SC tells Parliament to draft new law against lynching

The Supreme Court has asked Parliament to create a separate offence for lynching and provide adequate punishment for it, saying a special law would instill a sense of fear for law among the people involved in such activities.

“The horrendous acts of mobocracy cannot be permitted to inundate the law of the land. Earnest action and concrete steps have to be taken to protect citizens from the recurrent pattern of violence which cannot be allowed to become the new normal. The state cannot turn a deaf ear to the growing rumblings of its people,” a three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.

The top court issued a slew of directions including preventive, remedial and punitive measures to tackle the crime of lynching, saying it was not concerned with any specific case in view of a sweeping phenomenon with a far-reaching impact.

“Rising intolerance and growing polarisation expressed through a spate of incidents of mob violence cannot be permitted to become the normal way of life,” it said.

Expressing serious concern over an unfortunate litany of spiralling mob violence, the court wondered if the populace of a great republic like ours has lost the values of tolerance to sustain a diverse culture. It cited examples of US courts which dealt with an iron hand the menace of lynching which, at one point of time, was very rampant in the American society.

“Lynching and mob violence are creeping threats that may gradually take the shape of a Typhon-like monster as evidenced in the wake of rising wave of incidents of recurring patterns by frenzied mobs across the country instigated by intolerance and misinformed by circulation of fake news and false stories,” the bench, also comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

Acting on a PIL by activist Tehseen Poonawalla and a similar plea by Tushar Gandhi, the court directed all state governments to take disciplinary action against the officials concerned if it was found that they did not prevent the incident, despite having prior knowledge, and they failed to institute criminal proceedings against the culprits. It directed for registration of FIR against those disseminating explosive messages.

Nodal officer

The court directed the states to designate a nodal officer, not below the rank of SP, to prevent incidents of mob violence, identifying the districts prone to such violence, and holding regular review meetings by DGPs with intelligence officers to prohibit instances of dissemination of offensive material. It ordered for conducting trial on a day-to-day basis in fast-track/designated courts, which should be concluded within six months.

The court also directed the central and state governments to take steps to curb and stop dissemination of irresponsible and explosive messages on various social media platforms. It also ordered for regular broadcast of messages on media platforms that lynching and mob violence would invite serious consequences.