Angst about 'Mob Justice'

Thoudam Imomacha Singh *

A mob reaction to the Satyabhama killing on April 09 2013 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

The constitution makers of India were an enlightened lot. Fundamental Rights could be classified into the following groups:

(1) Right to equality.
(2) Right to particular freedoms.
(3) Right against exploitation.
(4) Right to freedom of religion.
(5) Cultural and educational rights.
(6) Right to property.
(7) Right to constitutional remedies

Furthermore, there are some fundamental rights such as those under Article 21 and 31 (1), which are addressed against the Executive and impose no limitation upon the Legislature at all. However, Article 21 says that "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law".

So, the Constitution of India is so beautiful as well as so powerful in preserving the rights of the citizens. Our problem lies in the fact, the government of India often fails to implement the constitutional provisions in an appropriate manner and protect the life and property of the Indian citizens.

A cruel act like honour killings have become a part and parcel of Indian society and there are also mafia groups who are indulged in delivering their judgement on important social and religious issues as if there is neither a government nor any sort of authority to take care of governance. Nowadays government remains a mute spectator. This is indeed, a dangerous trend.

The Judicial System in India is very unique. It can review both the actions of the Executive and the Legislature. The number of pending cases under Indian Judiciary may be the largest in the world. It seems the government has apathy towards the Indian Judicial system.

Lord William Bentinck who was Governor General of India (from 1828 to 1835) had seldom fought wars. But he had useful social reforms to his credit. His endeavour in social reforms was sternly supported by Raja Rammohan Roy, the founder of the then Brahmo Samaj.

According to the age old practice of "Sati", when a husband died his wife had to be burnt alive on the pyre simultaneously. When a wife had to refuse, she was forced to follow the cruel and revolting practice. It was something like the present day mob justice in olden India. Lord William Bantinck stopped it by a legislation. Not only this, best, efforts were made to prevent child marriage and the purdah system.

In Manipur, when a patient under treatment in a private clinic or a government hospital dies inimical people around instigate to bring about a mob justice forgetting that we are all a rational being. They are always happy in putting the blame of the incident either on the doctors or the management of the hospital or clinic in question.

The number of creators of mob violence in our society are being increased day by day. Because, they have become professionals earning through this ugly means. It is, indeed, good news that the Gwaltabi face-off could have been subsided due to apt handling of the situation by responsible social organizations. The incident had to be turned into a ethnic flare-up by mischief mongers.

The recent inimical incident involving a couple is indeed unprecedented, so far, in Manipur. There are quite a lot that our creative writers could learn from this incident. Intelligence sleuths belonging to different organizations may also find the incident curious.

The degree of deception played by this woman against her legitimate husband was almost Himalayan in the sense that her act implied moral, social and religious callousness. She colluded with her parents in her obnoxious deed. Her illegitimate husband is unpardonably guilty in terms of law and humanitarianism,

The cowardly policeman involved in the cremation of an unidentified decomposed body of an unknown woman were identically guilty of collusion in the mournful deed. They obviously deserve punishment of the strictest order under the Indian Penal Code, (IPC) in terms of the mental pangs caused to the former husband and his parents, during the last 5 years, since 2011.

The man and his parents have lost everything in life including their moral sanctity and human honour due to the dreadful act of a nosy mob. Those people of the former husband's locality involved in the mob to onslaught him without even knowing an iota of the ground reality must not be spared.

He must be restored his property and he must also be compensated with a huge finance in-lieu the horrendous suffering that he had borne for a long time. Collective fine in huge proportion must be imposed on the heartless mobsters.

It would be wise on the part of the state government to ponder over the matter of introducing a legislation so that mob justice could be prohibited for all the time to come. It is high time to a act with a sense of objectivity.