dangerous precedent in that criminals will perpetually exploit loopholes in a liberal democracy to seek mercy after mercy, and essentially get away with heinous crimes. Do not forget that to continue to feed the three criminals in jail for the rest of their lifetimes comes at a cost to responsible law-abiding taxpayers as well!

It would be stupid to be taking care of prisoners at public money for their life time. Considering the comforts provided in the Indian jails, at certain costs, life sentence is not at all a punishment for these fellows. We should hang them and stop spending on them. Nalini's case will have to be opened up again as I learn there could be legal issues in the way she was commuted. By taking appropriate legal steps, she needs to be executed too. We do not need such people in the society anymore.

Such brutual killing should not happen in future these criminal should be hanged. These criminals are not human they killed our Former PM and innocent people. No Mercy should be shown to these criminals. Only if Capital punishment is given their will be fear which will reduce the crime rate.

They killed the Ex-Prime Minister of the Country on our land, video recorded it . That is like an act of war. India helped them most and this how they showed their gratitude. No nation can forgive or forget this.

Capital Punishment does not befit a civilized society. Nor does it deter crime, it perpetuates the cycle. Clear space in jails by processing under-trials promptly. How many hundreds are in jail without any charge at all?

Death penalty on those who could not defend their innocence in a court of law is to be avoided. In the past, several people who were facing death penalty were found to be innocent. In the present case, political parties did not do anything in the last twenty years Why so many parties, all of a sudden, ask for clemency now? They all think they can gain some political mileage after loosing state elections.

Will it serve the intended purpose if they are hanged now,will it be a deterrant and for whom? Situation has changed so drastically now - yesterday's extremists are now victims in Sri Lanka.I am in no way condoning their act but it must be seen that government cannot subvert the sense of justice for its own convenience.Our record on execution is too selective to be overlooked.why government did not take a call for so long and why it did so now, is not hard to decipher. I think any decision should be strictly based on present degree and future scope of reformative aspirations of these convicts, judged in a completely dispassionate manner.

I totally disagree with The Hindu's stand. There is a Udupi-datelined report in today's edition of your paper that an elderly couple was murdered with a grinding stone by thieves. If such is the audacity of criminals knowing fully well our law provides for death sentence, I dont dare to think about the consequences if it is to be abolished. Also, the argument being put forward by the political class that the delay of 11 years in deciding on the clemency appeal provides a ground for commutation only exposes their designs. What were all these people doing in the last 11 years. Did any one raise their voice demanding expeditious decision on the mercy pleas. Not even the media bothered. Though the government is to be blamed for such inordinate delay, the other side also kept quite because it suited them. None should forget that it was life of a former PM and 16 other innocent people that were consumed by the dastardly act of LTTE. Think of kin of those victims who have been left in the lurch.

Pending Issues have to be solved as early as possible. If death penalty is in our judiciary then it has to be executed. (Atleast on indians, because more interestingly we dont dare it on foreign criminals !!!!(Such as Afjal Guru) , because we have complex situations , one of them is the terror threat(Which is unexpected).) So that other will get an lesson for a crime. And As it this case will be solved as earlier by death penalty execution , the next case will come in row easily before the court. Again one thing, if we left the criminals, then there is more chances of their unity and plotting some plan again , because this issue is of prime minister, not of an ordinary citizen(Though in democracy all are equal status).

Everyone have right to live and its constitutional right. Crime can not be corrected by taking ones life. Convict should get the chance to correct himself at least after completing life imprisonment. LTTE issue is not convicts personal issue but s/he committed crime for his/her social values and norms. SO rather hanging one or two effort should be to correct the damage done.

With every death sentence, there are two deaths. It is far better to allow the convict to live and think about his misdeed everyday, that to liberate him of this mental torture. The anticipation and uncertainty of one's future is punishment enough. They have done 20 years of that. Commuting to life without parole is a befitting and logical answer.

i disagree with "THE HINDU" with this topic: ok if the capital punishment is abolished, then what is the meaning of law and punishment(where is punishment?). People who commits such brutal acts must be made accountable for their deeds, not only this but also of this kind in any form(no religion,no region)

I don't agree with The Hindu Editorial on the matter of abolishing the death penalty in India.Some crimes are justified by Death Penalty itself,that too be in case of assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,a former Prime Minister of India.Hanging the accused persons is the only way of punishing them.Surely,this action mitigates this type of crimes in India.Our honourable president had granted relevant punishment.I support Our President.

Even I'm from Tamil Nadu, will not tolerate this heinous Crime. We will realise pain only if it happens to us. So they should be hanged with out second thought.Whoever commits this kind of crime should not be supported. Kick out all these waste fellows.

I don’t understand why the media group like The Hindu is adding fuel to this topic. Already UPA government is so soft on the ruthless criminals like Kasab and Afsal. If capital punishment is withdrawn this will give the criminals motivation to do acts like 26/11 without any fear.

As a citizen living in India of the country of the West that uses capital punishment "liberally," I can assure you that it has absolutely no proven deterrent effect. In fact, the states of America that have BANNED capital punishment are those wherein the least homicides are committed, and those, like Texas, which employ it in defiance of all sense of justice and proportion, are the ones wherein mayhem, rape and murder are committed every day. And let us try to understand what the murder of Rajiv Gandhi REALLY means, in this discussion of legal murder--which is that violence breeds further violence. A people who believe in "karmaya" really should better understand this than I. Are you aware of what acts of genocide the javans sent by Rajiv Gandhi into Sri Lanka committed there? As a former resident, once, of Sri Lanka, I heard, many times, of rapes, torture and summary killings of Sri Lankan Tamils by Indian troops. It is said that the child Dhanu watched her whole family butchered.

I agree with Hindu that death penalty is not right. But, if people like this be forgiven then many will think like this "chalo lets do crime "we will be forgiven and if not we won't be hanged. So in my view inhumane people deserve harsh punishment or death penalty.

The feelings of millions of people are to hang them. The conspiracy to kill a former prime minister amounts to a threat to nation. So there should be no arguments by a few elite people whether to hang him or not. Only after their hanging, millions of Indians would somewhat be relieved.

The moment you are ready to take another person's life, you don't value it. If you do not value other's life we do not value yours! What kind of logic is the esteemed editor suggesting - that we value the life of one who did not value the life of others?

We all talk about Rajiv Gandhi murder.Who will talk about the lives of 15 police officers who died along with Rajiv Gandhi. It is a pity that nobody is talking about the 15 people died along with Rajiv Gandhi.We really don't know the present condition of those families. Before making any comments go and talk to those people & get their views.

A intention behind the article is good. But I don't think these type of heinous crimes and criminal should be given pardon. They should be hanged. But I urge the Govt. to exercise same penalty in case of Afzal guru and Ajmal Kasab. Otherwise intent of the Govt. will be under question.

More severe punishment need to be amended or capital punishment should be modified to make the criminal realize the importance of what he should not do. Simply hanging or life imprisonment is not the solution. At the same time, punishment should be such that it will help the country to recover something out of the person.

Majority of countries today had capital punishment. The USA, the world's greatest democratic country too practice death punishment. Europe that had seen millions of death during two world war had abolished death penalty but if the continent reaches the economic conditions like in third world countries which will prop up crime in society, sure Europe will adopt this law too. In one of the religious book it says and i >quote, 'if a man had killed another person it is like though he had killed the whole humanity'. The editor should understand the pulse of the nation and give up its stance.

