involving sexual offences has increased from 18% in 2016 to 63% in 2020. Public outrage to violent rapes and murders of women and children in India lend support to the idea that the death penalty nds considerable endorsement in public opinion, although these populist demands have not been supported by some feminist activists, particularly those associated with the Indian Women’s Movement. In their submissions to the expert committee constituted in the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape case, they refused to endorse the death penalty for sexual offences, citing its disparate impact on marginalised communities. Another study conducted by the P39A (2017) with former judges of the Supreme Court found that a vast majority of the judges supported the idea of retaining the death penalty as a permissible punishment, although there was signi cant disparity among the judges as to what amounted to the ‘rarest of rare’ circumstances for the imposition of the death penalty. Foreign Nationals The death penalty in India for foreign nationals applies mainly in the context of terror offences. For example, in 2012, Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national was hanged for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Research by the Death Penalty Research Unit at the University of Oxford found that there were at least two further foreign nationals sentenced to death between 2016-2021, both of whom were Pakistani men convicted of taking part in terrorist attacks in the Red Fort in 2000 and in Hyderabad in 2013, resulting in multiple deaths. Reportedly, they did not receive suf cient legal or consular assistance from their embassies in their arguing their cases. Using the death penalty against foreign nationals, particularly Pakistanis, in relation to terrorist attacks carries with it a political aspect, which should not be forgotten when considering the impact of the death penalty on foreign nationals in India. Acknowledgements With special thanks to the following organisations and individuals who lent their considerable assistance and expertise towards this research in Vietnam: Project 39A, Preeti Dash, Rushil Batra, among others. Death Penalty Research Unit, University of Oxford For more research see: fi fi fi foreign-nationals.uwazi.io or tinyurl.com/mappingdeathrow