The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of alleged death threats and communal remarks targeting a judge after she convicted seven men in the 2022 lynching of a truck driver accused by a mob of cattle smuggling.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Avanindra Kumar Singh on Wednesday directed that Additional District and Sessions Judge Tabassum Khan continue to receive police protection as an interim measure, saying threats against judicial officers undermine judicial independence.
On June 12, Khan, posted in Narmadapuram district, sentenced seven men to life imprisonment for the murder of truck driver Sheikh Lala Nazir Ahmed, who was assaulted by a group in Barakhar village in Seoni Malwa tehsil in August 2022.
Following the verdict, videos circulated on social media allegedly containing death threats and communal abuse against the judge. Some videos also showed protesters burning effigies purportedly representing her.
The High Court directed the state’s Director General of Police and the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary (Home) to file personal affidavits detailing measures taken to ensure the judge’s security and the action initiated against those responsible for the threats.
The bench observed that judicial orders can be challenged through legal remedies such as appeals and revisions, and said judges cannot be threatened for delivering decisions that may not be acceptable to sections of society.
The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association also condemned what it described as threats and a targeted social media campaign against Khan.
Police on June 23 registered a First Information Report against unidentified persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to promoting enmity and deliberately hurting religious sentiments.
2022 lynching case
According to the prosecution, Ahmed and two others were transporting cattle from Nandarwada village to Maharashtra on August 2, 2022, when their vehicle was intercepted near Barakhar by a mob armed with sticks and wooden rods.
Ahmed later succumbed to his injuries, while the two other occupants survived.
In her judgment, Khan held that the prosecution had established the charges beyond reasonable doubt. Although the two surviving occupants turned hostile during the trial, the court relied on medical and forensic evidence, along with the recovery of blood-stained weapons and clothing, to convict the seven accused.
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