No plans to bring new law on mob lynching

No amendment of either CrPC or IPC

The Centre on Wednesday said there will be no new law to deal with mob lynching and cow vigilantism, following which Opposition members created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha. The Centre also ruled out the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said the existing laws are sufficient to deal with murder committed by “one person or ten persons” and that states have all the powers to deal with such incidents.

Samajwadi Party MPs rushed into the Well expressing dissatisfaction over the government’s reply to questions regarding the steps taken by the Centre to stop such incidents. This led to a brief adjournment of the House.

Replying to a series of questions in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour, Ahir said, “I don’t think there is a need (for amending CrPC/IPC or bringing a new law).”

Emphasising that law and order is a state subject, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to states to take tough action against cow vigilantes.

When Opposition MPs Naresh Agrawal and Digvijaya Singh claimed that BJP members were acting as cow vigilantes, Ahir said such an impression was incorrect and that incidents have happened in non-BJP ruled states as well. He said states have arrested culprits in almost all cases.

Agrawal said more than 50 incidents of cow vigilantism followed by mob lynching have been reported since BJP came to power in the Centre. Singh said there is targeted lynching in the country.

Ahir said 24 states and five Union Territories in the country have banned cow slaughter, and only the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, besides the Union Territory of Lakshadweep have not imposed any such ban.