Tighten the Law Against Lynchings: Panel’s Report to GoM
The panel was formed after nearly 40 people were lynched in nine states in the past one year.
A panel of senior government officers, which deliberated on the possibility of enacting a new law to check incidents of lynching, has submitted its report to a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, officials said on Wednesday, 29 May.
The committee of secretaries, headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, held consultations with a cross-section of society and other stakeholders, before submitting its report to the GoM.
The GoM will now submit its recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a final decision, a home ministry official said.
Though the final outcome of the deliberations of the committee of secretaries is not known immediately, it is believed they have proposed to tighten the law by inserting clauses in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) through parliamentary approval.
The panel report will now be discussed by the GoM, whose members include External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.
The move came after nearly 40 people were lynched in nine states in the past one year.
In the short period between May to June, more than 20 people were lynched based on fake posts and social media rumours, reports The Hindu.
In July 2018, the Home Ministry issued advisories to states and Union territories following the Supreme Court's directive to check incidents of lynching.
The Centre asked the states to appoint an officer in each district at the level of Superintendent of Police, set up a special task force to gather intelligence, and closely monitor social media contents to prevent mob attacks on suspicion of being child-lifters or cattle smugglers.
Such instances of persons taking the law in their hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law, it said.
"All state governments, UT administrations and their law enforcement agencies are requested to implement the directions of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit," it said.
Social Media Sites to be Held Accountable
The panel reportedly arrived at the conclusion that there was a need for social media platforms to act in a “time-bound” manner, with a senior government official telling The Hindu that the major social media platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Twitter — would be held “accountable” if they did not block posts and videos carrying malicious content, when brought to their notice.
The official added that an “FIR could be lodged against their country heads” for not following through with the government’s orders, which could lead to their persecution under the law, the report adds.
(With inputs from PTI and The Hindu)
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