Supreme Court Warns Against Linking Lynchings To Religion, Says ‘Anyone Can Be A Victim’

The Supreme Court (SC), which was today hearing a contempt petition filed by Congress-linked activist Tehseen Poonawalla, warned against linking lynchings to religion or caste, NDTV has reported.

According to a report in The Hindu, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra objected to senior advocate Indira Jaising's suggestion that lynchings were “targeted violence” against a particular religion and said "anyone can be a victim”.

Jaising said that the Center had only issued an advisory against mob violence but had not backed it up with action on the ground.

“The Union feels responsible... we don’t need to be advised by you,” Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha said in response.

The top court observed that the onus is on states to prevent vigilantism, Indian Express has reported. The SC said that the incidents must be stopped and asked for compliance reports, the NDTV report said.

“This kind of incidents cannot occur. It can’t be accepted in remotest sense. Obligation of states to ensure that such incidents do not occur,” the court observed.

The three-judge bench hearing the matter included CJI Misra, Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice A M Khanwalikar. The bench reserved its judgement on the plea seeking guidelines to curb such violence.