Meaning: The word lynching originated in the mid-18th century in the United States. The term was used by planter chalets. Mob lynching refers to the killing of someone based on an allegation Without any legal trial. It is a form of defiance in which a mob, punishes and tortures a presumed offender is against law and order. Sometimes it results in mass killing.

Legal provision
Indian Penal Code 1860: There is no separate provision for mob lynching in IPC. But it deals with some other sections of IPC such as section 153A deals with promoting enmity between the different groups on the basis of caste, sex, place of birth, etc as a result it creates disharmony among groups. Another section covering the mob lynching is section 120A. This section is regarded the criminal conspiracy. A criminal conspiracy occurs when two or more people agree to commit an illegal act or any legal act by illegal means. Section 34 also deals with mob lynching. Its section is regarded as when a criminal act is done by several persons with the common intention of all then all persons are equally responsible for the entire act.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023: After the replacement of IPC the government included the provision the mob lynching in BNS. Section 103(2) of BNS deals with mob lynching but the government does not give the clear-cut title to mob lynching of the section. Section 103(2) of BNS said that if five or more persons acting in the concert ( when individuals are working together with a shared intent to achieve a common objective, often related to the commission of a crime) Commit murder on the ground of race, sex, place of birth, language, personal beliefs, or similar ground then each member of the group will be punished with the death penalty or life imprisonment or fine.

Reason for Mob Lynching

Mob lynching can occur due to various reasons such as the following:

• Misinformation: By spreading misinformation about sensitive issues, they create the situation of mob lynching. They spread misinformation about sensitive issues like cow slaughter, religious, caste hatred, child abduction, etc.
   
• Communal tensions: Communal tensions are one of the leading causes of mob lynching. The rise of Hindu nationalism also led to the situation of mob lynching against minorities.
• Social media: Social media also played an important role in creating a situation of mob lynching. During the digital age, it is easy to forward any misinformation, fake news, and false rumors through the various digital platforms.
   
• Political manipulation: Political manipulation also leads to causes of mob lynching. Politicians or other influences create violence among different religions, castes, etc. by giving hate speeches to achieve political goals.

Effect of Mob Lynching in India

Mob lynching has a negative impact on society and also affects the unity of India. They have many negative impacts such as the following:

• Weak unity of India: India is a group of people where the people belong to different cultures, religions, and castes. But all the people live together in brotherhood and harmony. But due to the incident of mob lynching, a situation of disharmony was created, weakening the unity of India.
   
• Violation of fundamental rights: The mob lynching also violated many fundamental rights such as Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, gender, or place of birth or any of them), and Article 21 (the protection of life and personal liberty of an individual).
   
• Loss of human life: Life is a gift from God. According to the famous quote, "Justice hurried, justice buried," it is said that life is the “gift of God" and should be handled with care. But due to the act of mob lynching, many innocent people lost their lives.
   
• Fear environment: The mob lynching creates an environment of fear. Due to increased incidents of mob lynching, they create fear among the people, especially among minorities.

The Incident Of Mob Lynching In INDIA

• Dadri Lynching case: Dadri mob lynching occurred on the date of 28th September 2015 in Bisahda village near Dadri (U.P). In this case, a mob of villagers attacked Mohammad Akhlaq who was 52 years old. The mob of villagers killed him on the grounds of suspicion of the slaughtering of cows.
   
• Palghar lynching case: These incidents happened on the date April 16th, 2020 at Gadchinchale village in Palghar district (Maharashtra). This incident occurred when villagers attacked two HINDU sadhus and their driver. This incident happened because of the spread of false information about the sadhus being kidnappers. So the villagers killed both sadhus.
   
• Tabrez Ansari lynching case: This incident occurred on the date June 17th, 2019 in Dhatkidih village, Jharkhand. The name of the victim was Tabrez Ansari who worked as a laborer in Pune. He had come to his own home to celebrate EID but was beaten by a mob on suspicion of theft and forced to chant Hindu religious slogans. As a result, he died four days later.

Stand of the State Assembly on mob lynching:

The only three states Manipur, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand passed anti -mob lynching bill. The Manipur government introduced an anti-mob lynching bill in 2018. The Manipur government is the first state which introduce the anti-mob lynching bill. According to the Manipur law, mob lynching is defined as " any act or series of acts of violence or aiding, abetting such acts thereof, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity, or any other related grounds. The second state Rajasthan introduced a bill against mob lynching in 2020. The Rajasthan government has followed some guidelines issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court under the case of Poonawalla. The Jharkhand assembly also passed the Prevention of mob violence and mob lynching bill 2021 which gives the punishment three years of life imprisonment and also put fine.

Conclusion
Mob lynching is a serious issue in India that weakens the unity of India and also threatens society. many incidents of mob lynching create a fearful environment. The government takes some steps to prevent the incident of mob lynching. the government provides compensation to the victim and also set up the fast trial court. Mob lynching violates articles 14,15,21 of the Indian constitution.