Who was the first woman to get death penalty in India after independence?
Who was the first woman to get death penalty in India after independence?
The death penalty, or capital punishment, remains a part of India's legal system under the "rarest of rare" doctrine laid down by the Supreme Court in 1980. It is awarded only in extreme cases where the crime is considered too heinous for any lesser punishment.
Capital punishment has always been rare in India, and even rarer when it comes to women. Yet history records one chilling case -- the first woman to be sentenced to death in independent India. Her story is not just about a crime, but also about the way justice unfolded in the early years after independence. Here's a detailed look at who she was, what she did, and why the court awarded her the ultimate punishment.
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Over the years, India has seen executions in cases related to terrorism, brutal murders, and crimes against children. While the punishment is legally valid, it remains controversial due to ethical, humanitarian, and judicial concerns.
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According to the 2012 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 400 convicts in India are on the list of the death penalty. Among them were 13 women. However, India remains one of the few countries in the world where capital punishment is still carried out. In 1955, Rattan Bai Jain became the first woman to be executed by hanging.
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Rattan Bai Jain was a resident of Delhi. She had committed the murder of three girls. For this crime, she was executed by hanging at the age of 35 on January 3, 1955.
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Rattan Bai Jain worked as a manager at a Family Planning (Sterility) Clinic. It was at this clinic that she and the three girls, whom she later killed, were present. One day, Rattan grew suspicious that these girls were having an affair with her husband. Her suspicion intensified to such an extent that she ultimately decided to take their lives.
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Rattan did not stab the girls or slit their throats to kill them. Instead, she chose poison as her weapon to commit the crime. She reportedly mixed poison into the girls' food or drinks. The substance was so lethal that all three girls died instantly after consuming it.
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Rattan Bai Jain was executed after her appeals failed. Her case set a precedent in Indian legal history, marking a rare instance where a woman was sent to the gallows. The memory of her execution lingers in discussions around justice and equality before the law.
