With the rapid increase in the violent acts of mob lynching in the country, Supreme Court has directed the states to take strict actions against “horrendous acts of mobocracy”.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its indignation towards such horrific acts and suggested the Parliament to pass a separate and effective law to penalize the offenders and curb such acts in the future.
A bench constituting three judges including the CJI Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked the Parliament to pass a new law establishing lynching as a serious punishable offense.
They also ordered that the Centre and states have to file compliance reports containing the ‘directions’ suggested by the apex court in order to prevent and penalize lynching, within the next four weeks.
There have been numerous incidents of mob lynching in the states in the past few months. Most of these are instigated by fake news spread on WhatsApp by miscreants trying to create communal violence. Mob violence occurs in the name of cow vigilantism, child lifting etc. Many people come under the influence of these fake viral messages and rumors taking law in their own hands. These brutal lynchings always result in either the killing of the ‘victims’ of the lynching or trauma in their lives and bodies forever.
In September 2017, the apex court directed all the state governments to take stringent measures to curb mob violence in the name of cow vigilantism.
SC stated in its verdict that mob lynching is an offense no matter the motive be it cow protection or punishing the child abductors. It is an issue of law and order, this is to be dealt by the state governments. The court called these lynchings “mob violence”. It asked the states to adopt ” preventive, remedial and punitive measures”.
SC demanded the law to be made in such a way that it should instill fear in the minds of the criminals.