India's bad luck to loose a great leader like Rajivji . India is still trying to get up but it is very far away to win. In olden days people travelled from another country to india for trade. But now india is very worse in money matters,everything in india is costly and foriegn coutries which made trade with our country are richer than our country. this is because we are not having a good leader and unity. Whereever we go there is caste and communalism, fight and violence. All are greedy of money. Make money, money....all are hungry for money.how many of the people raised their voice when they killed our PM Rajivji. And now you all raising your voice for the killers. Did the mystery of his death is discovered? Not yet but shame on those people instead of punishing them making sucide for them and making sounds and problems..my conclusion is they should be hanged then only the others will be afraid. They are investigated and then only punished. All the criminals deserve their death. A big loss to the country and for the people due to our pm's death. Think that if our pm rajivji was alive then our country will be the most progressive country in the world. Be honest and then do justice kill all the criminals abolish all the terrorists. Remove the devils from the society. we are proud to be an indian.

Why can't The Hindu desist from taking potshots at the government all the time? What was the need to bring in the UPA's action of fast tracking death sentences?The media should stop behaving like petty politicians always ready to be spiteful towards the government. It lowers the level of the debate especially in something as controversial as capital punishment. Hope The Hindu is able to stop being unnecessarily churlish.

I do appreciate the stand of The Hindu with regard to the capital punishment. As long as man cannot create a human life, he has no authority to take the life, what-so-ever the crime and the situation warrants. The life is a gift from God and only He has the authority to take it away. Though it is very hard to practice, the society should begin to forget the past and love their enemies. In this regard, the media should sow seeds of love and reconcilation in the minds of the people.

The fact that our GOVT delayed the decision to send the files to the president does not make the case for release of these persons. They have literally waged war against the state by assassinating a former prime minister at the prime of his life. IT is better that there be a time frame for the govt to send the files with recommendations to the president. As far as Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab my personal opinion is that they should be hanged immediately as any amount of dilly dallying by the govt will only give the wrong impression that they will eventually be released as after all they are OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BROTHERS.

A sadly disappointing ed. The moot point is the time gap between the referral of the case to the President and its final disposal (in this case 11 years) smacks of indifference and politicking. This time gap is certainly unpardonable - given that even Dr. APJ Kalam, the people's President would have gone through the file. Perhaps it is high time to review the power of the President to commute the punishments confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Can The Hindu ed team kindly explain the reasons for low rate of crime in Islamic States? It is because they have harsh and quick punishments. If Capital punishment is argued against, even punishment in the case of Income Tax, Customs, Central Excise, Electricity Acts are harsh as well. In these cases, it can easily be argued that it is simply transfer of assets from one individual to another.

The lawyers, politicians why do they interfere in the critical issues such as this. Go back to 20 years when this gruesome incident took place in Sriperumpudur, what was the mentality of each and every citizen of India. Only in India Lawyers and other politician who have no job will protest against the justice. On the day one itself they should have been allowed to go. Why spend money on them finally to stage protests. Moreover wneh the President has rejected their plea there should not be any going back from the final verdict. Criminals must be punished as a lesson to other criminals. Atleast there will be some fear in repeating the such kind inhuman acts like this.

Lot has been said both for and against death penalty. I also am against death penalty but what to punish the guilty? the arguments that death penalty will not serve as a deterrent to others or it is not going to make the guilty remorse or will it bring back the killed is in my opinion idiotic. if we allow the same logic then every guilty person for whatever crimes need not be punished at all? if the death penalty is not going to be a deterrent /. not bring back the dead / not make the guilty feel remorse then will any other punishment do? then why have any punishment at all. This will be very ridiculous and outrageous and down right foolish and so are the other arguments. Punishment should be harsh enough to act as a deterrent and it has to be handed out swiftly. since in our country any case takes 8- 10 years for the judge just to go through the case there is no justice. As some one mentioned earlier the non punishment of the guilty is actually a punishment to the law abiding citizen.

It is true that capital punishment has to be abolished in toto .But the coin has two sides.The arguments for and against are equally convincing.The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi had deprived the nation of a young,dynamic and forward-looking mass leader.Nalini,an important member of the killer team,has till this day not shown any trace of compunction for the dastardly act inspite of having her death sentence commuted into life time in prison.On the contrary,it is surprising how the accused bring in precious arguments based on lofty principles of compassion,human dignity and inviolability of human life after having carried out the most horrendous and despicable act just to escape the gallows.The cold-blooded murder of chopra children in delhi,similar killing of jain children in coimbatore nor the heinous crimes against the tamil daily DINAKARAN and equally callous act that destroyed the young lives along with the bus in erode,only to mention a few,are enough to haunt us. Let it be on statute.

Dear Sir, That means you commit most heinous crimes and be assured that the Government will not feed you for rest of your life. A simple solution unemployment problem.

What is the fate of the families of innocent people and policemen who have perished along with Rajiv Gandhi? Do they deserve this? No. These 3 people should have been hanged earlier.

I agree only partly with the editor's view. In my view the capital punishment should be given only to those who act or attack against our country and its system with an intention to destroy or destabilize it otherwise not even though they have attacked any highest official or individual like President or PM etc. Also the lifetime imprisonment should not be restricted to any specific no of years instead it should be made till death and they should never be allowed to contact anyone till death on any condition. In my view Kasab and Afzal Guru must be hanged but not these LTTE killers or any such offenders.

I have read so many comments on abolition of death sentence till date, but i do not understand what kind of persons are those who feel to abolish death sentence. Does any of them have ever lost any of their family member in terror attacks. if no, then they could not understand the human pain exactly. imagine how cruel and inhuman these people are, when they kill innocent people, are lives of those innocent worthless. while these criminals are so crucial part of society that all human activists are ready to fight for them to save their life. OMG. Even in Ramanyana and Mahabharta, devils were killed by gods when they exceeded their limit of cruelty. so what happened today.

As much as our human nature seeks vengeance for the crimes committed, we should abolish capital punishment. I say this as a person who would want to take revenge on people who hurt the ones I love, but it should not based on a group or individual alone. I agree that these people should be locked up for life, and never be able to hurt another human being, but we as a state/people shouldn't be killing people. These executions things have no inherent deterrence, so if Ajmal Kasab were to be executed, do you think the Pakistani terrorists would not commit the same thing again if opportunity provided itself? We need to protect ourselves better when it comes to terrorism, and I am all for protecting our borders better, and if these same guys are killed in action that's different as well. This no way means lowering their crimes against innocent human beings, but I feel executing them after a trial is completely different, and more do with society's moral responsibility.

How can India do justice to hundreds, if not thousands, of molest and rape victims of the infamous IPKF that Rajiv sent supposedly to protect the oppressed and marginalized Eelam Tamils; and the arms-twisting tactics used by the then Indian government against the freedom fighters of Eelam who had always contained their acts within Srilanka tell then. He surely wouldn't have wanted things to go the way things went later. The murder of vengeance is the sad consequence of this cruel episode, rightly or wrongly - depending on which side of the fence we are. He perhaps was held morally responsible for this atrocities. It situation really was an amoral quagmire. The cruel assassination was indeed a terrible blow to his family, kins and the nation. But what about justice denied to the thousands of victims of the IPKF's atrocities? This aspect was expediently never given space in the Indian media, as was expected. Justice to the leaders and damn the marginalized victims.

