Karnataka govt to distribute 1 lakh title deeds to mark its 2 yrs: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Ramanagara (Karnataka), May 11 (PTI): To mark the second anniversary of its rule in Karnataka, the Congress government is planning to distribute one lakh title deeds to eligible beneficiaries, whose "undocumented habitations" have been declared as revenue villages, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Sunday.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, said he will hold discussions about holding the event in Vijayanagara district on May 20, with India and Pakistan reaching an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.
The Cabinet on Friday had decided to indefinitely postpone the government's event marking two years in the wake of the escalating India and Pakistan border situation.
"As of now, it has been decided to give title deeds to one lakh people from the Revenue Department headed by Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. Preparations are on for it. The programme will be held in Vijayanagara district. May 20 is the date decided," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "But considering this war-like situation (it was postponed). I will discuss it in a day or two. If there is no problem, we will do it on May 20."
To a question on the "ceasefire" being announced with Pakistan to stop all firing and military action, Shivakumar said the central government has to clarify on it.
"I don't want to make any comments or share my opinion and create confusion. We have to protect the country's respect and dignity," he added.
The Deputy CM said Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will soon give a date for his participation in the event to lay the foundation for hundred party offices in different parts of Karnataka, to mark the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi presiding over the AICC session in Belagavi.
"We plan to have hundred offices to mark the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi presiding over the AICC session in Belagavi. Preparations are on for it. In some places, lands are being approved, while land is being purchased in some places," Shivakumar said.
He said he had earlier got land approved in Ramanagara, but someone got it stayed, and on not finding any other suitable land, he has decided to purchase a land on his own and gift it for Congress office. Work is on in this regard, and many have come forward to give donations for construction.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) will offer pooja for the office in Bengaluru and virtually a foundation will be laid for the office here (Ramanagara) and other places. Soon he will give a date for the programme," he added.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
