The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Union government and the police in six States in a petition by National Federation of Indian Women raising concern about a rise in incidents of mob violence against Muslims and seeking immediate interim compensation for the families of victims of mob lynching.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for NFIW, the women’s wing of the Communist Party of India.
Notices were issued by the bench of Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala to the Union government and the police in the States of Maharashtra, Haryana, Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, Bar and Bench reported.
The plea flagged “the alarming rise” in cases of violence and mob lynching against Muslims.
According to the plea, the rampant rise in mob violence and lynching is the natural consequence of lack of action by the State, despite the Supreme Court laying down punitive and remedial measures in the Tehseen Poonawalla case.
The plea highlighted that the raising violence against Muslims should be viewed as the result of a general narrative of ostracization that minority communities face. This narrative has been borne out of false propaganda that is spread through public events featuring hate speech that targets minorities as well as through social media, news channels and films, the plea added.
“In most cases, minimal action of merely registering FIRs is the only thing that is done by the authorities which seems to be more of a formality than any genuine initiation of the criminal machinery,” the plea added.
The NFIW urged the apex court to order a minimum, uniform compensation amount in addition to the ex gratia payments sought for the families of mob violence victims.
