Kohima, July 16 2015: While India remains one of the few countries in the world that retain capital punishment on its statute books, Nagaland is among the few states in the country where a person is least likely to receive the death sentence. According to a report by Venkatesh Nayak, while citing statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau, the North Eastern states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have not recorded a single instance of capital punishment. The report further informed that the North East region accounts for the least number of death sentences at 42. Assam accounted for 85 per cent (29) of these figures (all handed between 2001-2013) followed by Meghalaya (6), Tripura (4) and Manipur (3). The Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep are also among the places where the death sentences have been least recorded, with no such instances during the 16-year period. This is despite the fact that as many as 2,052 individuals were awarded capital punishment by courts in India between 1998 and 2013, the report said. UNI AS AD SY SB1547
