By Team
The Karnataka High Court has dismissed multiple pleas seeking cancellation of bail granted to accused in the lynching of Kerala Muslim man Mohammed Ashraf by a Hindutva mob in Mangaluru, while directing the state government to formulate a scheme for interim compensation for victims and their families in mob-violence cases.
Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil, while refusing to cancel the bail orders, directed strict compliance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines in Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. Union of India, including provisions for interim compensation and notice to victims or their next of kin before bail is granted in mob-lynching cases, Live Law reported.
“…The Government Order…. along with the memo [filed by the state on compliance with Tehseen Poonawalla]] indicates the compensation to be provided to the victims or the next of kin of the victims. However, it is to be noticed that the said order does not contain any provision for grant of interim compensation to the victim or the next of his/her kin as per the guidelines in the case of TEHSEEN S POONAWALLA, referred supra. Hence, I am of the considered view that the State is required to be directed to formulate a scheme to inculcate the provision for interim compensation to the victims or the next of their kin in consonance with the guidelines in the case of TEHSEEN S POONAWALLA…”, the court said.
The court directed the Karnataka government to formulate a scheme for granting interim compensation to victims of mob violence or their next of kin within three months.
It also said the Sessions Court had committed a “grave error” by failing to issue timely notice to Ashraf’s family before granting bail, but held that the lapse alone did not warrant cancellation of bail.
The High Court further directed its registry and Principal District Judges to ensure that victims or their next of kin are made parties to cases involving mob violence or lynching.
Explaining its decision not to cancel the bail, the court said that setting aside bail requires the order to be found illegal, perverse, unjustified or arbitrary, while cancellation generally requires supervening circumstances, such as a violation of bail conditions.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
