31 October 2007 :

as part of Amnesty International India’s (AII) campaign for abolition of death penalty, a group of eminent citizens, led by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, has urged the government to support the resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that seeks a global moratorium on executions. “As a part of the campaign, AI India, through its members and supporters, collected more than 42,000 signatures, on a memorandum to the Prime Minister. This was done through a wide range of public actions in small towns and cities in 16 States. The signatures will be handed over to the Prime Minister in the coming days.” The letter said: “We oppose the death penalty believing it to be a violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty legitimises an irreversible act of violence by the State and will inevitably claim innocent victims, as has been persistently demonstrated. A step towards abolishing death penalty would go well with the principles of Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, of which the whole country is proud.” The signatories include former Justices, activists, scholars and civil servants.