London: The Indian Supreme Court`s ruling commuting the death sentences of 15 prisoners and setting out guidelines to safeguard death row convicts was on Tuesday hailed as a positive step by rights body Amnesty International.
"While acknowledging the need to strike a balance between the rights of the accused as well as the victims, this momentous decision reaffirms the rights guaranteed to death row prisoners under the Constitution of India and international law and standards," said G Ananthapadmanabhan, chief executive of Amnesty International India.
"The verdict places a strong emphasis on the human rights of all persons, and should steer the country towards completely doing away with the death penalty," he added in a statement issued here.
Yug Mohit Chaudhry, one of the lawyers representing prisoners affected by the decision, told Amnesty: "This judgement is a tribute to Indian constitutional values and the independence of the judiciary. It recognises that death row prisoners have rights that the court will protect."
In a landmark verdict providing relief to many death row convicts, the Supreme Court today ruled that death sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay by the government in deciding mercy pleas.
While giving life term to 15 death row convicts, the apex court also commuted the death sentences of two men on the ground that they suffer from mental illness.
