In which one of the following judgments of the Constitutional Bench of

In which one of the following judgments of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of India, the ‘rarest of rare’ principle in the award of death penalty was first laid down ?

Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980)
Gopalanachari v. State of Kerala (1980)
Dr. Upendra Baxi v. State of UP (1983)
Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra (1979)
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-1 – 2016
The ‘rarest of rare’ principle for awarding the death penalty was first laid down by the Supreme Court of India in the judgment of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980).
– In the Bachan Singh case, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the death penalty but ruled that it should only be imposed in the ‘rarest of rare’ cases.
– The judgment provided guidelines for courts to follow while deciding whether to impose the death penalty, emphasizing that life imprisonment is the rule and the death sentence is an exception.
– The ‘rarest of rare’ doctrine requires courts to consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances and conclude that the alternative sentence of life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed.
Other cases listed are not primarily associated with the origin of the ‘rarest of rare’ principle. Gopalanachari v. State of Kerala is also an IPC/CrPC related case. Dr. Upendra Baxi v. State of UP relates to prison conditions and human rights. Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra (also known as the Mathura rape case) led to significant amendments in India’s rape law.