The crime doers are getting punished here, because Rajiv Gandhi was a PM. Will the same happen in every case, where murders are planned,connived and executed?

The Supreme Court of India has rejected both were appeals and mercy petitions. Now the President of India has rejected the mercy petitions. There is therefore no way out. People have regard for what appears in the editorials of your paper. Your editorial appeals to be on sentiment. In the current circumstances of this case, that kind of an appeal can cause emotional problems among people who do not comprehend the legal position.

I wonder if all these people in support of execution (Capital punishment) would actually be ready to watch these people being hanged?

The death punishment is awarded only after years of trial in various courts.therefore delay by govts. in execution only for political reasons is not justified.we spend crores of rupees for their stay in jails(11 cr for kasab security in Maharashtra jail). such wastage of taxpayers money, is it justified??? execution of death penalty should be as soon as possible. there should be lesson and fear in minds of criminals. situation of India cannot be compared with other countries who have abolished death punishments.

A political murder.......It is a political decision..........Don't bring in rejection of mercy petitions by President. Vajpayee government's Home Minister L K Advani endorsed the Presidential pardon for the release of five Latvian nationals convicted to life imprisonment in the Purulia Arms Drop Case even before their appeal pending before High Court. A few years later Advani endorsed the Presidential pardon for Peter Bleach a British national convicted to life imprisonment in the same case. Now BJP wants Mohd Afzal to be hanged early. Chidambaram wanted Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan to be hanged. President Prathiba Patil signed the dotted lines rejecting their mercy petitions. Rajiv Gandhi did the same thing in not arresting Union Carbide's Anderson in exchange for the release of Mohd Younus's son languishing in US Jail. Abolish death penalty...

I disagree with your proposal. By abolishing capital punishment, every BPL poor in this country wont hesitate committing a crime and spending their life in prison with free food, roof etc. It would only amount loss to exchequer. What is achieved?? We should not be then surprised to see more Kasabs, Afzal Gurus etc. attacking India. Unless we build solid trust in our IB, RAW or police to unearth/avoid such heinous crimes, this shall continue.... Of course not all crimes deserve capital punishment and could be carefully studied in national interest.

Why do you need to abolish the capital punishment ? Do you want the Indian tax payers to feed Kasab biriyani and chicken through out the so called life imprisonment ? It is very easy to be a critic of capital punishment, but it is difficult to realize the pain and trauma of the terror victims. The people like Murugan, Kasab, Afzal Guru must not be shown any kind of mercy.

If the editors believes so strongly on the issue of abolition of the death penalty why did it not initiate a honest debate on this. We are having a strong commited media which is straining itself to highlight issues of public concern , and it should take up this matter for a serious debate. We don't see this intellectual honesty from the " The Hindu" when the opposition takes pot-shots at the govt over Kasab and afzal guru hanging just to score some brownie points . WE will wait for the papers editorial when these issues appear in the media the next time.

There is nothing wrong in the Death Penalty.A person who takes the life of another, other than in self defence or in war,forfeits the right to mercy.Indeed,life imprisonment without parole for life is a greater punishment than Death.On the other hand, the amount of resources spent on his upkeep and security has to be paid for by civil society which has been the aggrieved party.This is considered unfair.Dharma is only for those who observe Dharma.That has been the teaching of our scriptures.

The discussion and the editorial pleading for condoning crime are silly. It is playing to the gallery. The murderers were given a bonus life of 20 years because of the sluggish judicial processses of India. People have been hanged before and continue to be hanged as long as the law is clear. Innnocents die in terrorist acts and riots. Col blooded murderers dying after their crime has been established is logical. Humanistic considerations for sub-human beings are unncessary.

Ranting loud against Capital Punishment seems to have become a fashion. I remember a quote, "Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved." Just put yourselves in the shoes of those persons assassinated and murdered. Would you show mercy on those people who raped and killed a 10-year-old child along with her younger brother in Coimbatore last year? Would you do the same if that happened (may God forbid) in your family? Editorial should be reasonable and responsible in its views as it can influence so many with a telling effect. Our forefathers "invented" God just to act as a deterrent from people falling into crime, our Judiciary invented Capital Punishment just to achieve that same deterrence since "God" does not go well with atheists like me, for instance. Only the rarest of rare cases is sentenced death. Let the law prevail please. It is there to safeguard you and me and our children from those inhuman criminals.

First of all I do not know agree with any fixed stand taken by The Hindu or any organisation in this regard. It should be based on the merit of the case. Today crime in countries like Middle East is compartively less because of the fear in the common man's mind about the stringent punishments. If someone does in human act it is nothing wrong punishing him with capital punishment. While we try to restrict such punishments we can not take a stand of abandoning it completely!

Killing is a dastardly act. Who kills,who is killed and why killed are questions which have no relevance in this context.

Abolition of the death penalty says more about who we are than about the crime or the criminal. If we wish to create a truly compassionate society, we must not only abolish the death penalty, but put in place serious psychological processes to educate criminals and rehabilitate them, whatever the dastardly crimes they have committed. Compassion must be the underlying philosophy of governance, towards people, animal life, and nature. Today our society and State are very far from the ideals that brought us Independence.

your suggestion sounds unconvincing and funny to some extent. why even 'reward' them by keeping them in jail and feed them on public money for killing people?

I agree with the editor that capital punishment should be abolished, but in its place there should a law to keep these people in prison till their natural deaths.This is for 2 reasons, one is to send out a clear message to people who at this time could be conspiring to kill others, and secondly to prevent these people from profiteering from their crimes, by selling their stories etc.

I don't agree. If we already had a general moratorium then it is fine. But here someone has killed our former head of state and we are suddenly going all mushy on them. It doesn't make any sense and conveys a very bad message to the world and would be attackers.

People who read 'Papillon' by Henri Charrière will know how cruel the convict's life in jail, especially solitary jail, that is given to life-terms. All Judicial systems are very clear that ONE cannot be punished twice for the same offense. How can we say, confining anybody for 11 odd years in the name of prosecution of cases, is not a punishment? Capital punishment is the second punishment for the same offense. When life-sentence(usually 14 years - recently Supreme Court interpreted as life) is imposed, this 11 year is deducted from the term. But 11 years+ hanging is double punishment for the same offense. According to Hindu karma he/she will be reborn and already licensed to do their act again, by taking punishment in advance. Mahatma Gandhi: '[Ahimsa] means not injuring any living being, whether by body or mind. I may not therefore hurt the person of any wrong-doer, or bear any ill will to him and so cause him mental suffering.' Double punish is neither English nor Gandhian!

I don't agree. If you are arguing about abolishing this system, what about cold-blooded criminals like Ajmal Kasab. If there is something that can be improved is expediting the system so that the convict should not suffer extra punishment which is not a part of sentence.But abolishing it altogether and encouraging rather than deterring such crimes is simply not acceptable

I am sure that this article will be appreciated by each individual with mildest of heart and by persons exact opposite to them( may be potential culprits planning a murder). By the way i support Hindu's campaign.

20 years before, these death punishment was decided. Has this really detterred any one from killing in Anger, greed or for political reasons? Then why capital punishment? Abolish it please. No more, please.

