PUCL said that the introduction of severe capital punishment does not provide justice to the victim but could have serious implications for human rights in the country. The Banerjee government had suggested reforms surrounding fast track courts, completion of trial in seven days and encounter of the accused.The organisation criticised the impractical proposals made by the Banerjee government in response to the RG Kar case, saying that the “proposed reforms take away from the constitutional imperative of respecting due process rights and fair investigation.”Citing the 2013 Justice Verma Committee report, released after the brutal rape and murder of a young woman in the Nirbhaya case, PUCL said that death penalty does not act as a deterrent for rape.PUCL argued that judges may be reluctant to convict suspects if death penalty is the only punishment for rape, resulting in more acquittals. “It is the question of acquittals which has to be seriously studied and the government must put its resources behind ensuring foolproof investigation and a competent prosecution rather than go for a measure which will do little to make the workplace more safe for women,” PUCL said.The organisation added that “the retributive logic of punishment is not the logic of justice but revenge.”The statement was signed by PUCL president Kavita Srivastava, vice president Binayak Sen, general secretary V. Suresh and the coordinator of its West Bengal unit, Amlan Bhattacharjee.
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