Death by Hanging

The debate about the abolition or retention of capital sentence is unending. My objections against it are based on the fallibility of human judgment...

The debate about the abolition or retention of capital sentence is unending. My objections against it are based on the fallibility of human judgment, experience of convictions secured through evidence by the police, and the irrevocability of the death sentence. Attempts to declare capital punishment unconstitutional have failed. The Supreme Court has consistently upheld it with the caveat that it should be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases, an unsatisfactory rule depending upon the subjective notions and sentiments of the presiding judges.

If the death sentence, regrettably, has to remain on our statute, surely the method of execution by hanging must be changed. Mohammad Afzal who has been found guilty of the part he played in the attack on our Parliament is ordered to be hanged at 6 am on October 20 at Tihar Jail in Delhi. It appears there is a dearth of hangmen in Delhi and there is a hunt for securing services of hangmen from Punjab and Haryana and West Bengal. According to the Tihar jail superintendent there are only four or five hangmen in the country. There is one Nata Mullick in Kolkata who is 84 years old and has put more than 25 people to death. He is quite willing to repeat this act if he is asked by the jail authorities. If a human being8217;s life has to be extinguished let it be done in a manner which does not involve killing him by hanging by another human being. This is most revolting and utterly dehumanizes not only the hangman, who performs this inhuman act for a paltry sum of Rs 150 per hanging, but also members of society who approve of this act.

Spirit of Cricket

In the recent match against the West Indies in Kuala Lumpur, Australian captain Ricky Ponting walked up to umpire Asad Rauf and questioned his decision. Chris Broad, the match referee, regarded Ponting8217;s act of 8220;showing dissent at an umpire8217;s decision8221; as a breach of International Cricket Council8217;s Code of Conduct The Australian captain was fined his entire match fee. The rationale for the referee8217;s action was that 8220;a captain should set an example for his players to follow and it is not acceptable for any player, let alone a captain, to question an umpire8217;s decision.8221; That8217;s it. No appeal, no revision, no review.

This approach would appear to be authoritarian and the punishment disproportionate especially to lawyers well versed in administrative law. Ponting however thought otherwise. He did not approach a court for judicial review of the referee8217;s decision. He accepted the verdict, apologised to the umpire and to his team and acknowledged that he had failed to uphold the all-important spirit of cricket. In the world of cricket the doctrine of proportionality, rules against unfettered discretion and judicial review are out of place.

In the recent verdict of the International Cricket Council ICC Pakistan captain Inzaman-ul Haq was acquitted of the serious charge of ball-tampering. However, because of his leading a protest against the umpire and refusing to play, he has been found guilty of 8220;bringing the game into disrepute8221; and has to suffer the penalty of a ban. Inzy has gracefully accepted the verdict. This incident again underscores that it is the spirit of cricket that really matters. One wishes this spirit would prevail also in other walks of life.

Losing Friends

Dale Carnegie8217;s How to Win Friends and Influence People was a hot favourite in the forties. There is no statistical account of the friends won and the people who were influenced. If any member of the admission committee of the India International Centre were to write an authentic book in a literary style about the pulls and pressures and the problems experienced in selection of 610 members out of 4,100 applicants it will be a best seller. The appropriate title would be 8216;How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.8217; The number of friends lost and people alienated would be enormous.