I endorse your view that these three need not be hanged. Their crime deserves highest condemnation and they must be allowed to repent throughout their lives for the ghastly murder committed by them. But why GOI and President of India are not applying the same yardstick in the case of Afzal Guru whose dastardly attack to blow up the Indian Parliament is a much more serious crime against the country as a whole. Is it not caste politics? Hanging of Rajiv killers alone will surely send the message that GOI are more scared of Islamic fundamentalists within and outside the country.

Capital punishments should not be abolished. i feel imprisonment for life is inhuman. What if someone is regretting what he has done? or what if he has changed himself and became a better person? Everyone deserves a chance (definitely not referring to ajmal kasab). and life imprisonment will only make him frustrated about life and he will plan to do the worst once he gets out. therefore, either you hang them or set them free after some years.

Compassion is misunderstood. In Norway a madman killed over 90 persons. What punishment he deserve? They have the right to take away some one's life for some dirty cause, whereas if we take his life-- it looks ludicorous!!!! In this land of Dharma god took nine avatars to kill the evildoers. Let us not view such killers with any compassion.

Of all countries, the land of Mahatma Gandhi should have been one of the first to abolish such a cruel form of punishment. Those who support the death sentence should take a minute and ask themselves if they would be happy to carry out such a sentence themselves. If they cannot, it would be hypocritical to expect someone else to do their bidding.

Bravo, The Hindu, for having the courage to say something in which all sophisticated people of the world believe. Capital punishment brings society down to the level of murderers to whom it is applied. Let the killers sit in prison for the rest of their natural lives and suffer for taking innocent lives. Why shorten thier punishment by putting them out of their misery? And yes this should also apply to terrorists and to the convict that helped carry out the attack on the Taj and the great people of Mumbai in 2008. Let him suffer for the rest of his natural live. You see being sophisticated requires being wise. Again, bravo, The Hindu!

The long lasting fate of the three comes to an end. What is the point, they live or die whats the difference... the mastermind behind this cold blooded murder is still not brought to justice.These three are just tools, but who used them? About Ajmal Kasab, he's still alive because any information coming from his mouth about the the actual motive or other plans of the anti social elements can save many life's which cannot be bought with you TAX Money.

I agree with your editorial opinion. Capital punishment has been repeatedly justified and canvassed by a certain class of politicians, who hardly care for the improvement of the lives of the citizens. These politicians whip up an oversimplified sense of justice. Can we seriously believe in the concept of deterrence of murders with death penalty, when neither George bush nor Zia-ul-Haque could reduce the incidence of death from gunshot wounds in their respective countries? Dhanajoy Chatterjee was hanged in Kolkata. The distasteful and ghoulish exuberance of the Bengali media before, during, and after the hanging had reminded many of the feeding frenzy in the scavenging carnivores.

Death penality, because of misguided persons use their intelligence to kill leaders or common people, is not right. They have their reason in their logic. Corruption results in the death of victims, like doctors denying treatment or govt officers responsible not giving pensions and policies taking out lands from farmers or their livelyhood. Now these responsible should also need to go gallows! Society should understand these problems. Problems exist. persons loose sense and do barabaric acts. ABOLISH DEATH SENTENCE and find alternatives like 20 yr prison sentence.

Is the crime proved beyond doubt, in spite of Jain Commission Report which was buried for different reasons. It is understood that a portion of Sri Lankans (posting here under different names) likes the verdict. That is the only verdict they know for decades.

I do not, even if I were to support the capital punishment - deterrence hypothesis, think that this would qualify as a heinous crime. It was, plainly speaking, an act of war - a sort of 'legitimate' crime. The fact that a politician who himself sends people into combat does not wield a weapon does not make him a non-combatant. If the LTTE team, in a sneak attack, had killed a detachment of the Indian military, would we have called for the death penalty? Then, why for attacking a Prime Minister who had been deemed responsible for waging an undeclared war on them and causing much death and misery? (The IPKF was not made of saints, if you remember the civilian massacres in Valvettithurai and the Jaffna hospital.) Compound that with the feeling of having been stabbed in the back by the same people who had trained and armed them. Also the fact that the LTTE and the IPKF did not arrive at a peace accord. So a state of war continued, didn't it?

I oppose your views because of two reasons: ONE:if we keep dreaded criminals in prisons then there is always a possibility of another Kandhar plane hijack taking place.Terrorists released then are inflicting great harm on country today. TWO:If this happens, police and military personnel may develop a tendency of shooting down the suspects rather then arresting them. I am a soldier and feel cheated when I see that government is unable to execute the terrorists whom we caught after losing many of our beloved companions in gunbattles.

Enemies of the state must be hanged.Will the editor recommend life term for Afzal Guru and Kasab too.If so this will be shameful.

In islamic jurisprudence, sole purpose of handing out punishment is deterrence, neither taking revenge nor reforming the criminal.Capitol punishment should be there in statue as a deterrence measure but use it in rarest rare case. How can a state spare the life of enemies of the state, while hundreds of soldiers losing their life to guard it.

Will you want KASAB also to be spared the noose? He is also a human being who committed cold blooded murders on Indian soil.

I totally disagree with the views of the editorial. Just because crime rates have not come down in countries having death penalty, does it mean crime rate is lower in the absence of such penalty? If not, why have any punishment at all? Free all the criminals for they will anyway reform themselves.We do not need any prisons or reformatories in such a case. Apply the same principles to Ajmal Kasam and Afzal Guru and other terrorists too. Why have a High court or Supreme court to decide on the matters of such crimes when the final decision of clemency rests on the politicians, the Governor or the President? In the first instance why should law abiding citizens of the country have to sacrifice their lives to the criminals? They are also entitled to live.There will not be any greater injustice to the law abiding people of India if appropriate punishment is abolished depending on the gravity of the crime is abolished based on the stand of the self seeking politicians of the country.

For this monstorous crime harshest punishment should be awarded,I don't agree with abolishing capital punishment ,such a punishment should be given for the rarest of the rare crimes,otherwise a Murugan a Santhan, and a Perarivalan will ressurect.

The readers must be knowing certain interesting death sentences awarded in our lands as narrated in Tamil literature.In silapadikaram Kovalan was executed by the king.Later proved wrong the King died followed by the queen.Nanu needhi Cholan tried extreme punishment on his own son and prince.In Ramayanam Rama awarded that punishment to Vali without even investigating.Of course this is mythology.Coming to modern era there are many other methods of killing seen in our country .Terrorists are killed.There are encounter deaths to finish of many without trials.There are honor killings,mercy killings etc. All these to be addressed in total by Our country.Other countries also follow these killings.Even osama bin laden was killed by US recently in an encounter manner but obama said 'Justice is being done'. We are thinking of shifting the comma from 'Hang him,not spare him' to 'Hang him not,spare him'. The rope is swinging above the necks.

No doubt death penalty looks cruel on the face of it. But does it not appear cruel when a criminal attacks some innocent victims? Does the criminal justice system provide a flawless solution to this crime? Is it not cruel to kill animals for food? Many people kill animals mericlessly not merely for satisfying their appetite but for pampering their taste buds. Do they eat animal's bodies because they do not have any alternative food? Is eating meat not more barbarous and uncivilised than killing a human, because you do not eat the human? If meat-eating is to be tolerated because of traditions and customs of people why call capital punishment barbarous? Therefore, to be practical and to render justice to the victim's families, an eye-for-eye punishment may be justified only in the case of murders and that too in the rarest of rare cases as already provided in the CrPC. Why do we call ourselves civilised when we cannot provide enough safety to our citizens from criminals?

