“POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HOUSE OF COMMONS’’

SUBMITTED TO:

Dr. S.P SINGH

Professor

SUBMITTED BY:

NAME: SATYANAND

COURSE: BBA. LL.B (Hons.)

ROLL NO: 2041

SEMESTER: 1ST

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NYAYA

NAGAR, MITHAPUR, PATNA - 800001

1
 INDEX PAGE

DECLARATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

HYPOTHESIS

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SOURCES OF DATA

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

COMPOSITION OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

MEMBERS AND ELECTIONS

QUALIFICATIONS

COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

POWERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

FUNCTIONS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMON

CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work reported in the BBA. LL.B (Hons.) Project
Report entitled “POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HOUSE OF COMMONS”
submitted at Chanakya National Law University is an authentic record of my
work carried out under the supervision of Dr S.P Singh sir . I have not
submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE

NAME OF CANDIDATE: SATYANAND

ROLL NO. 2041

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my faculty Dr. S.P Singh Sir whose guidance helped
me a lot with structuring my project.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to my friends, who helped me

immensely with materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t
have completed it in the present way.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my parents and all those unseen
hands that helped me out at every stage of my project.

THANK YOU,

NAME: SATYANAND

COURSE: BBA. LL.B. (Hons.)

ROLL NO: 2041

SEMESTER: 1ST

4
 INTRODUCTION

The business of Parliament takes place in two Houses: the House of Commons
and the House of Lords. Their work is similar: making laws (legislation),
checking the work of the government (scrutiny), and debating current issues.

Generally, the decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other.
In this way the two-chamber system acts as a check and balance for both
Houses. The British Parliament is one of the remarkable and most successful
Parliaments in the world. Its growth is gradual and in many phases of history its
development is haphazard too. In the absence of separation of power the
Parliament in Britain works in close relationship with the executive and
judiciary.
The British Parliament consists of the King and two houses. The Upper House
is known as the House of Lords and the Lower House is called as the House of
Commons. The former is a symbol of aristocracy, while the latter is a
representative of people. The former is much bigger in composition, but
regarding the power and function, the lower house exerts much more influence.
The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646
members, who are known as "Members of Parliament" or MPs. Members are
elected by the first-past-the-post system of election, holding office until
Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years). Each member is elected by,
and represents, an electoral district known as a constituency.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. The researcher tends to analyse the facts of “Mob lynching’’

2. To analyse what is the root cause of Mob lynching in India.
3. The research aims to critically analyse the given draft and to give suggestions
if needed in relation to the Act and the steps needed to be taken so as to curb
these type of heinous and brutal man-slaughters.

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 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher will be relying on Doctrinal method of research to complete the

project.

SOURCES OF DATA

The researcher will be relying on both primary and secondary sources to

complete the project.

1. Primary Sources: Acts relating to House of Commons.

2. Secondary Sources: Newspapers, journals, cases and websites.

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THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The House of Commons is the main House of the British Parliament in terms
of legislative power. It is a chamber composed of 650 members (Members of
Parliament or MPs ) elected by universal suffrage. The life of a Parliament is
five years.
According to an ancient tradition, MPs are elected by universal suffrage under a
system of relative majority, in one round of voting. This means that the
candidate with the most votes in an election is elected, whether or not he or she
has an absolute majority of votes. This system favors the major political parties,
and stable governments - at the expense of smaller parties.
Elected Members of Parliament do not have a deputy, so in the event of the
death, resignation or removal of an MP, a "by-election" must be called in order
to elect a new MP. Each MP represents a territory, or constituency: the link
between an MP and his or her constituency is symbolically and historically very
important , and in the House of Commons, Members are not called by their
name, but by the name of the constituency from which they have been elected (
or, if they are government ministers, by their function) .

