A plea by the National Federation of Indian Women seeks immediate interim compensation for the families of victims in line with the Supreme Court's decision in the Tehseen Poonawalla case.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Central government and the police in six states on a petition raising concerns over the rise in incidents of mob violence against minorities and seeking immediate interim compensation for the families of victims of mob lynching.
A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and J.B. Pardiwala issued notice on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, after hearing its counsel and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, a report in Bar and Bench said.
Notices were issued to the Union government and the police in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
The plea, drawn by advocate Rashmi Singh and filed through advocate Sumita Hazarila, flagged “the alarming rise” in cases of violence and mob lynching against Muslims.
This was despite the clear guidelines for state machinery laid out in the Tehseen Poonawalla case to deal with mob violence, the plea said.
The rampant rise in mob violence and lynching is the natural consequence of lack of action by the state, despite the Supreme Court laying down punitive and remedial measures in the Tehseen Poonawalla case, the petitioner contended.
The petitioner further highlighted that it should be viewed as the result of a general narrative of ostracisation that minority communities face. This narrative has been borne out of false propaganda that is spread through public events featuring hate speech that targets minorities as well as through social media, news channels and films, the petitioner added.
The petitioner further argued that a “poison of general communal hate and divide” has taken over a significant part of the population, which acts as a catalyst for such incidents of mob violence, the report said.
The state authorities have failed to take adequate action to curb this menace, the petitioner contended.
“In most cases, minimal action of merely registering FIRs is the only thing that is done by the authorities which seems to be more of a formality than any genuine initiation of the criminal machinery,” the plea added.
The petitioner association urged the Supreme Court to order a minimum, uniform compensation amount in addition to the ex gratia payments sought for the families of mob violence victims.
Such compensation should take into account the nature of the body injury, the psychological injury, expenses to be incurred and loss of earnings of the victims, the petitioner added. — IANS
