Capital punishment involves delicate scrutiny: Tewari

Against the backdrop of J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voicing anger over the hanging of Afzal Guru, Union Minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that there was need for being "circumspect and responsible" as delicate scrutiny was involved in such cases.

"Every individual and every leader is free to express his or her views. We listen to them extremely carefully. We take those views on board. However, it is important to remember that capital punishment is given in the rarest of rare cases and each case rests on its own unique facts and circumstances," Tewari said.

"There can never be a one size fits all, there can never be a generic broadbrush when you deal with matters which are so sensitive and have both legal-judicial and constitutional implications and obligations," he added.

Tewari was asked by reporters about J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's statement that the onus rests on the judiciary and the political leadership to show that this wasn't a selective execution.

"Therefore, we would like to submit that in the case of capital punishment, there is a need to be circumspect, there is a need to be responsible. There is a need to understand and realise that there is a very delicate scrutiny process which is involved and which takes in to consideration the facts and circumstances of each case on its own merits," Tewari added.