New Delhi, Apr 1 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Government to file a short status report on the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions on mob lynching.
The directive came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that raised concerns about non-compliance with the Court’s 2018 Tehseen Poonawalla judgment, which had issued comprehensive guidelines for preventing lynching and mob violence.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh heard the case.
Initially, the court noted that some states had not yet filed their affidavits regarding compliance.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the BNS now explicitly defines mob lynching as a separate offence, making the PIL potentially redundant.
Based on this submission, the Court asked the Centre to submit a status report on the matter.
The PIL was filed by the Anti-Corruption Council of India Trust, arguing that despite the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India, incidents of lynching continued to rise without adequate enforcement of preventive measures.
In that landmark ruling, the Supreme Court had called upon Parliament to enact a special law to curb mob lynching, warning that such crimes could escalate into a “typhoon-like monster.”
In July 2019, a bench led by former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued a notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs and state governments, seeking responses on the implementation of these guidelines.
In February 2025, the Supreme Court had already disposed of another PIL filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, which also sought stronger enforcement of anti-lynching measures.
At that time, the Court stated that the Tehseen Poonawalla guidelines were binding on all authorities, but it was not feasible for the Court to monitor compliance across all states from Delhi.
Now, with the introduction of specific anti-lynching provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Court will review the status report from the Centre before deciding on further action.
UNI SNG CS