Since 1902 , the British Prime Minister has always been a serving Member of
Parliament, elected to the House of Commons; and most ministers - often all
ministers - are members of the House of Commons too. The Government is
formed by the party (or from 2010 to 2015, for example, by the coalition of
parties) that has a majority of seats in the House of Commons. Members of the
Government sit in the front row of benches in the House of Commons (called
the Front Bench ), directly opposite the leaders of the Opposition .

The chairman of the House of Commons is known as the "Speaker", and he or

she presides over each parliamentary session, deciding who can speak.

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A significant aspect of the House of Commons is the importance given to the
Parliamentary Opposition . It is structured with an official Leader (The Leader
of the Opposition ) and a "shadow cabinet ", consisting of spokesmen for the
Opposition each with an official portfolio corresponding to that of a government
minister.

Most of the time the debates in the House of Commons are devoted to projects
of government legislation . Most bills are put formard by the government
ministers. However, some time is given to bills tabled by individual MPs
(known as Private Members' bills), or to bills tabled by the opposition (known
as Opposition motions) . In each session of Parliament, the opposition has 20
days during which it may propose legislation and determine the agenda of the
House.

Private Members Bills Bills and Opposition motions may be adopted by the
House of Commons, but they must also be approved by the Government, given
that the Government has a majority of votes. Thus, new laws can effectively be
proposed by the Opposition, and can be accepted by Parliament. This can
happen especially if the motion concerns a consensual or non-controversial
political project, or even a question for which MPs' will vote according to their
"moral convictions", rather than the politics of their party. In such cases,
governments traditionally allows members the freedom to vote according to
their conscience. Two important examples of Private Members Bills have been
passed by Parliament are the law to abolish the death penalty (Murder Act of
1965 ), and the law authorizing abortion (1967).

Composition of the House of Commons

The lower House of the British Parliament I.e. the House of Commons is purely
an elected body having more than 650 seats. Among these seats England has the

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highest share of about 523 seats, followed by Scotland with 72 seats, Wales
with 38 seats and Northern Ireland with 17 seats. The representatives of the
House are elected by the British citizens above the age of 18, on the basis of
universal adult franchise. All British citizens above the age of twenty one can
contest election for a seat in the House of Commons. Certain categories of
persons are excluded from contesting election like minors, bankrupts, lunatics,
criminals, Clergymen of three historic churches, peers of England, Scotland,
Wales or holders of profits under the Crown.

The House of Commons has a term of five years unless dissolved by the
Queen/King on the advice of the Prime Minister. During emergency the term of
the House may be extended. For instance, The House of Commons elected in
1910 continued to function till 1918 and also the HOC elected in 1935,
continued till 1945 due to emergency situation.

The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House who is selected by the
members from amongst themselves. Earlier he used to work as a nominee of the
King but since 17th century he started to work as “a man of the House” instead
of “a man of the King”. He continues to be a political figure till the 19th
century, but now he works as a neutral and non-partisan person, neither as a
member of the majority nor the minority. In fact his neutrality lies in the fact
that the Speaker gives up his party affiliation after being elected for the same.
To establish this neutrality a convention has developed that “once a Speaker,
always a Speaker” i.e. once elected, the Speaker is reelected time and again so
long as he wants to hold the office. On his re-election he becomes the Speaker
again.

The Speaker in Britain has enormous powers in hands. He presides over the
meetings of the House, maintains order and decorum in the House, protects the
rights and privileges of the members, and certifies the money bill and the like.
He also has casting vote in case of a tie. The impartial and neutral role
performed by the Speaker has made the position of the Speaker in a upper
pedestal than his Indian or American counterpart.

Members and elections

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Each Member of Parliament represents a single constituency. Prior to the
reforms of the 19th century, the constituencies had little basis in population:
The counties and the boroughs (whose boundaries were fixed) were, for the
most part, represented by two Members each. Reforms enacted during the
nineteenth century, starting with the Reform Act 1832, led to a more even
distribution of seats. Moreover, the reforms of 1885 abolished most two-
member constituencies; the few that remained were all abolished in 1948.
University constituencies (the constituencies that allowed important universities
such as Oxford, Cambridge and the ancient universities of Scotland to be
represented in Parliament) were abolished in the same year. Thus, each
constituency now elects only one Member of Parliament. There is still a
technical distinction between county constituencies and borough constituencies,
but the only effect of this difference involves the amount of money candidates
are allowed to spend during campaigns.

