India, Aug. 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the abolition of the present practice of executing a death row convict by hanging and replacing it with less painful methods such as intravenous lethal injection.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said its verdict would not preclude the Centre from undertaking a comprehensive review of the existing method of execution through an expert body with a view to examining whether any alternative method of execution better serves the constitutional objective of minimising unnecessary pain while preserving the dignity of the condemned prisoner.

The bench delivered its verdict on a plea, filed in 2017 by senior advocate Rishi Malhotra, seeking removal of t...