INTRODUCTION:
Mob lynching is a term wont to describe the acts of targeted violence by a large group of individuals. The mob believes that they’re punishing the victim for doing something wrong (not necessarily illegal) and they take the law in their own hands to punish the purported accused without following any rules of law. Mob lynching is giving punishment to a person without any legal authority for any offence. This can be done by hanging or by beating. Mob Lynching is by a group of people of some community.
Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group. it is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob so as to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate.
Lynching is the mob killing of a person suspected of a crime, especially by hanging that is done outside of the law. Lynching is most commonly associated with the hanging death of Black men by white people in the us , especially in the Jim Crow South.
Punishment of Mob Lynching:
Punishment for mob Lynching isn’t specific. It all depends on the facts of the case. For example, if mob commits murder then it will fall under 302 of the IPC. Murder in any form whether by a lone killer or a seething mob will fall under section 302 of IPC.
Section 302 of Indian Penal Code: Section 302 of IPC defines punishment for murder. It states that whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 304 of Indian Penal Code: Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder. Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 307 of Indian Penal Code: attempt to Murder. Whoever does any act with such intention or knowledge, and under such circumstances that, if he by that act caused death, he would be guilty of murder, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall even be liable to fine and if hurt is caused to a person by such act, the offender shall be liable either to imprisonment for life, or to such punishment as is hereinbefore mentioned. When any person offending under this section is under sentence of imprisonment for life, he may, if hurt is caused, be punished with death.
Section 323 of IPC Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt.—Whoever voluntarily causes hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
CURRENT SITUATION OF INDIA:
As we know in India , there is no specific law to deals with a mob lynching. Mob lynching is a serious crime and it should not be taken lightly. Government has got to take a step to stop the mob lynching because its increases day by day and a huge amount of cases are also recorded every year. Mob lynching is common not only among minorities but also within the high authority officers and police too .If any act of mob lynching results in the death of a victim, the perpetrator shall be punished with death sentence or rigorous imprisonment for life states the law. Mob lynching has not always been based on religious. Mob lynching is not only a social problem but a political one too. Due to selfish political benefits, some leaders have destructively used the diversity of India and pitted groups against one another. Most of the victims are Muslims, members of the country’s largest religious minority. They comprise about 15% of India’s 1.3 billion people. Other victims include lower-caste Hindus and Christians. As compared to 84 incidents of mob lynching in 2018, in 2019, there were a total of 107 incidents of mob lynching in India. These incidents claimed 68 lives and injured 120. Out of 68 dead, 38 were reported as Hindus and 8 Muslims. The religion of 21 dead was not specified.
CASE LAWS:
1.In the case of Arumugam Servai v. State of Tamil Nadu the Supreme Court had directed States to require disciplinary action against the concerned officials wherever they did not prevent the incident, despite having prior knowledge of it.
2.In the case of Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India issued guidelines to state governments on tackling the increased incidents of mob lynching in the country. In this case, the apex Court had directed state governments to follow a three-pronged approach to lynching incidents by executing preventive, remedial and punitive measures.
3. In Nandini Sundar and others v. State of Chhattisgarh Court opined that “it is the duty of the States, as to strive, incessantly and consistently, to promote fraternity amongst all citizens so that the dignity of every citizen is protected, nourished and promoted. Court held that to stop such incidents is the responsibility of the States.
STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT:
1. The Law clearly lays down the duty and responsibility of the state government to make arrangements for the protection of victims and witnesses against any kind of intimidation, coercion, inducement, violence or threats of violence.
2. Under the compensation scheme for the victims, the amount should be recovered from the perpetrators of the crime.
3. The Rajasthan legislative assembly on Monday passed a Bill providing for life imprisonment and a fine from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh to those convicted in cases of mob lynching resulting in victim’s death.
4. The west Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 proposes a jail term from three years to life for those involved in assaulting and injuring a person and also defines terms such as “lynching” and “mob”. The State also proposed the West Bengal Lynching Compensation Scheme.
5. The state governments shall designate a senior police officer in each district for taking measures to stop incidents of mob violence and lynching.
6. The state governments shall immediately identify districts, sub-divisions and villages where instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the recent past.
7. The nodal officers shall bring to the notice of the DGP any inter-district co-ordination issues for devising a strategy to tackle lynching and mob violence related issues.
8. State governments shall prepare a lynching/mob violence victim compensation scheme.
9. Cases of lynching and mob violence shall be specifically tried by designated court/fast track courts earmarked for that purpose in each district. The trial shall preferably be concluded within six months.
CONCLUSION:
Such as there is no existence of good crime and bad crime, similarly there is no existence of good mob lynching and bad mob lynching. The crowd is of general perception that if judiciary and police administration cannot provide them justice, they should own it by themselves even the person has committed the minor offence such as theft. This clearly shows that people in country have lost their trust on law and order. According to my suggestion, instead of introducing various sub sections in the bare acts of the country, this national offence should be dealt in the existing sections, and the current administration should focus more on reviving the lost trust and faith of the people on this judiciary and police system. Whatever the reason is, attacking a helpless person and killing him/her is inhumane. The chilling truth that these kinds of people live in our society are very scary. The people who are a part of this kind of mobs deserves no mercy and should be imprisoned for a lifetime. Immediate and strict punishments can only deter mob lynching incidents. The law which will come into force should be effectively implemented; otherwise it’ll become like Nirbhaya act and may fail in deterring the crimes. It is not only death and injuries that should worry us about mob lynching incident. Survival of democracy, rule of law and justice is at stake. Mob lynching is a crime not recognized and no provisions as to it have been laid in any statute until now. Thus the need of the hour is that stricter laws need to be framed in the parliament in order to stop this nuisance because in the end human life is at cost. Mob Lynching should be stopped as it promotes violence, hatred, war etc. Lynching is not at all healthy for a country and its society. People should understand that every life is important. Killing someone on just a suspicion is not justified. Also, people shouldn’t take law within the ir own hands as there are courts and police in the country preserving the same. Using violence is not the option that must be exercised. More than that government should pass the new law, MASUKA which will bring legal and political minds together to try and find a solution. And by doing this, many lives can be saved in coming years.
