Rights activists form 'committee' to draft 'law' for lynching

Social rights activists, including students and lawyers, today set up an independent drafting "committee" to formulate "a new law" aimed at making mob- lynching a non-bailable offence apart from attracting life imprisonment.
Launching a campaign against mob lynching, the activists demanded that Prime Minister implement the law by 11 July that marks the anniversary of Una Dalit flogging in Gujarat.
"The law which we are proposing makes mob lynching a non-bailable offence and mandates a time-bound judicial inquiry instead of police enquiry to probe into the issue," said Tehseen Poonawalla, a political observer.
"If convicted, there should be life imprisonment for the crime," he added.

The activists included supreme court lawyer Sanjay Hegde, JNU students' union president Mohit Kumar Pandey, former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, former JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid, Dalit activist Jignesh Mewani and veteran journalist Kuldeep Nayar.
The draft law also makes compulsory suspension of the SHO or the head of local police station concerned, holding them responsible for such incidents.

"Suspension of chief of local police station should be made compulsory as such incidents cannot happen unless the mob enjoys the support of police," Shehla Rashid said.
Mobs cannot roam around freely without the police noticing it and lynching cannot not spontaneous, she sadi, adding it was time to keep the political ideologies aside and set up a law against such crimes.

The drafting committee members included Hegde and nine others from civil society.
The activists also threatened to lead a rally of cattle farmers to the PM's residence if no action was taken against the move before July 11.
"It is the duty of the PM to walk the talk. If the law is not passed, we will lead the cattle farmers to PM's residence and leave the cattle there," Poonawalla said.