The Law Commission of India's 262nd report is the first official document to recommend abolition of death penalty. Its seminal recommendation notwithstanding, the commission's conclusion that divergence in judicial reasoning in the death penalties handed out is cause enough for the abolition of such penalty is too hasty. Further, not applying this recommendation to terror-related offences is fuzzy and unreasoned. If death penalty is no more of a deterrent for terrorism than it is for other crimes, as the commission itself finds, to persist with such a recommendation by using the bogey of "national security" is extremely odd. The report is, however, valuable in creating an intelligent discourse around death penalty in India.
