By PTI

The Allahabad High Court has sought the replies of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government on a petition seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and compensation of Rs 50 lakh in the Moradabad mob-lynching case.

Petitioner Mohammad Alam, the brother of deceased Shahedeen Qureshi, has alleged in his plea that his brother, who earned his livelihood by manually pulling carts, was brutally killed by a group of cow vigilantes in December last year on the mere suspicion of involvement in cow slaughter.

In an order dated May 26, the bench of Justices Siddharth and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra has sought the replies within two weeks.

The petition has alleged that while the FIR should have been lodged by police under section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deals with mob lynching, it was instead registered under section 103(1) (murder). The petitioner has claimed that although police have stated that the section was invoked on the basis of his complaint, his signature was obtained under duress.

It has further been alleged that police have not been impartial in the matter and have been attempting to shield the actual perpetrators. Police have further been accused of not conducting the investigation fairly or professionally.

The plea says the inaction of police officials in taking preventive measures against communal violence and lynching constitutes a blatant violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in its judgment in Tehseen S Poonawalla vs Union of India, which mandates specific preventive and remedial measures in cases of mob lynching.

The petitioner has accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to formulate a scheme for the disbursal of compensation to the victims of lynching or mob violence, in compliance with the provisions of section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), despite the explicit and binding direction in the Poonawalla case, which constitutes a ”grave” and ”willful” violation of the rule of law.

The petition has requested the court to direct the Uttar Pradesh government to take disciplinary action against the police officials involved in the matter, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions, to ensure accountability. It has also urged the court to direct the Centre to launch public-awareness campaigns against mob violence and lynching, highlighting the legal consequences, as directed by the apex court.

At around 3 am on December 30 last year, the victim and a few others were intercepted by a mob for allegedly slaughtering a cow for meat.

This story was originally published in devdiscourse.com. Read the full story here.