Mob justice, becoming a concerning issue, means punishing accused by a group of people taking
law into their own hands instead of following the formal legal procedure. It usually occurs based
on no credible information or evidence. Recently, it has risen rapidly & merely occurs where
social pressure, rumors & third person’s instigation contribute to it. This tendency not only
creates social disorder but is considered as the climax violation of fundamental human rights.
According to various newspapers reports, in urban & rural areas, including Dhaka University
campus, mob justice is being occurred frequently accusing of theft, child abduction, violent
assaults, lynching or public humiliation. In such extrajudicial incidents, justice is wounded
because of not getting any chance to defend the accused by witness, evidence or judges.
Analysing the issue from a human rights perspective, it can be seen that Articles 3 and 10 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declared by the United Nations guarantee the
right to life and the right to justice respectively. Similarly, Articles 31 and 32 of the Constitution
of Bangladesh provide for the protection of life and personal liberty of the individual. These
fundamental rights are directly violated through mob justice.
According to the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) report ‘since the interim government
took office in august 2024 Till 06 march 2025, at least 119 people were killed and 74 were
injured in 114 incidents by mob beatings. HRSS report added that at least 30 cases were recorded
in the first two months alone in 2025, leading to 19 deaths and 20 injuries; while according to
various media reports & HRSS data, since 2015 to 2024, Bangladesh saw 1,009 mob beating
incidents, leading in 792 deaths & 765 injuries.
In people’s views through social media, the reasons behind mob justice rising so much which
causes insecurity in the movement, are distrust on the judiciary & mindset as a deadly society.
The normalization of Mob justice & results of it is increasing because of the failure of the justice
system that can’t ensure providing effective remedies timely. It violates the constitution
guaranteed fundamental rights including the right to life, protection of law and the right to a fair
trial, which establish a culture of impunity instead of the rule of law.
But the Constitution of Bangladesh, the supreme law of the country, is fully similar to the
International Human Rights Law (IHL), guarantees the right to justice for all citizens. Where
Article 19(1) of the Constitution says that the State shall ensure equality of opportunity for all
citizens & Article 27 of it states that all citizens are equal before the law and while Article 31 of
the Constitution ensures the right to equal protection of the law. Article 33 of the Constitution
provides protection against arrest and detention of a citizen. Furthermore, Article 35(7)(a) of the
Constitution guarantees the right of a citizen to a speedy and public hearing by an independent
and impartial court or tribunal.
Where provisions for alternative dispute resolution processes have been incorporated in various
laws in order to establish the rule of law in Bangladesh and ensure the accessibility to justice.
Moreover, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has taken some moves to
increase the access to justice and avenues of appeal for the poor, by enacting the Legal Aid Act,
2000 to bear the burden of litigation for the poor and needy. In light of the provisions of this act,
the government itself bears all the expenses incurred in the litigation of the financially indigent,
socially disadvantaged and people who are unable to obtain justice due to various socio-
economic reasons. As a result, it is seen that the government has taken effective steps to fulfill
the constitutional barrier of accessibility to justice. Consequently , no person is deprived of
obtaining justice due to lack of money at present.
But in recent times, due to various rumors, propaganda on social media & lack of trust on law
enforcement agencies, mob justice incidents have increased in Bangladesh. While in many cases,
it is being seen that a mob has beaten someone to death on charges of child theft, blasphemy or
theft which is later proven that the victim is innocent. Such incidents not only indicates mob
occurred by a meticulous designed group but also points finger to irresponsibility of law
enforcement agencies & judiciary despite relevant provisions, while police may arrest any
suspicious person without warrant under section 54(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
and the ex-officio justices of the peace, at any time within their respective jurisdictions, can
issue any order to maintain peace under section 25 of the same code.
Main reasons identified behind mob, such as, people to look for the alternative avenues forced by
the protracted and delayed judicial process, distrust among the people created by the perception
of law enforcement agencies’ weakness or irregularities, the public incited by the rapid spread of
unverified information on social media and people to take the law into their own hands tempted
by the lack of legal awareness. These issues should be solved soon to make a peaceful & better
tomorrow by removing mobs from the country. Several moves necessary to be taken to conclude mob, such as, making trial procedure speedy & effective, rebuilding trust on law enforcement agencies by ensuring accountability & transparency and taking strict measures against corruption & misuse of power, making awareness & controlling social media by increasing cyber monitoring to detect & instantly remove rumors and penalising strictly for spreading false information.
Amirul Islam Bapon is a Law Student, Poet & Columnist.
