New Delhi (Agency): Jharkhand High Court has demanded that the state government submit a detailed report outlining what steps have been taken to combat witch-hunting. This order was given by Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ananda Sen, who voiced their concerns about the increasing number of witch-hunting cases during a hearing held on Tuesday.
The judges have ordered the government to produce a comprehensive report detailing their efforts to improve the situation. The next hearing on this issue is scheduled for September 9.
During the hearing, the judges expressed their concern, noting that despite the government’s efforts to pass laws to curb witch-hunting, progress seems to be limited. They observed that stories of people being labelled as witches and then subjected to mob violence are far too common.
The bench stressed the importance of addressing superstition at a large scale to eradicate this societal problem. The judges suggested that the public needs to be educated about this issue through continuous awareness campaigns.
The government representatives informed the court that Gumla district records the highest number of cases of witch-hunting victims being assaulted and killed. They described the rural areas of this district as a breeding ground for superstitions.
This public interest litigation (PIL) was initiated by the high court itself in 2015, following a news report about five women who were tortured and killed in Mandar, just outside the state capital, after being accused of witchcraft. The women were paraded naked through the village and then brutally murdered, as per the report.
A government official revealed that Gumla district has recorded 476 survivors of witch-hunting, while a campaign aimed at preventing such incidents has reached 265 villages in the district. The high court’s order for a detailed report from the state government is a crucial step in the ongoing efforts to eliminate the deeply-rooted superstition of witch-hunting.