An annual study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal justice initiative at NALSAR Law School in Hyderabad, found that trial courts across the country continued to impose a large number of death sentences in 2025 despite appeals courts quashing or modifying most of the sentences, raising “serious concerns about the reliability of convictions in death penalty cases”.According to the “Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistical Report 2025” released on February 4, from 2016 to 2025, trial courts imposed 1,310 death sentences, but the High Court confirmed only 106 cases. Reports show that the Supreme Court has upheld just over half of the death sentences confirmed by high courts, without upholding the original verdicts.The data indicate a persistent gap between trial court decisions and appeal outcomes. As of December 31 last year, a total of 574 inmates were on death row, which the report said was “the largest year-end population on death row since 2016.”Against this backdrop, the study found that in 2025, courts sentenced 128 people to death in 94 cases.The report shows that in 2025 alone, the HC recorded acquittals, commutations, remands or commutations in most of the death penalty cases it adjudicated, and the SC’s records reflect a similar pattern. The study found that the Supreme Court has not confirmed a single death sentence between 2023 and 2025, even if the high court initially upheld the death sentence.In 2025 alone, the High Court acquitted 35 people in 22 cases. The Supreme Court acquitted more than half of the cases it decided, setting a record for the most acquittals of 10 people on death row in the past decade.“The frequency with which death sentences are overturned on appeal raises serious concerns about the reliability of convictions in death penalty cases,” the report states.Those acquitted by the HC spent an average of 5.17 years on death row, with some remaining on death row for nearly 20 years before being acquitted.“The high rate of acquittals on death row exposes deep fractures in the criminal legal system,” said Shreya Rastogi, director of litigation and forensics at Square Circle Clinic. “When more than a third of the HC’s confirmed cases result in acquittal, it shows that failures in investigation and prosecution harm both victims and defendants. These mistakes cost people decades of life and liberty.”Maitreyi Misra, director of research and mitigation at Square Circle Clinic, said the failings identified in the report were found throughout the criminal justice process. “The Supreme Court itself, while acquitting death row inmates, has repeatedly pointed out failures at multiple levels including the investigative agencies, prosecutorial agencies and lower courts.”