The boundaries of the constituencies are determined by four permanent and

independent Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Wales, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland. The number of constituencies assigned to the four parts of
the United Kingdom is based roughly on population, but subject to certain
statutory regulations. England, Wales, and Scotland must have a total of
approximately 613 constituencies, and Northern Ireland between 16 and 18
constituencies, and Wales at least 35 constituencies. The Commissions conduct
general reviews of electoral boundaries once every 8 to 12 years, as well as a
number of interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into
account local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement in
order to prevent great disparities in the populations of the various
constituencies.
The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary
approval, but may not be amended by Parliament. After the next general review
of constituencies, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed into the
Electoral Commission, which was established in 2000. Currently the United
Kingdom is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 40 in Wales,
59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland.

General elections occur whenever Parliament is dissolved by the Sovereign. The

timing of the dissolution is normally chosen by the Prime Minister (see
relationship with the Government below); however, a parliamentary term may
not last for more than five years, unless a Bill extending the life of Parliament
passes both Houses and receives Royal Assent. The House of Lords,
exceptionally, retains its power of veto over such a Bill.

The date of a General Election is the choice of the Prime Minister, but
traditionally, it tends to be a Thursday. Each candidate must submit nomination

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papers signed by ten registered voters from the constituency, and pay a deposit
of £500, which is refunded only if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the
vote. The deposit seeks to discourage frivolous candidates. Each constituency
returns one Member, using the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which
the candidate with a plurality of votes wins. Minors, Members of the House of
Lords, prisoners, and insane persons are not qualified to become Members of
the House of Commons. In order to vote, one must be a resident of the United
Kingdom as well as a citizen of the United Kingdom, of a British overseas
territory, of the Republic of Ireland, or of a member of the Commonwealth of
Nations. Also, British citizens living abroad are allowed to vote for 15 years
after moving from the United Kingdom. No person may vote in more than one
constituency.

Once elected, the Member of Parliament normally continues to serve until the
next dissolution of Parliament or until death. If a Member, however, ceases to
be qualified (see qualifications below), his or her seat falls vacant. It is possible
for the House of Commons to expel a Member, but this power is exercised only
when the Member has engaged in serious misconduct or criminal activity. In
each case, a vacancy may be filled by a by-election in the appropriate
constituency. The same electoral system is used as in general elections.

Qualifications

There are numerous qualifications that apply to Members of Parliament. Most

importantly, one must be aged at least 21, until S.17 of the Electoral
Administration Act (2006) comes into force when it will be lowered to 18, and
must be a citizen of the United Kingdom, of a British overseas territory, of the
Republic of Ireland, or of a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in order
to be eligible. These restrictions were introduced by the British Nationality Act
1981, but were previously far more stringent: Under the Act of Settlement 1701,
only natural-born subjects were qualified. Members of the House of Lords may
not serve in the House of Commons, or even vote in parliamentary elections;
however, they are permitted to sit in the chamber during debates.

A person may not sit in the House of Commons if he or she is the subject of a
Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he

11
or she is adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is
sequestered (in Scotland). Also, those judged mentally incompetent are
ineligible to sit in the House of Commons. Under the Mental Health Act 1983,
two specialists must report to the Speaker that a Member is suffering from
mental illness before a seat can be declared vacant. There also exists a common
law precedent from the eighteenth century that the "deaf and dumb" are
ineligible to sit in the Lower House; this precedent, however, has not been
tested in recent years, and is highly unlikely to be upheld by the courts. Jack
Ashley continued to serve as an MP for 25 years after becoming profoundly
deaf.

