What is Mob lynching : Incidences in Recent Past – A legal approach
Picture Courtesy: https://caravandaily.com/mob-lynching-let-us-act-now-irfan-engineer/
THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY HIMANSHU RAGHUWANSHI, A STUDENT OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF LEGAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH (NALSAR) UNIVERSITY OF LAW, HYDERABAD.
On May 9th 2019 two men became victims of the rage of a mob in Bhara village of Begusarai district in Bihar. The victims were said to be habitual offenders and were looking to commit some illegal activity in the village. Before they could commit any illegal activity, the village men acted against them and assaulted them with iron rods and bamboo sticks. The incident resulted in death to one of the victims while the other survived.[1] In another incident, a Muslim man was beaten up, told to remove his skullcap and forced to chant Jai Shree Ram in Gurugram in Haryana on May 25th. The man was returning from Mosque in the way he was confronted by some extremist goons. The victim was threatened that they would make him eat pork if he refused to do what they say and was also beaten up with a bamboo stick.[2]
These two incidents are the latest additions to a huge number of mob violence incidents that have occurred in different parts of the country in recent years. Lynching happens in India due to multitude of reasons including suspicion of crime, communal hatred, cattle theft, etc. Cattle theft and communal hatred related lynching incidents have proliferated in recent years. Majority of lynching incidents occur due to cow related issues with communal hatred at the heart of these incidents.[3]
These incidents of mob violence and lynching are a blemish on a democratic country like India where rule of law is paramount. These incidents are often not ordinary crimes but political assertions of the majority over the minority. They are against the ethos of democracy and represent the surrender of law enforcing agencies in front of the majority.
A major cause for such incident is that rumors circulate on social media messengers about the presence of child abductors in the locality and the terrified people panic at the sight of strangers, resort to violence, taking the law in their hands and often sentencing the victims to die because of their alleged guilt. Official data on lynching is not available as the National Crime Records Bureau does not keep track of lynching as it is not defined in any legislation; however various sources suggest that at least 25 people lost their lives by August 2018 in mob violence stimulated by fake rumors about child abductors.[4]. The government responded by asking WhatsApp to curb fake news and devise mechanisms to restrict circulation of rumors.[5] The messaging giant also responded to the call and took measures to curb fake news.[6] Among other things, it put a cap on the number of people a message can be forwarded, as well running an awareness campaign asking people to resort to fact finding mechanism to check the veracity of messages.[7] The government on its part constantly reviewed the steps taken.[8]
The apex court also took note of the incidents and in a PIL filed before it pronounced a judgment in the case of Tehseen S. Poonawalla vs. Union of India[9]. The SC observed “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 the citizens from the recurrent pattern of violence which cannot be allowed to become “the new normal”.” The apex court issued elaborate guidelines to curb mob violence. The SC ordered to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in every district. The officer will formulate a special task force to ensure censor of hate speeches and false news and to keep an eye on notable people likely to commit the crime. The states were directed to identify those districts where such incidents happened in the past and ensure that nodal officers of such districts are extra cautious in dealing with vigilantism. Regular meetings must be held at district, state and national level to keep a check on the progress.
The Court also asked the police to register FIR in such cases and take prompt action. The nodal officer himself/herself should monitor any investigation. A victim compensation scheme must be formulated in light of section 375A of CrPC. The cases of lynching must be tried at Fast Track Courts earmarked for this purpose and the trial should be concluded ordinarily in six months. Maximum punishments must be given to the perpetrators to set a stern example and adequate protection must be offered to the families of the victims.
The SC asked the state to comply with the guidelines and submit a report of the same. The stringent attitude of the SC and the widespread condemnation of the incidents lead to state complying at least formerly with the guidelines. The Haryana government where the recent incident (Gurugram incident) of mob violence took place told the press in 2018 that nodal officers have been appointed in every district and other required measures have been taken.[10]The government of Bihar, where the Begusarai incident happened, also announced about some compliance with the guidelines.[11]
These measures made mob violence a less frequent event for around 3-4 months until these two incidents occurred. The efforts taken by WhatsApp are commendable and in the right direction. However the government needs to be a bit stringent and frame out necessary mechanism to tackle fake news rather than asking social media messengers to do that. The draft amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines) Rules[12] made public by the government seems to be a move in the right direction and the government must ensure that they present it and get it passed in the parliament with suitable amendments.[13]
The judgment of the court[14] was necessary at that time to stop those incidents. The guidelines issued were very elaborate and tried to cover all aspects of such incidents. However their application by the states is not very encouraging. The Court asked the states to put the measures taken against mob violence on their official violence. However there is nothing on the website of the Bihar government except the original order of the Court. While this is not a conclusive proof that those guidelines were not followed, but it tells us how seriously the state took the guidelines. Another instance of the lax application of the guidelines is the very contentious Akhlaq case, in which not even charges were framed against the accused after 45 hearings in 3 years in a ‘fast track court’ as of 25 September 2018.[15]
The central government needs to act and should bring a new legislation or amend the existing ones to ensure that the guidelines issued by the court are framed into a statute, as the centre has more mechanisms than the SC to ensure the application of legislated laws. The Indian Penal Code do not even defines mob lynching and the accused are tried under offences of murder, spreading communal violence, etc. The perpetrators are tried together as per section 223(a) of CrPC. However if a new law is brought in or changes are made in the existing laws to provide for separate instances of mob violence greater clarity will be there while framing charges. Also making it a separate offence will act as a greater deterrent as it will enhance the immensity of the crime. The SC/ST act contains a lot of unique offences but it also contains offences which could be tried under the general laws as well[16]. However, the SC/ST act clearly defines every offence and provides aggravated versions of the offences, this adds a lot of vigour to the law and it becomes easy for the SC/ST people to seek justice under it. Therefore introduction of a new legislation or amending the existing legislations could substantially help to curb the menace of mob violence just like the SC/ST act.
