UP panel wants stern penalty for lynching

Lucknow, July 11

Taking cognisance of incidents of mob lynching, including those by cow vigilantes, the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission has submitted a draft Bill recommending up to life imprisonment for the crime.

Commission chairman Justice (retd) AN Mittal submitted a report on mob lynching, along with the draft Bill, to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday.

The 128-page report cited various cases of lynching in the state and recommended immediate enactment of a law as per recommendations made by the Supreme Court in 2018.

The commission said the existing laws to combat lynchings were not sufficient and asserted that there should be a separate law to tackle them.

It suggested a punishment ranging from seven years in jail to life imprisonment for the offence.

Suggesting that such a law may be called the Uttar Pradesh Combating of Mob Lynching Act, the commission specified the responsibilities of police officers and district magistrates, spelling out the punishment for failing in their duty. — PTI