Anyone found guilty of high treason may not sit in Parliament until he or she
has either completed the term of imprisonment, or received a full pardon from
the Crown. Moreover, anyone serving a prison sentence of one year or more is
ineligible. Finally, the Representation of the People Act 1983 disqualifies for
ten years those found guilty of certain election-related offenses. Several other
disqualifications are established by the House of Commons Disqualification Act
1975. Holders of high judicial offices, civil servants, members of the regular
armed forces, members of foreign legislatures (excluding members of the
legislatures of the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth countries), and
holders of several Crown offices listed in the Act are all disqualified.

Committees of the House of Commons

The Parliament of the United Kingdom uses committees for a variety of

purposes; one common use is for the review of bills. Committees consider bills
in detail, and may make amendments. Bills of great constitutional importance,
as well as some important financial measures, are usually sent to the Committee
of the Whole House, a body that, as its name suggests, includes all members of
the House of Commons. Instead of the Speaker, the Chairman or a Deputy
Chairman of Ways and Means presides. The Committee meets in the House of
Commons Chamber.

Most bills were, until 2006, considered by Standing Committees, which consist
of between 16 and 50 members each. The membership of each Standing
Committee roughly reflected the standing of the parties in the whole House.
Though "standing" may imply permanence, the membership of Standing

12
Committees changed constantly; new Members were assigned each time the
Committee considered a new bill. There was no formal limit on the number of
Standing Committees, but usually only ten. Rarely, a bill was committed to a
Special Standing Committee, which operated much like a Standing Committee,
but also investigated and held hearings on the issues raised by the bill.

In November 2006, Standing Committees were replaced by Public Bill

Committees.

The House of Commons also has several Departmental Select Committees. The
membership of these bodies, like that of the Standing Committees, reflects the
strength of the parties in the House of Commons. Each committee elects its own
Chairman. The primary function of a Departmental Select Committee is to
scrutinise and investigate the activities of a particular Government Department;
to fulfill these aims, it is permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills
may be referred to Departmental Select Committees, but such a procedure is
very seldom used.

A separate type of Select Committee is the Domestic Committee. Domestic

Committees oversee the administration of the House and the services provided
to Members. Other committees of the House of Commons include Joint
Committees (which also include members of the House of Lords), the
Committee on Standards and Privileges (which considers questions of
parliamentary privilege, as well as matters relating to the conduct of the
Members), and the Committee of Selection (which determines the membership
of other committees).

Powers of the House of Commons

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The House of Commons exercises tremendous power and authority in the
Parliamentary system of Britain. It has wide ranging powers starting from
legislative to judicial powers. These powers are discussed under the following
head-:

Legislative powers:

In a unitary system of government law making on all subjects and for all people
is done by its legislature. In Britain this function is invariably performed by the
Parliament. Earlier, both Houses of the Parliament used to have co equal powers
over the ordinary laws, but since the passage of the Parliament Act of 1911, the
House of Commons has assumed more power over general legislation.

Though such bill can originate in either house of the parliament, yet almost
majority of the bills have their origin in the House of Commons. If a bill is
passed by the House of Commons, it is sent to the House of Lords which passes
the bill with or without amendment. It is the discretion of the House of
Commons whether to accept or reject the proposed modification. The House of
Lords can just delay the passage of the bill but it cannot reject the bill
altogether.
If a bill originates in the House of Lords and sent to the Commons for approval
it is the discretion of the House of Commons to accept or reject the bill. Thus,
the House of Commons has more power in the law making of the Parliament.

Financial Powers:

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 The British Parliament exerts great powers in the financial matters of the
country. The finance of the nation and all financial deals of the country are
controlled and managed by the Parliament and in turn by the House of
Commons. The Parliament Act of 1911 entrusts more financial power on the
House of Commons.

