Radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa has taken exception to India once again favouring death penalty at the United Nations (UN), saying that in practise, the country had been maintaining on a moratorium on the matter for over the last eight years.
"Thirty nine countries, including India lost another opportunity to have a death-penalty free world, when they voted against a UN resolution, introduced every two years at a UN General Assembly committee calling for the abolition of the death penalty," Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said.

Singh said that cutting across traditional alliances and grouping of nations based on economic interests, 110 countries had backed the resolution, while India, China, USA and some others have opposed.

He said that 36 countries abstained. The Dal Khalsa leader said that it is disturbing to note that the otherwise pro-active civil society, failed to build pressure on the union government before the UN vote, regarding the decision on death penalty.