The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central and State governments in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Indian Muslims for Progress and Reforms seeking a fair and uniform compensation policy for victims of mob lynching in India. The PIL claimed that the current approach of State governments towards ex-gratia compensation is arbitrary, discriminatory and meagre, and depends on extraneous factors such as media coverage, political imperatives, and the victim's religious identity. The PIL emphasized that mob lynching and hate crimes have a significant impact on the rule of law, and recent incidents of heinous crimes against minorities were flagged. The Supreme Court has given the respondents six weeks to file their replies, and the petitioner has urged the modification of existing compensation schemes framed after the top court's decision in Tehseen Poonawalla.
TAGS: Supreme Court PIL compensation mob lynching Indian Muslims for Progress and Reforms State governments discrimination hate crimes minorities rule of law replies modification Tehseen Poonawalla.