This can be enlisted under the following heads:

i) A money bill and the budget can be introduced only in the House of
Commons.

ii) It is the prerogative of the Speaker of the House of Commons to decide

whether a bill is money bill or not.iii) A money bill passed by the House of
Commons goes to the House of Lords which can only delay the bill for a
maximum period of one month. After that, the bill is taken as passed by the
House and sent to the Queen for her assent.

iii) The Queen has no veto power to reject the bill. Thus the passage of the
money bill depends entirely on the House of Commons.

iv) No tax can be levied or collected without the consent of the House of
Commons.

v) The House of Commons allocates funds to the different departments of the

governments.

Executive Powers:

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The House of Commons uses its power over the real executive of the country.
The executive body, i.e. the minister is individually and their cabinet is
collectively responsible to the House of Commons. Through its various means
the House of Commons puts a check on the ministries so that they cannot work
arbitrarily.

The most powerful way to ensure responsibility of the ministry is the no

confidence motion taken by the House of Commons. Every decision of the
Cabinet and every policy taken by the government must have the support of the
members of the House of Commons; otherwise in every circumstances of the
contrary view of the majority members, the House of Commons can take up this
motion. By this way it may bind the government to resign in case the ministry
fails to get majority support.

The members of the House of Commons can put questions and supplementary
questions to the ministers. The ministers are bound to reply to these questions.
Questioning in the House of Commons fulfils the constant demand of
information about governmental policies. It brings into light the work of various
departments under public scrutiny.

Debate on the reply to the King’s (Queen’s) “Gracious Speech” by the

opposition also highlights the activities of the government. Discussion on the
public finance, foreign policy also checks the authority of the executive.
Investigation committee instituted by the House of Commons also scrutinizes
the working of the governmental departments.

Judicial Powers:

The House of Commons in its judicial capacity recommends the Monarch to

remove a judge. It can punish the person guilty of the contempt of the House. It
can investigate all the cases involving breach of privileges of its members and
punish the guilty.

Constituent Powers:

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 The House of Commons can pass a constitutional law just like an ordinary bill.
In this way it can amend the constitution.

*Thus, the House of Commons exercises tremendous power, authority and

influence in the Parliamentary system of Great Britain. It is one of the strongest
lower houses in the world.

Functions of the House of Commons

1. Prime political forum

The most general and pervasive function is that the House of Commons
provides the prime political forum in the country. In other words, it amounts to
a convenient (and usually non-violent) setting for the exchange of views
between Government and opposition. This idea of a political forum in theory is
taken further in reality in that following a General Election, the choice of
Government is a matter for the Commons in the senses that: - the leader of the
party with the greatest number of MPs (not necessarily the greatest number of
votes) is expected to become Prime Minister, and that Prime Minister then
chooses the political heads of the Government (the Cabinet and Ministers) from
existing Commons Members of Parliament (though there are also about 25 out
of about 120 chosen from the House of Lords).

This picture of the Commons as a direct broker of Governments is probably

exaggerated. The choice is now largely determined by the Electorate, so that the
Government is really settled on election night and not a week or so later when
Parliament actually assembles - unless perhaps no party wins an overall

17
majority. The conflicting interpretations being presented here have been
categorised as two different models. The Westminster model - power flows
from the electorate to Parliament which chooses and controls the executive. The
Whitehall model - the electorate chooses the Government and Parliament is
there to confirm that choice as an electoral college and then to serve
Government and ensure it works effectively in accordance with its mandate.
The role of MPs is on this view to facilitate and improve Government
programme by exploring and testing them but ultimately approving them. In
short, Parliament is a critical rather than governmental body. This prime role is
bolstered by the televising of Parliamentary proceedings which began in
November 1989. However, television coverage is rather stunted and tends to be
confined to short excerpts from Question Time. Major debates are, however,
often broadcast by radio.

