Assam Government mulls special Act to prevent mob lynching

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Government is mulling an Act to prevent mob lynching incidents. If any other States have such Acts, the government will study them and decide, informed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika on behalf of the Chief Minister, during the first day of the winter session of the Assembly on Monday.

Today, ruling party MLA Mrinal Saikia raised the issue of mob lynchings in the State under Rule 54. The MLA drew the attention of the House to the mob lynching incidents in Assam, especially the recent incident in Jorhat in which Animesh Bhuyan got lynched and also the lynching case of Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das in Karbi Anglong two years ago.

The MLA said that to ensure that such horrifying incidents do not recur and strict action initiated against the guilty person(s), the government must bring in a separate Act. Mob lynchings are not a part of the culture of Assam, said MLA Mrinal Saikia.

In reply, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika stated that there are legal proceedings against those involved in mob lynchings according to the existing laws. He cited the 2018 judgment in the Tehseen S. Poonawalla v/s Union of India case, where the Supreme Court condemned the 'sweeping phenomenon' of lynchings and mob violence in India. The Court issued several directions to the Central and state governments to curb such violence. "We are taking action as per these guidelines," he said.

The Minister said that the Supreme Court, in the 2018 judgement, had advised framing of laws to deal with the crime of lynching. The Court suggested that fast-track trials must settle such cases and disciplinary action initiated against the lax law enforcers. The next of kin of the victim(s) must get compensation, said the Court. The Court observed that due to the increasing tendency of instant justice, mob lynching incidents were on the rise. The Court order stated, "In fact, people have to understand that this act of providing 'instant justice' is nothing but in itself a serious crime."

Minister Hazarika added, "MLA Mrinal Saikia has mentioned that States like Manipur and Rajasthan have separate Acts to check mob lynching. I am not quite aware of this. But if there are separate Acts, we will study them and, if necessary, we will consider bringing in a separate Act to check mob lynchings incidents."

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