Supreme Court lawyers condemn threats to MP judge after life sentences for cow vigilantes

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) has strongly condemned threats and vilification directed at Narmadapuram district judge Tabassum Khan after she sentenced seven men to life imprisonment for lynching cattle transporter Nazeer Ahmad in August 2022.

In a statement issued Wednesday, SCAORA called the campaign against Judge Khan “such conduct strikes at the very foundation of judicial independence and the rule of law.” The association warned that intimidating judges for decisions taken in accordance with law risks undermining the functioning of district courts, which it described as the backbone of India’s justice system. SCAORA urged that judgments be challenged through appeals in higher courts, not by threats or public vilification, and called for steps to ensure the judge’s safety and to protect the dignity of the judiciary.

Judge Khan convicted the seven cow vigilantes of murder on June 12 and imposed life terms, also finding them guilty of armed rioting and attempted murder. Two companions of the victim, Sheikh Lala and Sheikh Mushtaq, survived the attack.

Following the verdict, social media posts accused the judge of deciding the case on religious grounds, and at least one post used slurs and threatened a “massacre” unless the convicts were released. Some accounts called for Judge Khan to be driven out of the country; one group reportedly burned her effigy. Several posts also misstated the number of convicts as 14.

Police in Seoni Malwa have filed an FIR against two individuals under sections related to wounding religious feelings and promoting enmity, and local authorities have reportedly increased security for Judge Khan.