2. Legislation

Next, following the political settlement brought about by the "Glorious

Revolution" of 1688, Parliament is now virtually the only source of legislation.
This power to legislate is especially important to make sure that Acts of
Parliament alone can authorise the levying of taxes. It ensures that the executive
(government) accounts to Parliament, and gives Parliament some leverage over
the Government. The Government constantly needs grants of taxation (the
annual budget is about £250billion). Because of the effect of the Parliament
Acts 1911-49 and convention, the House of Common is of far greater
importance in these matters than the House of Lords. But, as with the first
function, one can exaggerate the power of Parliament. In reality, Parliament
largely reacts to legislation initiated by the Government. It does not initiate its
own legislative programme reflecting its own policies, and few Acts are passed
which are not sponsored (ie put forward) by Government Ministers. As before,
our constitution is said to enshrine the idea of Parliamentary Government. This
does not mean that Parliament governs but that the Government must work
through Parliament.

3 Scrutiny of policies and administration

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The Commons next has the task of scrutinising the Government's policies and
administration of its policies. Again note that Parliament has few policies of its
own and certainly no coherent overall programme which rivals that of the
Government - its functions are mainly to examine and react to the Government's
policies and actions. The alternative to the Government is the Official
Opposition not Parliament per se. This point is well made by John Stuart Mill in
his book, Considerations on Representative Government (1861) ch.5: "Instead
of the function of governing, for which is radically unfit, the proper office of a
representative assembly is to watch and control the government ..." Parliament
is expected to sustain, scrutinise and influence rather than block Government.
After all, most MPs are elected on the basis that they support the Government's
policies. Parliament thus provides legitimation for Government in the sense that
its approval can be seen as representing the assent of the electorate. NOTE: The
UK has a representative democracy (sometimes called Schumpeterian, after
Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1944) rather than a
participatory democracy. MPs once elected are not then the direct agents or
cyphers of the electorate but are allowed a wide discretion to represent their
electorate as they think fit. The electorate has no further say, whether by
referendum or otherwise, but merely endorses at election time one candidate or
another. This position has been changed to some extent by an increase in party
activism in Labour Party and more generally by a post-1945 growth in pressure
groups.

4. Specific redress

The final task of the Commons is the redress of specific grievances. All MPs,
even the Prime Minster, are elected by a specific locality (constituency) in
which they are the sole representative and link with Parliament. It follows that
they are seen as having constituency interests and responsibilities. In other
words, they ask questions or raise matters in debate concerning the problems of
their area and constituents. This work is often done informally and behind the
scenes by meetings in the constituency and by letters to, and discussion with,
Ministers or civil servants.
It has been estimated that in 1986, MPs received 6 million letters - 3m from
constituents, 90% of which concerned individual personal matters - council
housing, welfare benefits and so on. The input is around 40,000 letters per year
and the output around 30,000, so this work is an important part of the work-load

19
as well as providing an important source of information. Its political impact
may be limited but locally significant. The MP may meet 10% of constituents,
and though it has been reckoned that the best efforts are worth only about 1500
votes, this number could affect the result in about 20 constituencies.
A report by the Fabian Society (Power, G., Representatives of the People
(1998)) suggests that there are far too many MPs and that they engage in far too
much constituency work which they are ill-equipped to deal with. It
recommends that the number of MPs be reduced by 200 and that a
parliamentary official be appointed to look into individual grievances. Another
aspect of the redress of grievances is Private legislation i.e. legislation
sponsored by private individuals or companies. This is now relatively rare,
though legislation by private companies does continue eg British Railways Act
1968. Along similar lines is Local legislation, i.e. legislation sponsored by local
authorities and applying only to their own area eg West Yorkshire Act 1980.
The Commons finally fulfills this role by receiving public petitions which are
then sent to the relevant Minister who is expected to print a reply or they may
even be debated if urgent. The petition is an increasingly popular way of raising
the political profile of an issue. It is also a way of allowing a small degree of
participation by the electorate in the business of Parliament.

Lynching, a form of violence in which a mob, under the pretext of

administering justice without trial, executes a presumed offender, often after
inflicting torture and corporal mutilation. The term lynch law refers to a self-
constituted court that imposes sentence on a person without due process of law.

