Context
The bills passed against mob lynching in the past four years by four states have not been implemented with the Union government taking a view that lynching is not defined as a crime under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
- Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Manipur and West Bengal has passed Anti Mob Lynching Bills.
Key-points
- In 2018, the Supreme Court asked Parliament to make lynching a separate offence.
- But the Home Ministry informed Parliament that the government has decided to overhaul the IPC framed in 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and mob-lynching would also be examined by the committee.
- The suggestions received by the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws would be examined by the Ministry before the changes are adopted.
What is Mob Lynching?
- Mob lynching is a term used to describe the acts of targeted violence by a large group of people.
- The violence is tantamount to offences against human body or property- both public as well as private.
Mob Lynching defined under Indian Penal Code (IPC)
- In 2017, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) collected data on mob lynching, hate crimes and cow vigilantism but it was not published and discontinued.
- In 2019, Union Home Ministry informed Parliament that there was “no separate” definition for lynching under the IPC.
- Lynching incidents could be dealt with under Sections 300 and 302 of the IPC pertaining to murder.
- In 2018, the Supreme Court asked Parliament to make lynching a separate offense.
- Since then, the government is working to overhaul the IPC framed in 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to consider mob-lynching.
