UP govt’s move in lynching case indefensible

THE Uttar Pradesh government seems to have paid no heed to what CJI BR Gavai said recently: “Justice is not a privilege of the few but a right of every citizen.” Keen to give a quiet burial to a horrifying case of lynching, the state has sought a district court’s nod for withdrawing charges against all those accused of murdering Mohammad Akhlaq. This resident of Bisada village in Greater Noida was dragged out of his house and beaten to death by a mob in 2015. The assailants targeted him on the basis of mere suspicion that he had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator. Akhlaq’s son was seriously injured while trying to save him. One of the accused is the son of a BJP leader — that’s probably a key reason for the state government’s move.

It was just a month ago that the Allahabad High Court had expressed concern over the misuse of the state’s cow slaughter law and its link to rising mob violence. Apart from UP, incidents of cow vigilantism have also been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana in the past decade or so. Respective state governments have only paid lip service to the Supreme Court’s ruling in a 2018 case (Tehseen S Poonawalla vs Union of India). The SC had asserted that there was no room for vigilantism in a country where the rule of law prevailed.

However, self-styled gau rakshaks continue to operate with impunity, occasionally in connivance with the police. In several cases, Muslims have been threatened and assaulted on the pretext of cow protection. The UP government is undermining the justice delivery system by going soft on the accused in the Akhlaq case. The state’s abdication of its constitutional responsibility will only breed fear and insecurity among the minorities.