The origins of the word "lynch" are obscure, but it likely originated during the
American revolution. Lynching acquired its association with violence against
blacks early in the nineteenth century. It was used as a punishment against
slaves who tried to escape from their owners. Sometimes, whites who openly
opposed Slavery were the victims of lynch mobs as well.

Mob Lynching means killing of someone by a mob for an alleged offence

without following any principles of jurisprudence or due process of law.

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A lynching is a majority way of telling a minority population that the law
cannot protect it. These offences are threat to modern society, because through it
the mob takes to itself the role of state, and if it is allowed we may again lead
towards the Hobbes’ state of nature in which man is nasty, brutish and short and
the society is in state of non-peace.

Lynching served the broad social purpose of maintaining superiority in

economic, social, cultural and political sphere. It involves violence against a
person accused of crime against community.

These offences are threat to modern society, because through it the mob takes to
itself the role of state, and if it is allowed we may again lead towards the
Hobbes’ state of nature in which man is nasty, brutish and short and the society
is in state of non-peace.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

HYPOTHESIS

For the purpose of this research, the researcher assumes that mob lynching is a
form of gruesome collective vigilantism by majority against minority.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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 * Is India becoming the new destination of Mob lynching ?

* What could be best solution to stop Mob lynching in India ?

* Role of social media platforms in triggering Mob lynching.

CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

For people in political authority, uniform and magistrates to take sides in hate
battles is a profound crime against humanity. Yet this still is recognised at best
as a moral failure, not a punishable crime.

If there is any new law we need to prevent the spread like an epidemic of this
new scourge of targeted hate crime, of lynch mobs, it requires only one law, and
this is the creation of a crime of dereliction of duty and communal partisanship
by public officials.

The challenge, ultimately, is not of law, but of our collective morality and our
collective humanity.
In the recent years, the cases of mob lynching have increased exponentially,
which is an alarming signal for the social harmony of the nation.

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The official responses to these heinous acts of violence have created an
impression that such vigilantism is beyond the realm of law. It has implied a
mainstreaming of what, till very recently, was considered the fringe. This is
now being encouraged to follow suit everywhere – thus, creating an illusion of
being ‘normal’ and posing the danger of the breakdown of the ‘social fabric’ in
our society.

The normalisation of such violence is being witnessed in some of the most

recent cases where mobs are taking over civic spaces in India. Mob lynching, a
barbaric form of the most violent of expressions, seems to have become the new
and normal trend. Today, we can see several videos of such mob attacks being
circulated online. While sharing the horrific videos, it seems that the attackers
neither have remorse for committing such inhuman acts of violence, nor do they
fear the law of the land.

The failure of the government machinery and the law-enforcement agencies to

effectively tackle them encourages these anti-social elements to take law in their
hand. If such violence continues, it can cause an irreversible dent in the tenets of
democracy that has shaped the idea of India. A failure to recognise this new
form of violence in India refrains us from introspecting the rot in our society,
and also inhibits us from moving forward, politically, to resolve it.

on Wednesday, claiming to be “horrified” by the spate of lynching sparked by

false rumours shared on its platform and has solicited government’s support in
righting the wrong.

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Detailing proactive steps to tackle the menace, WhatsApp said its end-to-end
encryption protects the privacy of users but spam messages that spread
misinformation and lead to violence need to be treated as exceptional
circumstances. To that end, WhatsApp plans to run long-term public safety ad
campaigns in the near future, and has offered up to $50,000 to detect
“problematic behavior within encrypted systems.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The researcher has consulted following sources to complete the Project:

SECONDARY SOURCES:

WEBSITES

a. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/16-lynchings-in-2-months-is-social-
media-the-new-serial-killer-1275182-2018-07-02

b) https://rostrumlegal.com/journal/nob-lynching-and-massacre-threats-to-the-
nation-can-masuka-address-the-issue/

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c) https://www.civilserviceindia.com/current-affairs/articles/rising-mob-
violence-in-india.html

BOOKS

Lynching reconsidered : New perspectives in the study of mob violence (2008)

by William D. Carrigan.

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