A very important editorial that delineates the difference between punishing and being gruesome. Hope the powers that can change this verdict read this and save those three from going to the gallows.

Why not bring KP and hang him too. Only a few are getting punished. While some were given VIP treatment. The whole murder investigation has to be investigated again. Many involved were not interrogated at all. Please re open the file and find the rest of the criminals and file charges against them.

I submit four arguments: 1. when Supreme court decides a case, there should be no room for any review. What qualification does the President has to overrule SCs judgement? If it's an executive prerogative derived from colonial rule, the sooner it's thrown out the better it would be for the Nation. 2. Somebody must answer for sleeping over mercy petitions which involve human life for more than a decade. If there's no accountability at the top, please spare it's application to the lower levels of governance. 3. Capital punishment must be available in the Statute in this age of unimaginable crimes. It must be executed promptly when decided by the highest court of the land. 4. In the current case, ignoring the imprisonment for more than 10 yrs and executing the penalty after 11 yrs cannot be justified by any judicial standard. There must be a revised hearing by Supreme court on the effect of continued incarnation for a decade after judgement and let the court decide afresh.

hats off to you sir,if our politician can be allowed to be free than why not assassins.of course they have just killed hundreds of people which is dwarf as compared to million of disillusioned people who are becoming victims of their own representative ,and not to forget about emergency, needless to write about that people still feel the burn,but so called representative are free. then why not we can show some mercy to the assassins ,after all we are indian ,we love peace and humility.

I agree with the Editorial for the following two reasons. It has been Scientifically proven that Society has a significant role in the shaping character and personality of an individual. So, without punishing the society but punishing an individual is blatantly wrong. Crime is just a symptom and not the root cause of a greater malaise in the society. Execution by whatever methods for whatever crimes sends subliminal cues that 'Killing is OK' to population at large and this goes against the main purpose of such execution, that it has to be deterrent for future criminals.

Capital punishment, contrary to the belief of so many commentators here, is not a deterrent of any crime. Thus, it is ineffective. Those who propose it want blood for blood, not justice. Killing is killing, whether it is done by an individual or on behalf of the state. Two wrongs do not make one right. Capital punishment has no place in the justice system. It is time to get rid of it. Thank you THE HINDU for making a case to abolish death penalty once and for all.

The Hindu deserves congratulations for the stand against capital punishment. Most democracies have abolished capital punishment. It is high time India follows suit. Every study has shown that capital punishment is no deterrent to crimes. Life imprisonment would be adequate to protect society. Parole after 20 years should be considered on an individual basis by judicial authorities. Vengeance is not the basis of law. In medieval times criminals were tortured and killed - often in public. Those were autocracies.

A humane solution is to replace the gallows with lethal injection, but the capital punishment we must keep. Eye for an eye never eradicates crimes, but justice must prevail.

Tax payers money cannot be spent on feeding traitors who plot the downfall of our leaders for their entire life or foreigners who kill Indians mercilessly, like Kasab. It makes no sense to feed them for their life whileWe have millions of law abiding poor who starve and go without a basic meal. Death penalty may be a medival practice, but makes a lot of sense to the exchequer on saving money and spending it on development rather than on people who can never enter civil society again.

The accused in the Rajiv assasination case do not deserve any mercy.They should be hanged as an example for future generations.

Death penalty is cruel and inhuman in what ever form with instantaneous death solutions. A country like India with democratized legal delayed corridored norms and procedures with several legal hurdles and clemencied cold storage systems and without fools proof evidentiary trials of legal analysis cannot safely take the precious soul of an offender even if he is convicted for killing in the rarest of the rarest manner. The better less evil is to avoid this inhuman uncivilized, cruel capital punishments. We have experiences of posthumous pardon and acquittals for the lost poor souls. One such in the History of a country is sufficient to abolish this cruel judicial assassination. Stop the hanging for the same reason of acquittal of an women in the same category because souls are same because they are human souls not woman's soul and man's soul. When we look at the gender equality all Human life's are equal to the State.

I do NOT agree with the editorial. The convicts who did not show mercy for the lives of other human beings, deserves NO MERCY AT ALL. They are unfit to live in this civilised society. The capital punishments to those criminals in rarest of the rare cases are the only wayout which will also a warning to others. However, I would suggest that these cases should NOT drag on for 20 years as in the present case, and should be decided speedily. Further more, these criminals do not deserve to be prisons wasting the public money to feed them. NO CLEMENCY SHOUDL BE SHOWN TO THEM.

As long as the death punishment exists in our judicial system and once the highest court in the country has confirmed it in a rarest of rare case, it should be carried out. A former prime minister fell victim to the evil designs of LTTE and those behind it deserve no mercy.

Justice delayed is justice denied.Hanging sentence should have been given to the killers long back and killers executed also.The heat and gravity of the whole case would then have been accepted by all.

Why should these people who have not actually done the killing die when those who definitely killed a lot more and sentenced to death are still alive even Kasab? We should either hang them all together or not at all.

I appreciate the view of The Hindu. If 'Angulimal' had been given capital punishment, we had no example of 'Balmiki'. Capital punishment must be abolished because it does give chance to be a good human being.

Yes there is no place for the capital punishments in the civilized society. While the crime committed is heinous and culpable of harshest punishment still Governments are more responsible and humane to have to hang a person to death.

i think whatever is done is being done for the betterment of the country.if these three are hanged on that given day,it will leave a message for others who are thinking to commit same type of crime.We should not abolish death sentence untill we have some stict methods in place.

Most of the comments made here have made references to Afzal Guru or Kasab. I would like to point out that these terrorists have never feared death. Kasab was the only one who was caught alive, rest were killed. These people go out on a suicide mission. Hanging them would DEFINITELY NOT BE A DETERRENT. It would be like capturing a suicide bomber and later hanging him with the hope that this would send out a strong message to those "future" suicide bombers.

Who could have killed Amirthalingam, Siri Sabarathinam, Laxman Kadhirkamar? All around the world you see so much violence perpetuated based on ideologies. Several innocents who are caught up in the arrogance displayed by faction fighting are also killed. You are visualizing some noble cause without really giving thoughts to the reality around us. The crimes are investigated thoroughly and the verdicts spelled out by the Justice department. Without delaying it for years the verdict must be carried out within weeks or months, otherwise the governments around the world are spending so much of tax payers' money on the security and upkeep of the criminals. You are right ! we will abolish death penalty after these three are hanged, unless someone wants to postpone the abolishing of death penalty after Kasab and Afzal are hanged. Or until such time some other criminal is hanged.........there is no end to this argument.

Its very sorry to say the stand of Hindu in the Rajive murder case. What ever it is these brutal killers deserve the maximum punishment available on the land. Perarivalan may have brought few batteries, but for what?, not to light a torch but kill a leader of great nation. They deserve what they got.

capital punishment depend on the situation & should not related any person(s)however what is the use of this punishment when it takes almost 11 years to take the decision for any violent act. The Laws are obscure still.The point which is raised is really a debatable topic however first we need to have a law which takes decision within time or else it will be hanging around.

