Jharkhand becomes third state to make law against mob lynching

Jharkhand has passed a law against mob lynching. Jharkhand is the third state after Rajasthan and West Bengal where a law has been enacted to prevent mob violence. Recently, cases of lynching are coming from different parts of the country. In such a situation, this law can prove to be a good initiative.

What is Jharkhand Prevention of Mob Violence, Mob Lynching bill 2021?

• In this law, a provision of 3 years to life imprisonment has been made for the perpetrator of mob violence. There is also a provision of fine up to 25 lakhs in this.
• According to the new law, in any incident where the act leads to the victim suffering hurt, the convicts shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and with a fine which shall not be less than ₹1 lakh and may extend up to ₹3 lakh.
• If lynching leads to the death of the victim, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for life and with fine which shall not be less than ₹25 lakh, and the movable and immovable properties shall be attached.
• Besides punishment for being involved in lynching, the bill aims to put in place a top-to-bottom mechanism, with an inspector general-rank police officer to be appointed as a nodal officer, with clearly laid-out powers and duties “to prevent acts of lynching” and “exercise authority against mobs”.

Why Jharkhand needed such law?

• A law to this effect was an electoral promise of all three constituents of the incumbent JMM-Congress-RJD combine in the 2019 assembly polls.
• Mob lynching was a major poll issue in the wake of a series of such incidents in Jharkhand in the past few years.
• Purpose of the bill is to ensure people live in peace, harmony and brotherhood. It will ensure people live and work in the state without any sense of fear.
• BJP in assembly apposed this and said this is for appeasement. BJP wanted to send this to standing committee gor further ammendments.

Why BJP opposed this Bill?

“The officials who have framed the draft of the bill seemed to have invented a new definition of mob. They describe a mob as a group of two or more persons. They should check the definition of mob in Oxford dictionary. Also, immense arbitrary power is being given to the police and district magistrate that could be misused even for trivial issues, even against political opponents,”

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