An additional district and sessions judge in India's Madhya Pradesh state, Tabassum Khan, has been subjected to online abuse and death threats after convicting 14 Hindu men of murder and other charges in connection with a mob lynching.
On June 12, Khan found the men guilty in the 2022 death of Nazir Ahmad, a 50-year-old Muslim man. Ahmad was intercepted while transporting cattle at night by a group of self-proclaimed "gau rakshaks," or cow protectors, who were armed with sticks and rods. The group assaulted Ahmad and his two companions, who were also in the vehicle, on suspicion of smuggling cows. Ahmad later died from his injuries, while his companions survived and testified in court.
Khan's judgment detailed the incident as a clear case of mob lynching. However, the verdict has triggered a wave of religious hate speech directed at the judge. In the days following the sentencing, numerous videos surfaced online containing abuse and threats against Khan, who is Muslim. These videos suggested that Khan's ruling was motivated by her religion rather than her legal reasoning.
The attacks escalated after family members of the convicted men reportedly protested outside the courtroom and attempted to obstruct the police convoy transporting the men to prison. They claimed the men were being punished for attempting to protect cows, which are considered sacred in Hinduism and whose slaughter is illegal in many Indian states.
Following the protests, an online campaign of abuse began, with Hindu right-wing influencers reportedly posting videos containing communal slurs, rape threats, and death threats against Judge Khan. In response to the scale of the abuse, leading judicial bodies have rallied in support of Khan, and she has been placed under police protection.