D Raja of CPI said this resolution was earlier submitted to the Upper House in July 2015 but it was not taken up due to various reasons.
A private member resolution was on Friday moved in the Rajya Sabha seeking abolition of capital punishment and an imposition of moratorium on all death sentences till the necessary amendments are made to the existing laws.
"The time has come for India to say emphatic "no" to capital punishment by making amendments to various laws, which have provision for death penalty so as to abolish capital punishment in the country. Till that time, impose moratorium on execution of death sentences," said D Raja of CPI while moving the resolution.
The resolution should not be linked to any particular case as the issue is related to confronting the humanity, he said, adding, "I am not making it as an ideological issue at this point of time. It is more than that."
Asserting that India should take a stand on this issue, Mr Raja said the majority of the UN members have voted in support of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on death penalty and India is among the minority of member countries still voting against the resolution.
About 120 countries have abolished capital punishment and few of them have stopped the practice of execution, he added.
"The situation now has fast changed. The world is moving towards jurisprudence based on humanism and correction of individuals committing crimes. But we are still lagging behind. We are still stick on to the colonial laws. We need to change our mindset," Mr Raja noted.
Stating that crimes have socio-economic factors, Mr Raja said, "The issue should not be looked at from just legal and technical point of view. It should be looked at pyschological, sociological and polical angle."
Quoting a study by students of Delhi-based National Law University, Mr Raja said the research shows that there are caste and religious biases in the imposition of death penalty in India, indicating that 94 per cent of the persons given death sentences for terror related cases belonged to dalit caste or religious miniorities.
Even the Supreme Court has admitted to "errors and miscarriage of justice due to arbitrary application of death penalty" and the Law Commission Chairman Justice A P Shah has also said that there is "serious need to re-examine" the issue of death panalty.
Mr Raja said this resolution was earlier submitted to the Upper House in July 2015 but it was not taken up due to various reasons. Even his party colleague late C K Chandrappan had moved a private member bill on this issue way back in 2004.