The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that the Centre appears unwilling to replace hanging with lethal injection as a method of executing death row convicts, saying “the problem is that the government is not ready to evolve.”

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to end the use of hanging for executions and allow less painful alternatives such as lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber.

The petition, filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra, argues that execution by hanging is “extremely painful, inhuman and cruel,” and should be replaced with less painful methods like lethal injection, shooting, electrocution, or gas chamber — options that cause death within minutes.

Malhotra also contended that death by han

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