What is the Mob Lynching Act in India? Here’s the Statistic of Mob Lynching in India

Is your UPSC and IAS exam preparation going right? Recently, in 2018 Supreme court addressed the controversial issue of Mob Lynching by notifying guidelines. That is why this topic becomes important for UPSC mains. Read till the end to know all about it.

What is the Mob Lynching?

Before understanding the Mob Lynching Act in India. You should know, what is mob lynching?

Mob lynching is an extreme act by a group of violent people attacking another person which sometimes leads to the informal execution of a person. India has witnessed mob lynching since centuries. Most of the victims were Dalits and Women. Single Women were branded as witches and Dalits were ill-treated because of their cast. The recent cases of Dalits lynching were Jhajjar, Khairlanji, and Una.

The mob lynching statistics of India shows that India has not been very successful in handling mob violence issues.

Mob Lynching Cases In India

In India, most cases of mob lynching are mostly due to castism, religious differences, and political differences among people. Some illustration are as follows,

West Bengal lynching case: On 26th June 2017, Durgapur. Two days before Eid, the cow vigilantes lynched three Mulism young men over the scepticism of cow theft.
Akhlaq lynching case: On September 29, 2015. Mohammed Akhlaq was forcefully dragged out of his home and lynched till death by the people of his village. The villagers had suspicious claims that Akhlaq and his family had slaughtered a calf and eaten beef.
Palghar lynching case: On 16 April 2020, two Hindu sadhus and their driver were lynched and killed by a group of villagers, who mistaken three passengers as thieves.

These instances give us insight into how severe it is to address this issue.

What is Mob Lynching Act in India?

Mob lynching is a violation under Article 21 of the constitution of India as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
There is no specific definition of mob lynching in IPC. Mob Lynching is considered an offence under Section 300 and 302 of IPC.
The Supreme Court in 2018, quoted mob lynching as a “horrendous act of mobocracy”.
The Anti-Communal Violence Bill was approved by the Supreme Court in 2018 considering the provisions of Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA). MASUKA is a law against mob lynching, which gave the legal definitions on Mob, Lynching, and Victim.
Also, the Court ordered the Centre and State governments to frame laws and guidelines to deal with the compensation of victims, fast-track trials, and appropriate action against the wrongdoer.

Supreme Court Guidelines for State Government

The state government shall appoint a senior officer in each district for controlling lynching activities.
The state government shall make provisions for the compensation of lynching victims and to ensure the safety of the victims family members.
The state government shall identify such districts, subdivision, and villages which are vulnerable to mob lynching.
The state and central government should make use of television, radio, and other social media sources to educate people about the legal consequences of participating in mob lynching.

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