Mob Lynching against Minorities: SC Issues Notice on NFIW Plea

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Central government and the police in six States in response to National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) petition expressing concern about the increasing incidents of mob violence against minorities.

The petition seeks immediate interim compensation for the families of victims of mob lynching.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the NFIW, presented the public interest litigation (PIL) before a bench of Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala.

The plea raised alarm over the surge in cases of violence and mob lynching targeting Muslims. It pointed out the failure of State authorities to take adequate action despite clear guidelines laid out by the Supreme Court in the Tehseen Poonawalla case to tackle mob violence.

The petitioner argued that the rise in mob violence is a consequence of the State’s inaction and a general narrative of ostracization faced by minority communities. The petitioner attributed this narrative to false propaganda propagated through public events featuring hate speech, social media, news channels, and films.

The petition further emphasized that a poisonous atmosphere of communal hate and division has gripped a significant portion of the population, which serves as a prerequisite for such incidents of mob violence. It submitted that authorities often take minimal action by merely registering FIRs, which appears to be a mere formality rather than a genuine initiation of the criminal machinery.

The petitioner-association urged the Apex Court to order a minimum, uniform compensation amount in addition to ex-gratia payments for the families of mob violence victims. The suggested compensation should consider the nature of bodily and psychological injuries, expenses incurred, and loss of earnings of the victims.