LYNCHING- TAKING THE LAW IN HANDS IS NOW TO BE HANDLED BY THE LAW

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s recent guidance to the Parliament to draft a new law to punish offenders participating in lynching created a huge pandemonium in the Country. Many political groups showed resentment against this long-desired judgment. Various debates were reported to have occurred in the Rajya Sabha on the question, whether there is even a need to enact a separate law against lynching or are the existing laws enough to deal with the crime. But before beginning a pandora of discussions on it, it is important to first analyse the concept of lynching, its evolvement and the reasons for its “supposed sanction” both in the earlier and the current times. This article mainly discusses the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India (Tehseen S. Poonawala vs. Union of India) directing the Parliament to draft a new law to stop lynching. The paper begins by analysing the concept and tracing the origin of lynching. The paper further examines the statistical data of the past mob killings in India and concludes by analysing the above-mentioned Judgement of the Supreme Court regarding lynching.

Lynching is the practice whereby a mob--usually several dozen or several hundred persons--takes the law into its own hands in order to injure and kill a person accused of some wrongdoing. The alleged offense can range from a serious crime like theft or murder to a mere violation of local customs and sensibilities. People in defiance of the violation of their sentiments serves the role of a prosecutor, judge, or an executioner in a way of taking the law in hands thereby making the guilt and the innocence of the victim secondary.