Mentors Comments:
The question expects us to analyze the need, pros and cons, effectiveness and impact of an anti lynching law in the country. It also expects us to give an overview of the shape such law can take.
Highlight the various incidents that have taken place in the past few years and the conclusion that can be drawn from it in your intro.
In the main body, explain lynching.
Explain the need for forming an anti lynching law – rule of law, deal with societal violence, create deterrence etc
Explain how an anti lynching law might be inadequate – mention the main cause of lynching being lack of faith in judicial mechanisms to deliver justice which would still remain, the need for societal harmony which is missing in the current times etc
Briefly give an overview of the shape such a law might take and what more needs to be done.
Conclude the answer.

Answer:

The data website “India Spend” has compiled instances of cow-linked violence from 2010 to 2017. It found that during this period, 28 people were killed in 63 such incidents. There are lynchings across north India by ‘cow protection’ vigilantes. Even in Tamil Nadu in the south to Assam in the Northeast, men and women have been lynched on suspicion that they were out to kidnap children. In the light of these incidents, several states like Rajasthan, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh are ready with their anti mob lynching laws.

What is lynching?
Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate a group.
It is an extreme form of informal group social control and often conducted with the display of a public spectacle for maximum intimidation.
It is to be considered an act of terrorism and punishable by law. Instances of lynching and similar mob violence can be found in every society.

Reason for the rise in lynchings
Major reason for the recent rise in lynchings is impunity.
The lynch mobs that murdered several people were confident of getting away with it. So far, the state has done little to shake that confidence.
The problem is not mob lynching per se but the mob lynching of minorities, for that is where impunity kicks in.
In the case of cow-linked lynchings, a lot depends on whether the incumbent in power considers it compatible with its political interests to crack down on such attacks.

Why legislation is an important step?
Killing of another human being by a murderous crowd out to enforce mob justice or avert an imagined crime takes an extraordinary toll of the civilities of wider society.
In cases like these, when there exists no codified law, delivering justice is almost impossible.
Existing legal provisions not enough:- It fills a void in criminal jurisprudence. It is true that at present there is no law that criminalises mob killings.
The existing legal provisions do not deal specifically with lynching as an offence and there is no provision for compensation, no provision for rehabilitation of the families, there is no provision for speedy justice.
The Indian Penal Code has provisions for unlawful assembly, rioting, and murder but nothing that takes cognisance of a group of people coming together to kill (a lynch mob).
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) has no mention of the word ‘lynching’, and any such case is covered under Section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (causing voluntary hurt) 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly).
It is possible, under Section 223 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), to prosecute together two or more people accused of the same offence committed in the course of the “same transaction”. But the provision falls far short of an adequate legal framework for prosecuting lynch mobs.
Legislation fixes command responsibility for communal incidents. It recognises that targeted communal violence disproportionately victimises minorities and it creates a mechanism to insulate investigations of communal violence from political interference.
By preparing a separate draft law, all the various facets of a mob lynching can be punished without having to tie together different provisions to build a case. It will also be able to tackle issues such as the dissemination of false rumours and exhortation of mobs.
Socio economically the society coherence is disturbed due to mob lynchings and insecurities rise in minorities so legal protection is needed.

However an anti lynching law alone is not a solution because :-
The underlying premise is that a generic anti-lynching law could address India’s lynching problem.
Major reason for the recent rise in lynchings is impunity.
The lynch mobs that murdered several people were confident of getting away with it. So far, the state has done little to shake that confidence. So a law alone might not help.
The problem is not mob lynching per se but the mob lynching of minorities, for that is where impunity kicks in.
Some provisions of Indian penal code can be applied:-
Depending on the facts of the case, other charges such as attempted murder ,causing hurt (Section 323) or grievous hurt (Section 325), or culpable homicide (Section 304), can all apply to mob lynching cases.
Current law also covers the special circumstances that relate to lynchings – the involvement of a mob, a common purpose ,the violence of the mob, and the influencing of the mob by a person or persons.

Way Forward:
There needs to be continued responsiveness on part of the local administration in dealing with anxiety and suspicion in local communities.
Create a mechanism to insulate investigations of communal violence from political interference.
Community Sensitisation and awareness through multi-media campaigns. Counter-information campaign to check fear-mongering and fake news.
Strengthen civil society Organisation. This helps to nurture solidarity.
Re-orient values and traditional principles towards enhancing compassion, empathy and fraternity among people.
Find productive engagement avenues for large unemployed or under-employed youths.
A targeted region specific approach is need of the hour as reasons for such acts vary widely across space.
Police reforms are vital along with sensitization drive to make transformational changes in their behavioural and attitudinal approach towards tackling of crime.
The term ‘hate crimes’ should also be added as a provision in the comprehensive definition of the “lynching”.
Rehabilitation should be done at the ground level to make the victims spring back to normalcy.
Measures to curb spreading of fake news on social media should also be looked at parallel.
Ensure public officials are faithful to their constitutional responsibilities and victims.

Lynching should be nipped in the bud. The episodes of lynching need to be dealt with harshly. The fact that people can be killed by mobs on suspicion of carrying beef or because a simple act of giving chocolates to children leads to hysteria about child lifting is both a reflection of widening social fissures as well as the inability of the state machinery to do its basic job of maintaining order. Neither of these two problems can be solved overnight. The mere passage of a law will be more a signal than a solution.