Editor's concern reflects the contemporary thinking of intelligentia world over to eliminate capital punishment. Indeed, the objective of any punishment is to reform. If India wants to dispense with such an ultimate punishment, it should convert all such cases as life imprisonment till death under solitary confinement. Jails should not be like resorts and the prisoners must be made to work to earn their bread. Strong deterrents are necessary to repel public to commit crimes.

They commited a monstrous crime.If the government pardoned them then they will be released in several years.This crime was a deliberate one and they are members of a ruthless terrorist organization which killed nearly 90000 innocent people by starting a civil war in Sri Lanka with the help of Tamilnadu government.Tamil Tigers killed villagers belonged to Muslim and Singhalese communities by grabbing children and smash their heads on trees and stones and then blaming the Sri Lankan army.They carried out 370 sucide bombings to kill more than 50,000 people including Rajiv G and also Sri Lankan president.So they should be hanged without any mercy.

I agree with The Hindu's stand that hanging to death is gruesome and a throwback to old ages. However, death sentence should not be abolished since there should be a deterrent - however little it might be. Death sentence should be handed down to those exemplary conditions and rarest of rarest cases where the guilt is beyond all reasonable doubt; but in those cases, death should be by lethal injection - a decidedly humane approach compared to hanging. And for the rest of the criminals imprisonment for the remainder of their life without parole (without or with solitary confinement) should be awarded.

Are we going to save those three killers who burnt the bus with the three students from Agricultural College, Coimbatore, in Dharmapuri? Are we going to save Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab?

I have had a glimpse of the swelling comments on your editorial. Some readers spontaneously fly into a fury in making their comments. I feel some, at least, may later regret, when the import of what you expressed sinks in their mind. However, I rate your opinion as objective, impassioned and progressive. If the State, in total command of its powers, executes the convicted trio, what makes it different from a ruthless factionist or a cruel misanthrope, who cries for 'an eye for an eye or a limb for a limb'. The death sentence is defenitely not an effective deterrent against crimes. If it had been so, in many Arab countries it would have vanished. The real remedy lies in the enforcement of social justice, equity and equality. The State would do well if it evinces the equal amount of enthusiasm, verve and energy in implementing benevolent reforms for people as they show towards pursuing the conviction of the guilty. Execution is repugnant and must be expunged from the statute.

While supporting your passionate plea for commuting the death sentence to life for the three convicts, we are disturbed by the last two sentences in your Editorial. Commuting for all facing death row, is a dangerous signal, we will be giving to the people at large, in a big country like ours, where there are forces out to destabilize from all sides and in all forms. The Editorial team needs to justify their stand in a more elaborate fashion on this sensitive issue. It is not a routine statement to just read,comment and forget.

Unfortunately this plea comes at a time, when the govt has no or little time to even think about this issue, for they are engulfed by a monster of an issue to be tackled and delivered.

I once again, like to recall the argument put forth by the eminent lawyer Ramjethmalani in the indiragandhi assasination case, where he questioned as to how the president applies his/her mind on the issue before dismissing or allowing the mercy plea.

I agree with you. Capital punishment should be abolished. Let them repent and do some job in captivity to support their families and themselves.They should not be given a chance to revert to the old evil ways.

The mastermind of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination was killed by Sri Lanka. These guys were accessories to the execution of the plot. The woman who pulled the trigger died with Rajiv Gandhi. There is no doubt those who assisted deserve the harshest civilized punishment, and I applaud The Hindu for standing up against the death penalty. It has done so without injecting politics. When politicians request that the 3 condemned be spared to not hurt the Tamil people, they should be told that the Tamil people are not a race like they make it out to be, and that the basis here for not carrying out the death sentence is ethical.
Violent crimes are not deterred because of fear of the death penalty. Violent crimes are committed by people who are incapable of thinking like the rest of us. No violence is rational, and the nation/state should not rationalize its violence against individuals who have committed heinous crimes.

In my opinion, death penalty is no penalty as this has already been imposed on all living things my almighty God Himself. Hence, the punisment is a punishment only if the person is living and feeling the pain of punishment. I am not in favour of showing mercy to these criminals rather want them to live for life somewhere in in cold Laddhakh and hot Rajshtahan with bare minimum life suport, with this kind of punishment they will pray for death and death will become most desired thing for them. they will feel the pain of the punisment and curse every moment of their life and the moment when they had decided to commit such henious crime.

Its a good decision to hang them. Punishment must be fast. See how long India has taken to come to this simple conclusion. See China, how fast they make such decisions. Every action has a reaction. We can't be emotional. Why should tax payer's money be used for such criminals?

The abolition of death penalty even for the most heinous crimes is not the solution. The real issues are as follows: a) Whether all the procedures, rules et al related to evidence were strictly followed so that possibility of a miscarriage of justice is almost eliminated. b) Death penalty should, rightly, be reserved only for the rarest of the rare cases. c) But, once it is established that there was no compromise on the standards adopted with regard to evidence etc and confirmation from the High Court is received, the execution should immediately follow.d) Instead of clamouring for its abolition, we should press for removal of clemency provision which usually takes a political shade and interferes with the entire judicial process. e)And finally, we should ponder whether spending the remaining life without remission in prison is, in any way, more humane compared to a swift end to a condemned life.

Abolition of capital punishment is an elevated and civilized option and India should have the sagacity to come to terms with it. Locking up the convicts in jail for rest of their lives with out remission is a harsh enough sentence without compromising ancient Indian ideals of non-violence and compassion even towards most obnoxious enemies. Killing in battlefield is one thing, but taking the life of a surrendered enemy is a different matter, that is not in line with what Indian ideals stand for.

The Death penalty has never been or will be a deterrent in India. Had it been, heinous crimes should have stopped or at least reduced. The issue is with the lax law enforcement and the certainty that one can get out though the legal loop holes. More hardened criminals with no respect for life are going around scot free. Some of them have even managed to enter the hallowed portals of the parliament. It is obvious the present government's move has less to do with justice and more self-serving.

There are number of issues here. Capital punishment is a deterrent but it should be awarded appropriately. These felons helped the perpetrators but were not directly involved in the crime. Comparing these felons to Kasab is wrong as the nature, magnitude and cause of the committed crime is difficult. Awarding the capital punishment here will not heal the tamilian's wound which has been battered in recent years and has the potential to make it worse at this knee jerk reaction. Whatever said and done this an opportunity to heal a sore wound.

I agree with your stand on death penalty. But I disagree with your assessment about UPA Government that it is trying to wriggle out of the current morass through executions. It was Priyanka, daughter of Rajiv who visited Nalini in Vellore Jail and pardoned them personally.

I completely disagree with the editorial... many people would have lost their lives because of people like them.. Capital punishment should be there.. that will make afraid and teach lessons to cruel minded people... I agree the comment from Amit.. I am not happy if govt spend Taxpayers money to Kasab and kind of people..

