New Delhi : The Supreme Court has refused to hear the petition of the families of the victims in the case of mob lynching in the name of cow protection in Mewat, Haryana. Along with this, the Supreme Court has rejected the application to investigate the killing of Muslim people in Mewat in the name of cow protection by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and also to repeal the laws made in Rajasthan and Haryana regarding cow protection. The court said that it will not hear the PIL in this matter. If the petitioners want, they can go to the High Court. Along with this, the court also refused to monitor cases of violence against Muslims and seek action taken reports from the police.
Pehlu Khan’s relatives had filed a petition
According to media reports, the families of Pehlu Khan, Rakbar, Junaid and Nasir etc., victims of mob lynching, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court. All these petitioners are victims of violence by vigilante groups in the states of Rajasthan and Haryana claiming to be cow protectors. These vigilantes also include people who claim to be persons authorized by the government to take such action.
Violent killings and violence by vigilante groups in Mewat since 2015
The petition filed by the relatives of the victims of mob lynching said that since 2015, there have been killings and violence by vigilante groups in the Mewat region. Mewat includes Haryana and adjoining parts of Rajasthan. This area extends from Alwar and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan to Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad and Gurugram of Haryana. It has been said in the petition that vigilante groups stop only those people whose dress and name etc. seem like Muslims and do violence on roads, highways, trains, villages and farms.
Pehlu Khan lynching case: Two minors sentenced to 3 years, will be sent to juvenile home
Entire Mewat area became unsafe
The petition states that it started as a movement in 2015 taking inspiration from the killing of Akhlaq in Dadri, district Gautam Buddha Nagar. In the same year, the state of Haryana passed the Haryana Act of 2015. This Act was passed and read with the Rajasthan Act of 1995. The entire Mewat region became unsafe, as non-state actors got legal sanction to take law and order into their own hands and attack Muslims in the area in the name of cow protection. In fact, the 1995 Act and the 2015 Act have institutionalized and weaponized cow vigilantes.
