In a bid to tackle the growing menace of mob lynching in the state of Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot led Congress government on August 5 passed an anti-lynching bill making it the second state after Manipur to criminalise the heinous act. The Bill was passed amidst strong opposition from the BJP members in the Rajasthan legislative assembly.

What is Bill?

Termed as ‘The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019’, the Bill promises to take stringent actions against a person found guilty in the mob.

The Bill defines a mob as a group of two or more individuals. According to the Bill, lynching is “an act or series of acts of violence or those of aiding, abetting or attempting an act of violence, whether spontaneous or preplanned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation or ethnicity”

In case the victim dies, the convict will be sentenced to life along with a hefty fine from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

In case a victim is inflicted with grievous injuries by the attack, the person found guilty can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and could be fined anything from Rs 25,000 to Rs 3 lakh.

In case a victim suffers injuries, the Bill proposes imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh.

The Bill seeks punishment for those found hatching a conspiracy to lynch or aid, abet or similarly attempt such an offence as if he committed the offence.

The Bill also includes other offences related to lynching such as dissemination of offensive materials, propagation of hostile environment and impeding legal processes. If found guilty, the convict will be sent to jail for a minimum of three years.

The Bill stipulates the provision of compensation to victims by the State government as per the Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme.

According to the Bill, the State police chief has been given authority to appoint a state coordinator of the rank of Inspector General of Police to curb further lynching incidents in the state. The district Superintendents of police can now act as the district’s coordinator and can take help of the Deputy Superintendents of Police to prevent such incidents.

BJP Unhappy

The Bill was first introduced in the Rajasthan assembly by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal last week. He said the provisions for mob lynching present in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) are not enough to curb the crime. During the assembly debate, he said that there have been 86 per cent mob lynching cases in the state since 2014, ruining the tranquillity of the state.

BJP strongly protested against the Bill saying that it will not support the bill and demanded the Bill to be referred to a select committee. The Opposition leader – Gulab Chand Kataria said that a state government should not implement strict laws in such a hurry. He advised that the Bill should be sent to a select committee where a proper discussion will take place and the party will support the bill post that.

Also Read: Assam: Another Mob Lynching Over Suspicion Of Cow Theft; One Die, Three Injured