How long can he be on death row?

How long can he be on death row?

With the Supreme Court upholding Ajmal Kasab’s death sentence, the crucial issue is whether the Maharashtra government and the Union government will show urgency in disposing of his plea for clemency and mercy petition should he exercise those options. It has been argued that a convict facing the death sentence cannot legally be given two sentences — jail term while waiting for the execution and the execution as and when announced by the president. If, therefore, there is inordinate delay in execution, a condemned prisoner is entitled to approach the court to examine whether it is fair to allow the death sentence to be executed. The apex court recently issued notices to the Centre and various state governments asking how long a death convict can legally and constitutionally wait for the gallows or share the jail barrack with others. The president only acts on the advice of the Union cabinet under Article 72, a provision which does not specify any time limit. It has been argued that the absence of any specified maximum time limit for disposing of a mercy petition by the president raises a big question mark on the efficacy of the penalty. The home ministry’s policy is to deal with them as per serial number. During the last three decades, the shortest time taken in disposing of the mercy petition was 18 days (September 1992) while the longest was 11 years, 11 months and 18 days (February 2011).