Difficult to ascertain mob's religion: Rajasthan High Court grants bail to communal clash accused

A mob has no religion, the Rajasthan High Court recently said while commenting on the difficulties in identifying the perpetrators during communal clashes [Babu Mohammed and ors v. State Of Rajasthan and ors]..The Court made the observation while granting bail to eighteen men accused of being part of a mob that allegedly attacked the participants of a Hindu procession on March 19 in Chittorgarh.The Court observed that while a clash between two communities had occurred and religious sentiments may have been hurt, it was hard to determine who was responsible for the "eruption of affray" or who may have caused injuries.Justice Farjand Ali said that in mob attacks, it becomes very difficult to separate the culprits from the innocent. "There is no religion of a mob. When a large group of people is alleged to have committed an offence, it becomes very tedious task to make separation between the innocent and the real culprits. Generally when some noise is erupted in a crowed area, several persons gather there, some out of curiosity and some out of fear and some people may presumably come to see what exactly is going on. In such a chaotic situation, some times the real culprits make their escape good, whereas the mere onlookers may be booked." the May 20 order stated..By way of background, a communal clash reportedly took place on March 19 in Chittorgarh after stones were pelted at a Hindu religious procession. Several persons were injured, and one person who was present at the site died later that day.Eighteen persons were arrested on allegations that they carried out the attack in a pre-meditated manner, using deadly weapons. Among other offences, they were also booked for murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST) Act.After a trial court rejected their plea for bail, the accused moved the High Court for relief. .The High Court granted the accused bail, while also noting that it was debatable whether the allegations would attract the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The Court, however, clarified that this is a matter for the trial court to examine. "At this stage, it would be unsafe to make any comment regarding the culpability of the appellants," the Court added..The Court also noted it is possible that the person who died may have passed away due to a heart attack and not due to any injury during the clash. In this regard, the Court observed that the deceased man was reported to only have a small injury on his knee which could not have caused his death. "There is no opinion of the medical board regarding the cause of death. The viscera of the deceased have been preserved and sent for chemical examination. Probably the cause of death was heart attack or Myocardial infarction," the Court added. .The Court proceeded to grant bail to the accused persons after noting that they had been in jail for a long time and considering that the criminal trial against them may not conclude soon. "No fruitful purpose would be served by keeping them behind the bars, in the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, it is deemed appropriate to grant indulgence of bail to the appellants," the Court said. .Advocates Vineet Jain, Rajeev Bishnoi, Praveen Vyas Usman Ghani, Padam Singh Solanki and DG Gaur appeared for the appellants.Additional General Advocate Arun Kumar represented the State. Advocates Deepak Choudhary and Shivang Soni represented the complainant. .[Read Order]