Mob justice, justice on communal lines

Aaron Keishing *

destruction of at least 20 houses following a misunderstanding arising out of the All Tribal Chiefs Forum's bandh in Gwaltabi area, Imphal East on 1st May 2015 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Mob justice and/or the justice on the communal lines without the due process of law are no justice at all. It is a gross miscarriage of justice as the victims were denied their right to procedure established by law (Indian constitutional doctrine) and to a due process (American).

Let's see these two important terms often cited in Supreme Court Judgments.

Procedure Established by Law: Article 21 in The Constitution Of India says: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." It says that if Parliament pass a law, the life or personal liberty of a person can be taken off according to the provisions and procedures of that law viz., The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958.

A law that is duly enacted by legislature or the concerned body is valid if it has followed the correct procedure, even if it's contrary to principles of justice and equity. This doctrine has a major flaw as it does not seek whether the laws made by Parliament is fair, just and not arbitrary.

Due Process of Law:- It not only checks if there is a law to deprive the life and personal liberty of a person, but also see if the law made is fair, just and not arbitrary. If Court finds any law as unfair, it will declare it as null and void. To sum up, it means procedure established by law and also, the procedure should be fair and just, and not arbitrary.

Strictly following procedure established by law may raise the risk of compromise to life and personal liberty of individuals due to unjust laws made by the law making authorities. It is to avoid this situation, our Supreme Court stressed the importance of due process of law, and in most of the judgments of the supreme court, the due process aspect has been given much important.

In Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India case (1978) SC held that – 'Procedure established by law' within the meaning of article 21 must be 'right and just and fair' and 'not arbitrary, fanciful or oppressive' otherwise, it would be no procedure at all and the requirement of Article 21 would not be satisfied. Thus, the 'procedure established by law' has acquired the same significance in India as the 'due process of law' clause in America.

The government shall take strong action against the responsible group or cadres and give "befitting punishment'' to the perpetrators. The irony of the fate is that, in most cases, mob justice results in, "What criminals sowed, the innocent reap, One committed crime, another bears the grief."

Are we doing the right things, or are we harming our own liberty, dignity and right to life? The human quickly learns he learns, the better are chances of his survival. Let's right wrong, do justice, and secured our right to life and liberty. There must be no delay, or no hesitation, or no compromise.

We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right of every Manipuri to have the opportunity of being heard, inside or outside the State. And we ought not, and we cannot, and we must not wait another series of mob justice. We have already suffered enough, and the time for waiting is gone.

The vicious mob attack justice that had been carried out on Syed Farid Khan in Nagaland before his innocence or guilt was yet to be established through the courts in total violation of the Principle of Natural Justice (Fair Hearing) has been widely criticized. The kind of justice meted out by the mob can simply not ensure the concept of being innocent until proven guilty which is meant to ensure that the innocent are not punished for the crimes that they did not commit. Whether Khan was innocent or guilty, what happened to him was proved wrong.

It was some many years ago at Ukhrul Town. So it was first week of May at Gwalthabi, and then last week at Patsoi, Imphal West. Some of them were brutally assaulted. One good man—a man of innocent—was killed, and a Church burnt down. There is no cause for pride in what has happened in Chandel, or at Napet Palli, Silent Village, Kongkan, Pallel, or in Thingsat village.

Then follows a series of endless mob justices or you may say it mass crimes - angry villagers ransacked the house of the rape accused, torched it along with all belongings, and that the accused and his immediate family members banished from the village for life, and so on, which is a "very alarming" development.

Where would all this end? Will the peace and justice be secured in such a situation? Poorva Joshipura, CEO, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) India obeserves: "Mob violence is indiscriminate, it can happen for any reason and to anyone, and until we do something to stop the surge of vigilante style justice in India, none of us will be safe."