Legal Analysis: Aman Singh & Anr. vs. State of Bihar

Citation: 2026 INSC 424
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice Vijay Bishnoi (Three-Judge Bench)
Judgment Author: Per curiam (order)
Date of Decision: April 27, 2026
Nature of Judgment: Criminal Appeal arising out of SLP against High Court judgment in Death Reference and Criminal Appeal; the Court issued directions for collection of mitigating circumstances, psychological evaluation, mitigation investigation, and laid down binding guidelines for all courts and legal services authorities in death penalty cases.

Synopsis of the Judgment

The appellants were convicted and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court stayed the execution and issued directions for collection of reports on mitigating and aggravating circumstances from the Probation Officer, the Superintendent of Prisons (conduct and work), and for psychological evaluation of the appellants. It also permitted mitigation investigators from NALSAR University of Law to interview the appellants confidentially. Critically, the Court took note of a troubling trend that reports on mitigating and aggravating circumstances are not being called for at the earliest stages (trial court or High Court reference stage), causing delay and undermining balanced sentencing. To remedy this, the Court issued binding directions: (i) trial courts must call for such reports after conviction before determining sentence; (ii) High Courts must call for them at the admission stage of death reference if not done earlier; (iii) Legal Services Committees must assign a dedicated legal team (one Senior Counsel + two advocates with minimum 7 years’ practice) in every death sentence case; (iv) High Courts to maintain dedicated panels for death reference matters; and (v) NALS A to frame guidelines for collecting mitigating circumstances.

1. Basic Information of the Judgment

Field Details Case Title Aman Singh & Anr. vs. State of Bihar Criminal Appeal No. Arising out of SLP (Criminal) Diary No. 24574 of 2026 Bench Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice Vijay Bishnoi Date of Decision April 27, 2026 Citation 2026 INSC 424 Appeal From Judgment and order dated 22.01.2026 of Patna High Court in Death Reference No. 2/2024 and Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 691 of 2024

2. Legal Framework

Laws and Principles Involved:

• Constitution of India, 1950: Article 21 (right to life – procedural fairness in sentencing), Article 22 (right to legal representation), Article 72/161 (clemency – not directly invoked).

• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC): Section 235(2) (opportunity to be heard on sentence after conviction), Section 354(3) (reasons to be recorded for death sentence), Section 366 (death reference to High Court for confirmation).

• Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC): Section 302 (punishment for murder – death or life imprisonment).

• Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: Section 12 (categories entitled to legal service

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