Treatment Of Mob Lynching (Based On Religion) And Collective Violence Under The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Rida Kausar, Amity Law School, Amity University Chhattisgarh, India
Dr. Pratima Choubey, Assistant Professor, Amity Law School, Amity University Chhattisgarh, India
ABSTRACT
When a crowd becomes a weapon, organized, emboldened, and fueled by hatred toward a particular faith, the result is not merely a crime of violence. It is a statement that your identity makes you a target, and the law will not protect you. From Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri to Pehlu Khan in Alwar, the pattern has been disturbingly consistent, where, a rumour spreads, a crowd assembles, and a person is beaten, sometimes to death, while the aftermath brings delayed FIRs, weak prosecutions, and acquittals.
It is in this context that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) arrives with a notable development in Section 103(2), which for the first time explicitly criminalises mob lynching on the basis of religion, caste, race, or community, prescribing death or life imprisonment. For decades, courts and civil society had demanded exactly this recognition, arguing that treating mob lynching as ordinary murder fundamentally misunderstood its nature. This paper examines whether that shift is more than symbolic.
It traces the historical evolution of mob violence in India, analyses the scope and limitations of Section 103(2), and compares India's approach with that of the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. It then confronts the institutional gaps no single provision can cure, that is, investigative failures, evidentiary challenges, witness protection, and political interference before arguing that mob lynching must be understood as a hate crime in the fullest sense, not just a violent act, but a targeted message of subordination directed at an entire community.
The BNS represents a genuine step forward. But a provision without enforcement infrastructure, prosecutorial will, and a broader commitment to equal protection risks becoming a fig leaf. India needs both the right law and the resolve to use it.
