The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed state authorities to provide immediate police protection to a sessions judge who has faced threats after sentencing seven men to life imprisonment in a 2022 lynching case.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Avanindra Kumar Singh took judicial notice of media reports concerning the safety of Additional District and Sessions Judge Tabassum Khan, who is currently stationed in Narmadapuram district.
State Ordered To Identify Suspects
In addition to securing the judge’s safety, the High Court directed the state’s Director General of Police and the Principal Secretary (Home) to submit a formal response detailing the actions being taken to identify and prosecute those responsible for the threats.
The bench observed that such threatening acts pose a direct challenge to the independence of the judiciary and prevent judicial officers from performing their duties fearlessly. The judges stated that a judicial officer should not be subjected to intimidation simply because they deliver a ruling that displeases a particular section of the community.
The Underlying Lynching Case
The security concerns arose shortly after Judge Khan’s June 12 verdict, in which she sentenced seven individuals to life in prison for the murder of a truck driver, Sheikh Lala Nazir Ahmed. Ahmed was beaten to death in August 2022 under the suspicion of smuggling cows.
In the sentencing order, the trial court concluded that the prosecution had successfully demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused individuals took part in the fatal attack, describing their actions as extremely brutal.
Following the announcement of the life sentences, chaotic scenes were reported outside the courtroom as family members of the convicted men tried to block the police vehicle tasked with transporting them to jail.
