MP HC seeks report on protection given to judge who convicted cow vigilantes
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Photo: Siasat Daily
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about communal threats directed at Additional District and Sessions Judge Tabassum Khan after she sentenced 14 cow vigilantes to life imprisonment in a lynching case. The court has asked senior police and government officials to explain the measures taken to ensure her security.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh passed the order on July 1 while hearing a pending suo motu matter concerning the protection of judicial officers. The bench noted reports that Judge Khan was being targeted online because of her religious identity, Siasat Daily reported.
On June 12, Judge Khan convicted 14 persons for the 2022 mob lynching of truck driver Sheikh Lala Nazir Ahmed, who was assaulted to death in Barakhar village while transporting cattle from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra. The court held that the accused had formed an unlawful assembly with the common intention of attacking the victim.
The verdict was followed by protests from self-described cow protection groups, with demonstrators burning effigies of the judge and circulating social media posts targeting her identity as a Muslim woman. A viral video also allegedly showed a man using a communal slur against the judge and threatening violence if the convicts were not released within 10 days.
Describing the matter as serious, the High Court observed that such actions undermined judicial independence and the ability of judges to function without fear. The bench emphasised that judicial orders could only be challenged through legal appellate or revisional forums and that judges could not be threatened for delivering decisions that displeased certain sections of society.
As an interim measure, the court directed that the police protection already provided to Judge Khan by the Narmadapuram Superintendent of Police should continue. While the state informed the court that security had already been arranged, the bench instructed the Superintendent of Police to file an affidavit detailing the action taken against those responsible for issuing the threats.
Deputy Advocate General Abhijeet Awasthy informed the court that an FIR had already been registered in the matter. Police in Seoni Malwa had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the social media posts and initiated efforts to identify those behind the threatening videos.
The High Court also directed the Additional Advocate General to submit personal affidavits from the Director General of Police and the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), outlining the steps being taken against those allegedly responsible for the threats.