The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) has welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment for 15 death-row convicts on the grounds of inordinate delay and mental illness.

“This makes India to move an inch towards being an abolitionist State and India must now consider abolition of death penalty once and for all,” said Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

The judgement will impact 414 death row convicts who remained in various prisons at the end of 2012.

The maximum number of death row convicts at the end of 2012 were in Uttar Pradesh with 106 followed by Karnataka (63); Maharashtra (51); Bihar (42); Delhi (27); Gujarat (19); Punjab (16); Kerala (14); Tamil Nadu (12); while Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh each had 10 death row convicts.

Out of 414 death row convicts, 13 were female. Maharashtra had maximum female death row convicts with 5 followed by Delhi (4); Punjab (2); and 1 each in Haryana and Karnataka.