“We Are Not Living In A Barbarian Society; People Not Allowed To Take Law In Their Hands”: Rajasthan HC Denies Bail To Accused In Mob Lynching Case
The Rajasthan High Court upheld the rejection of the bail application of the accused who were implicated in a mob lynching case.
The Jaipur Bench took note of the allegations against the accused for brutally beating up an individual along with other villagers after he was held hostage on an allegation of allegedly committing rape on the minor daughter of one of the accused. The Court stated that people cannot be allowed to “take law in their hands.”
A Single Bench of Justice Anil Kumar Upman observed, “This mob-lynching practice is not acceptable in civilized society at any cost. We are not living in a barbarian society. People are not allowed to take law in their hands so also, they should also not be allowed to create hindrance in working of the police, who in the instant case, reached at the spot but was prevented in discharging their official duties of maintaining law and order situation.”
Advocate Anurag Sharma represented the appellants, while PP S.K. Mahala appeared for the respondents.
The appeal was filed by the accused challenging the orders passed by the Special Judge rejecting their bail applications. The accused were in custody in connection for various offences under the IPC, including murder and Section 3(2)(v) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act.
During the hearing, the accused argued that they were falsely implicated in the case. They contended that the deceased had allegedly committed rape on the minor daughter of one of the accused and then tried to escape and slipped and sustained injuries after the minor “raised hue and cry.” It was further argued that there were no eyewitnesses implicating the appellants in the crime.
However, the prosecution opposed the bail, pointing out the seriousness of the offences wherein the deceased had sustained “lathis, sariyas and farsi blows.”. They argued that the appellants not only inflicted severe injuries on Rohit but also did not allow the police team who reached the place of the incident to take the deceased to a hospital on time.
The Court noted that after great hardship the police team could take custody of the deceased and took him to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead. The Court stated that mob lynching was unacceptable in a civilized society and condemned any attempts to obstruct law enforcement.
Consequently, the Court did not enlarge the appellants on bail considering the gravity of the offences and the nature of the allegations attributed.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the appeals.
Cause Title: Darshan Singh & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:RJ-JP:12779)
Appearance:
Appellants: Advocates Anurag Sharma, Shreya Hatila, Rajneesh Gupta and Chanchal Sharma
Respondents: PP S.K. Mahala; Advocate Fateh Ram Meea