Indian Muslims For Progress And Reforms Approaches SC Seeking Uniform Policy For Compensating Victims Of Mob Lynching Across The Country

On Friday, the Supreme Court requested responses from the Central and State governments regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by the Indian Muslims for Progress and Reforms through advocate Rizwan Ahmad. The PIL seeks a fair and uniform policy for compensating victims of mob lynching across the country.

Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna headed the bench and issued a notice on the plea. The petitioner organization claimed that the current approach of state governments towards ex-gratia compensation for victims of hate crimes and mob lynching is "arbitrary, discriminatory, and whimsical." They also argued that the compensation provided is "meager" and has "glaring discrepancies."

The recent incidents of heinous crimes against minorities were highlighted as having a significant impact on the rule of law. The petitioner argued that self-proclaimed and self-styled vigilantes have been targeting citizens belonging to minority communities in targeted violence, originating from suspicion and sometimes misinformation that the victims were involved in the illegal cattle trade. It was emphasized that hate crimes and mob lynching can have a long-lasting traumatic impact on victims.

The petitioner stated that it is the responsibility of the government to support the affected families of such atrocities. However, there is an attitude of antipathy and discrimination in the grant of ex-gratia compensation to the victims of hate crime/lynching by state governments, which further aggravates the suffering of the victims.

The petitioner requested that the existing compensation schemes, formulated after the Tehseen Poonawalla case, be suitably modified to address this issue. The top court granted the respondents six weeks to file their responses.