Another disturbing fact about mob violence is that police often turn into mute spectators often charging the victim with offences against cows rather than arresting the perpetrators.[17] The police often support the perpetrators and pay no heed to complain of the victims. The government needs to make sure that the police perform its duties. Stringent punishment must be stipulated for those officers who do not perform their duty and tacitly support such incidents.
Mob violence is often politically motivated and enjoys the tacit approval of politicians. Lynching incidents many a times occur as an aftereffect of political activities. The government needs to make sure that the members of the ruling party do not terrorize people and support vigilantes. The police also do not take adequate actions under the influence of local political leaders. Therefore in order to stop mob violence the political parties need to make sure that the perpetrators do not enjoy the support of their leaders.
Mob lynching is a crime of the highest order; it not only takes a life of a person but along with it hampers basic human dignity. In a country governed by law and order, it cannot prevail. Necessary action must be taken to curb mob violence.
[1] Bihar: Mob thrashes two suspected robbers with stones; one dead,
https://newsd.in/bihar-mob-thrashes-two-suspected-robbers-with-stones-one-dead/.
[2] They Tore My Kurta, Told Me To Say “Jai Shri Ram”: Muslim Man In Gurgaon, NDTV.com, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/muslim-man-in-gurugram-claims-he-was-attacked-and-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-slogans-2043261.
[3] IndiaSpend | Hate-Crime Database, https://lynch.factchecker.in/.
[4] On the frontline of India’s WhatsApp fake news war – BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45140158.
[5] India asks WhatsApp to set up local unit, curb fake news, https://www.livemint.com/Politics/HpmAjYPgcwpL28VlXGG2lO/India-asks-WhatsApp-to-set-up-local-entity.html.
[6] WhatsApp FAQ – Tips to help prevent the spread rof rumors and fake news, https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/26000216/?category=5245250.
[7] WhatsApp launches India tip line to curb fake news | Deccan Herald, https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/whatsapp-launches-india-tip-line-to-curb-fake-news-726506.html.
[8] Govt. reviews measures taken to curb fake news – The Hindu,
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-reviews-measures-taken-to-curb-fake-news/article25325478.ece.
[9] Tehseen S. Poonawall vs. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 3354.
[10] Haryana appoints CPs, SPs nodal officers to deal with lynchings, mob violence | Gurgaon News – Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/haryana-appoints-cps-sps-nodal-officers-to-deal-with-lynchings-mob-violence/articleshow/65957093.cms.
[11]Bihar government announces Rs 1 lakh for victims of mob lynching, Zee News (2018), https://zeenews.india.com/india/bihar-government-announces-rs-1-lakh-for-victims-of-mob-lynching-2140930.html.
[12] The Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines) Rule 2011, https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/in/in099en.pdf.
[13] The Information Technology [Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules] 2018, https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Draft_Intermediary_Amendment_24122018.pdf.
[14] Tehseen S. Poonawall vs. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 3354.
[15] Aditi Vatsa, Three years after Akhlaq was lynched in Dadri, case is stuck in ‘fast-track’ court ThePrint (2018), https://theprint.in/india/governance/three-years-after-akhlaq-was-lynched-in-dadri-case-is-stuck-in-fast-track-court/123930.
[16] THE SCHEDULED CASTES AND THE SCHEDULED TRIBES (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) ACT, 1989, http://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1989-33_2.pdf.
[17] Avinash Giri, Police in India Punish Muslim Victims in ‘Mob Lynching’ Case The Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/police-in-india-punish-muslim-victims-in-mob-lynching-case.
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