The Editorial rightly sees a political agenda in the death sentence of these three convicts. Those who were following the cases individually and closely can ascertain that none of the cases have been proved without the slightest doubt. The rejection of the mercy petitions by the present president is understandable, since she is just a puppet of the present government. Apart from humanitarian and ethical reasons for abolishing capital punishment, in this case the benefit of doubt should be given to the victims, since it is their life that is at stake. Contrary to the case of Afzal or kasab where direct involvement of the crime is evident through photographs and videos, here there still remains doubts on many aspects of their conviction. For instance, does buying batteries for a bomb or an illegal wireless amount to capital punishment. If the government goes ahead with the execution and murders these lives, history will not forget and forgive this act.

Does this act as deterrent? If I am a fanatic, why should I care? Sorry, capital punishment was, is, and never will be a deterrent for those who wants to kill. But if you think capital punishment as 'revenge'( i.e. justice is nothing but revenge), you can make a case for it. Let our country not be a UAE.

Its Welcome move from Hindu,we boast of non-violence,peace,forgiveness land peace,land of Gandhi,ect.why we allow the state murders and death penalties,its shame still we follow jungle laws, eye for eye; it's not character of civilized state, human rights are yardsticks of our civilization,i hope media will play a greater role in abolishing death penalty in India,then only we can say land of Gandhi.

My comments are: (1). Let us accept that death penalty and hanging will not deter people from crime and taking other's lives. But in exceptional cases the Courts have considered awarding death penalty. Let us also accept that we are not good enough to consider abolition of death penalty with threats of terrorists and extreme elements in our society. (2) Even today there are highly 'educated' individuals who believe that there is nothing unnatural if for the 'nation's good' you have to take another's life or lives. It is same attitude which approves of Hitler's mass killings of Jews and Gandhiji’s assassination. (3) Thus, if we have to move towards a society without death penalty, we have to find a good alternative to the capital punishment and also make Herculean efforts to inculcate ideas of liberalism in the minds of our citizens.

Its intellectuals and editors like you who have made India into a soft country for criminals - a country where crores are spent on terrorists, but the common man is harassed. This is misplaced sympathy - such sympathy does not help either the country or society, but only pampers a miniscule section of these so-called intellectuals, who as we see, seem to be increasingly divorced from the realities of life of a common man.

Your editorial is commendable. No civilized nation should have the death penalty. As suggested by you, a life term is the ideal punishment. Once executed, the suffering ends for the criminal. Living in the jail till death, prolongs the punishment.

The origin of Human life is an unresolved mystery on which opinions would differ based on ones religious views if any or any other rational one might find. However it remains without doubt that mankind cannot give life to a humanbeing who has left this worldy existence. If an individual is robbed of his belongings and the perpetrator of the crime is caught then a rational way of punishment would be to return the belongings that were stolen and fine the individual reponsible for the act.The state cannot rob the culprit in the same manner as he did. But in case the loss is the very life of a person how could the family of the deceased be compensated and what would constitute a fair punishment. The state should not resort to capital punishment, as it would amount to an act(of taking an individuals life) which even the state is never be empowered to excercise. If half of humanity were to kill the remaning half then justice meted out in such a manner would amount to eliminating humanity.

Though its more one sided argument, i think it clearly shows the slow judicial process in our country. The heinous cold blooded murder was precisely carried two decades ago and the punishment to the convicted is been executed now. Existing government should pass a bill for effective speedy trials, instead of thinking of abolition of capital punishment to redeem its soiled image.

The principal of 'an eye for an eye' should never be followed in a civilised society. Capital punishment, if carried out, is blindly based on this principal and leaves no difference between the punisher and the punished. However, as rightly pointed out in the editorial, perpetrators of heinous and cold-blooded crimes "deserve the harshest 'civilised' punishment."

I question this attitude where doing and undoing of any political practice is sanctioned by making its reference with medieval practices. Today, we live in a democratic society where maximum opportunity must be employed to understand any phenomena and its cause and effect in relevant contemporary society.The growing dimensions in complexities of human relationship must be understood with the given time framework, and definitely it allows a consideration which could ensure the maximum humane grounds to govern these issues.

I can agree that if India were to follow the example set by a growing number of highly developed and civilzed countries death penalty for these folks will be commuted. However, I think you should have also taken up the cause of inhuman delays in deciding matters that come before the courts. The current demand for controlling corruption can be effectively met only if the courts do their part by engendering confidence in the nation's judicial system. Cuurently India has a reputation for being soft on crime on one hand and being inhumanly cruel on the other hand. So, we have the worst of all sides in some ways. Clearly there is a lot that can be done better by our judicial system.

Contrary to what many people think, America still has the death penalty in most of its states. It is debatable, but some crimes are so heinous, what does one do? Perhaps hanging is a painful way, lethal injection, like in the U.S. is less painful. Still, it is a harsh penalty, but we do not live in a perfect world!

Hindu edtit has nicely commented about abolition of capital punishment!Rajiv Gandhi is dead- he cannot be bring back- why this killing of three persons,accused in murder of Rajiv? Violence for violence, killing for killing etc do not mean reforming society - there must be some way out!Many countries on globe are seriously thinking to abolish capital punishment-India must take lead and abolish death sentences sooner than later- As regards death to Rajiv's killers,this does not appear fair-their capital sentence must beconverted intolife sentence and give them chance to be reformed!Like Nalini also an accused in the case,who was not awarded death sentence because of intervention of Sonia,wife of Rajiv and his daughter Priyanka and son Rahul, all these three condemned prisoners,waiting for capital punishment should be let off and their capital punishment must be commuted into life sentences.And once for all capital punishment must be abolished from India! my blog:www.kksingh1.blogspot.com

i do not completely agree with abolishing dead penalty.The punishment should be given depending on the severity of the crime committed.and why have it taken 11 years to decide?

I am in full agreement with the editorial that we should immediately abolish capital punishment.In my opinion,subjecting someone to the gallows is more barbaric than the crime itself committed by the victim irrespective of how heinous it is! Further, after making the accused languish in jail for so many years and making them die everyday in anticipation of the final verdict,hanging them is a cold blooded muurder deserving no pardon in the eyes of, not only God but any sane -thinking human being.

The people who are against the capital punishment are making a mistake of copy- pasting from the West. In a country like India where the respect for law lacks all across, this position is not relevant. Every day on the road we see people braking the traffic laws left, right and center - the literal meaning included. A nation which does not award harsh punishments to the criminals in fact punishes the people who respect the law. The lenient attitude towards the criminals, including those awarded capital punishment, raises doubts in the minds of those millions who observe the rule of law at a great personal, family and social cost to themselves, family and society. The punishments are expected to act as a "deterrent". Capital punishment, if awarded quickly and executed quickly, off course after due debate in the courts and exploration of evidence, is fair and just to those who are impacted due to the brutal acts of the accused.

The mercy petitions submitted by the three convicts rejected by President recently shows the intensity of feelings of the people of the country. It is a fact that capital punishments through out the world are being reduced but when an accused wilfully does an act which provokes a stringent punishments should not be let go. Depending on the circumstances which provoked the convict to commit the crime,the master plan behind the act, all the parties involved in it and every other things to be taken into a/c before submitting a Mercy petition. The political leaders/family members of the convict/well wishers may feel that the convict should get the clearance from President for the doing away with Death Sentence.
Extending Life imprisonment to the convicts may give an extended life to them but
it is question mark whether those convicts will utilise this to change their life-
style.

