You may have noticed, Judges break the nib after announcing the death sentence in the Bollywood films. While announcing a death sentence, Judge will say, “Ye Adalat Dafaa 302 ke tahat, taaziraat-e-Hind muzrim xyz ko Sazaaye maut sunaiyee jaati Hai… to be hung by the neck until death.” After this, you must have seen judge breaking the nib of the pen. Have you wondered why judges do this? Worry not many folks, as we would give you detailed information regarding this.
Judges in India have been following this customs for very long time; actually, it is followed since British Raj. You may have some questions like: why would judge break the nib of the pen after announcing the death sentence to any convict? When did this start? To know the answer to all these questions, go through the article.
First of all, it is believed that a pen, which is used for taking away someone’s life, should not be used ever again for any purposes. In simple words, the pen has tasted the blood; therefore it should be broken immediately so that it won’t take another life.
Once judge passes the capital punishment, he/ she can’t review or revoke his order once again. Due to this also, judge breaks the nib after signing on the death sentence. This practice also symbolizes the fact that the judge can’t alter or rewrite the judgment.
Some people also believe that the judges simply want to get rid of the tainted pen after awarding a death penalty to someone. He/she just wants to do away with any guilt of the judgment given to convicts.
For you information, 56 countries in the world still practice the capital punishments. 103 countries have gotten rid of this practice for all the crimes, whereas 6 countries have abolished it for ordinary crimes.
