India, Aug. 19 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to issue any judicial mandate for replacing hanging with a "less painful or humane" method of execution, affirming its constitutional validity but leaving the door open for Centre to examine alternatives in the future.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta held that no case had been made out for reconsidering the top court's 1983 Constitution Bench judgment in Deena @ Deena Dayal Etc vs Union of India, which had upheld hanging as a constitutionally valid mode of executing a death sentence.

"The dismissal does not foreclose any future scrutiny based on scientific knowledge and subsequent developments," the bench said.

The ruling came on a petition filed by senior advoca...