Unless one actually undergoes a personal tragedy like the death of my toddler (due to brain fever), which still remains as a deep wound and brings back the unmitigated sorrow even after thirty two years as I type these words, outsiders will never can fully realize the tragedy of someone. A handsome young man who was a pilot, earning well, and leading a peaceful life along with his wife and children, was drawn into the quagmire of politics due to unforeseen circumstances, perished in a most heinous crime. There are different view points to any issue. Clueless about the correct way to proceed I watch the events with a deep sorrow in my heart. I cry for every young man and woman getting killed in skirmishes for centuries in the history of mankind.

I share the concern of The Hindu.

I fully agree with the editorial that India has to evolve a civilised way of punishment instead of taking away the life of a prisoner condemened to death. Death sentence is to be removed from statute book.

The term Human itself establishes compassion and forgiveness.But can we as civilized people allow the fellow person to kill other living thing that too a civilized person for a trivial cause is in question. Certainly it is punishable by death alone,so that the person committed will certainly realize the mistake and the society will know it's responsibilities, Rejection of Mercy is a right act of the President of India and requires courage rather Hatred that can't be established. We kill so many lives for food,entertainment clothing etc is it not amounting to Criminal can we stop at once all these,C rucked mind is an animal Instinct should be over come by Human being to be a civilized man to establish sanctity of Human right's.

What an one sided argument, this ? Would you advocate the same stand for Ajmal Kasab as well just to proclaim to the world that India is an 'egalitarian' society?A heinous crime planned with such great precision, executed in such a ghastly manner on a person who had sought to bring peace to the island nation just because a sinlge person in the terrorist group wanted his own way, makes the crime all the more sinister that would call for the harshest of punishments.India was eagerly expecting Rajiv to come to power to provide the long needed stability to the country. What resulted in after his killing was was an increased period of instability that has cost the country and its millions of poor people dear.
Under the garb of an egalitarian society let us not white wash heinous crimes and paint an un-true picture.

Let the editor answer me, (1) by commuting to Life sentence what the country is going to achieve (2) Who will pay for their food, clothing etc (3) I agree executing some one after 20 years is not going to have any impact but then why these 3 should live? (4) If so should the same logic be applied to Afsal Guru and Kasab? (5) Why President should take 10 years to decide? (6) Were we hoping for a normal death during this period.

If death penalty is abolished it may benefit people like those who are involved in Dharmapuri bus burning case in which 3 girls are killed.also Life term without remission may not be followed.In case of Nalini her death sentence was commuted but now there are demands for her release.

Commuting to life the sentences of people who have comitted such heinous crimes would set a dangerous precedent. It could encourage more and more people towards these kind of acts as the death sentence will no longer be a deterrent. Even countries like the US still enforce the death penalty regularly. Even though it is a remnant of a bygone era, I believe the death penalty should be used, even though sparsley, to maintain the rule of law. One must always remember that one's freedom ends where it interferes with the freedom of others.

True, death penalty by the state is inhuman. This is the general rule. There are exceptions. Even the Supreme Court has held that it will award death penalty only in rarest of rare cases. Thus, the death penalty is awarded only in exceptional cases. The state execution of persons who have been awarded death penalty should be further filtered to rarest of rare cases. The first filter is the review by the President of the petition of the condemned. If the President rejects the petition, then it means the case is not only rarest of rare cases but exceptional cases. Murugan and his two accomplices as well as Afzal Guru belong to this category and no mercy should be shown.

I think completely abolishing capital punishment will not serve a few cases. Government should reduce the cases to a few only in which capital punishment can be awarded. Like if we talk about Kasab, Afzal Guru and a lot other terrorists who are a big threat to humanity or have caused a big loss to citizens should be hanged to death on fast track basis even without giving them option for mercy appeal to President. Keeping thiese monsters alive will only deepen the pain of victims. Similarly in this case where nationalists of other country(Sri Lanka) brutally killed our citizen (I am terming Rajiv Gandhi as citizen here), then they should be taught lesson and hanged as per laws, no mercy to them. Keeping them alive will may show that foreigners who killed Indians are still alive.

It's intellectuals and governance like you Mr editor who are responsible for taking the country backwards. Such hardcore criminals should have been hanged 20 years ago. The money and resources spent on these criminals until now will amount to crores of rupees which should have been spent wisely for the development of the nation and welfare of the poor. All those criminals waiting to be hanged should be hanged as soon as possible. What we can expect from this governance where President's office has taken 11 years to move a single file. Look at state of affairs our country is in. PM cannot not any decision and MPs are mostly corrupt and our media either supports Maoists, corrupt, anti-nationals and those in power.

i agree with your suggestion: The government must seize it by commuting their sentences to life, extending this to all other death row prisoners as well. Unfortunately if your suggestion is heeded to, the governament in waiting lead by the today's principal opposition party will queer the pitch by shouting from rooftops that this was done to appease muslims by not executing Afzal guru. They may agree to your suggestion after all the muslim candidates sentenced to be hanged are so done!

The popular saying, 'Justice delayed is justice denied',must be implemented everywhere . These heinous crimes must be punished in a humanitarian way.Except Afzal Guru and Kasaab all other death convicts may be sentenced for life.

I do not agree with The Hindu's Editorial on stopping the death penalty of the former Primer Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassins. People who do not care about other's life and plan meticulously shaking the fundamentals of democracy have no right to live.

Even in simple crimes, many individuals and firms [not excluding 'the Hindu'], the criminals are sent out of jobs, not considering the plight of family members for no fault of them. It almost drives many to commit suicide or die in poverty. Why no mercy is shown in such cases, whereas suspension of death penalty is recommended so loudly!

Why should the death penalty be imposed in the first place? Is this going to be the case with Kasab as well?

The ideal of abolishing the captial punishment should not be taken up by our justice system. the reaseon are as follows.1)Jails have become luxury resorts for the cold bloded criminals. 2)Its an unnecessary financial burden on the government. 3)This people are no fit to live in the society.

What about the terrorists from Pakistan who killed innocent people? Shall we give the same treatment to them too? In my view capital punishment shall be there (for rarest of the rare cases at least) so that it can act as a deterrent from committing more heinous crimes.

I appreciate The Hindu's consistent stand that India must abolish capital punishment. Hanging people is gruesome and a crime against dignity and humanity and Kirity Roy, a social activist against the death penalty, is right: "It has been well established that capital punishment does not help to reform society." Capital punishment is a terrible throw back and cannot have a place in a modern criminal justice system. September 9, has been fixed as the date for the executions. The convicts have been spending around 20 years in prison and waiting for their executions.
The crime committed by them deserves the harshest civilised punishment. This editorial says: "The just punishment for crimes such as the Rajiv Gandhi murder must be a lifetime in prison without any possibility of remission." I disagree, one shall consider they have spent 20 years in prison up to now and wait for their execution. After 20 years in prison there should be a possibility of remission.

Will you suggest same with Afzal Guru And Ajmal Kasab? I am in a mood to say that, no, I am not interested in spending my hard earned tax money to be spent on these Non Human. These killers are not human hence they don't deserve humane treatment. They should be hanged.

You have not defined the "harshest civilised punishment". Allow them to stay in prison for the rest of their lives at the expense of the exchequer or allow them to go free after serving a life sentence. What would be the deterrent for others not to plan and execute such deeds. The pitiable part is that the home ministry and the Presidents took 11 years to decide their fate. If you cannot offer an alternative solution don't comment on the issue.