Judge faces online abuse after life sentences in mob-lynching case

Tabassum Khan, an Additional District and Sessions Judge in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district, faced online abuse after she sentenced men to life imprisonment in a politically charged mob-lynching case. The posts and videos that spread after the June 12 verdict carried communal slurs, deadlines demanding the convicts’ release and threats aimed at Khan’s religious identity, including messages that called her a “jihadi judge.” Police registered an FIR against unidentified people, and security around the judge was stepped up as the campaign intensified.

The case that brought the threats dates to August 2022 in Barakhar village in Seoni Malwa tehsil, where a truck driver identified as Sheikh Lala Nazir Ahmed or Nazeer Ahmed was beaten to death on suspicion of cow smuggling. Another victim, Sheikh Mushtaq, was injured in the attack. The court found the accused had participated in the assault, described the violence as marked by extreme brutality and treated mob lynching as an aggravating factor before imposing life terms.

Relatives of the convicted men tried to stop the police vehicle taking the convicts to jail after the verdict. The Madhya Pradesh High Court took suo motu cognisance on July 1 and, by July 3, ordered adequate protection for the judge. It also asked state authorities what steps were being taken to identify and book those creating the atmosphere of threats.

The High Court warned that threats to judicial officers cannot be tolerated simply because an order is unpopular with a section of society, saying such intimidation directly hampers judicial independence and the fearless working of judges. The Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association also condemned the targeted campaign. Congress leader Pawan Khera defended the verdict, saying the men were punished for murder, attempted murder and rioting, not for religion.