Witch Hunting Still Very Active In This Century Though Scientific Temper Reached Its Pinnacle : Orissa HC Calls For Uniform Law [Read Order]

Taking note of the prevalence of the inhuman and barbaric practice of witch-hunting in the State of Orissa, the Orissa High Court has recently observed that witch craft, that has been in practice across culture, religion and territory "bares the terrible face of the so-called civilized society of human being and that the uneducated and economically weaker sections end up being the soft targets of this practice".It may be noted that superstition-bound witch-hunting violence has a long history in the State of Orissa as noted by the Supreme Court in Dasrath Gand v. State of Orissa (AIR 1955 SC 583) and continues to rear its ugly head in Odisha despite the State government enacting 'Prevention of Witch Hunting Act in 2013' to put to an end the abhorrent practice.In the present matter, the bench of Justice S. K. Panigrahi acknowledged the fact that the idea of witches or witchcraft is prevalent in the tribal society even in the present century though the motive driving modern witch-hunting may be more venal than spiritual.The court further noted,"This would further mean that the poor and the illiterate women, being the most vulnerable, unfortunately, fall prey to the inhuman violence associated with this superstition. Disturbingly, women accused of being a witch could end up being subjected to brutal torture, abuses and even murder, with active knowledge and consent of her relative."The bench was hearing a matter wherein the Petitioners had sought bail (under S. 439 Cr.P.C.) in connection with S.T. Case No. 154 of 2018 pending before the Court of the learned Additional Sessions Judge-II, Mayurbhanj, Baripada, corresponding to G.R. Case No.344 of 2018 further corresponding to Kuliana P.S. Case No-35, dated 26.04.2018 for the commission of alleged offences under Sections 302, 307, 323, 324, 325, 326, 342, 34 of the 'Indian Penal Code, 1860' and Sections 5 & 6 of the 'Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2013'.The background of the caseAs per the prosecution's case, the deceased (Sambari Murmu), who was not feeling well for a few days had gone to the house of her maternal uncle, Rame Murmu (father of the petitioners herein and a self-styled supernatural medicine expert) for some sort of indigenous treatment.Surprisingly, on 25.4.2018 as a part of treatment practice (on the pretext of conducting some sort of an exorcism), Sambari Murmu (deceased) was assaulted by the petitioner by means of Trisul/Trident, rope and iron rod as a result of which, she suffered multiple fatal injuries leading to her death.Allegedly, the Petitioners herein believed that some evil spirit had overpowered the body of the deceased resulting in her abnormal behaviour. In order to pull out the "evil spirit", the main accused Rame Murmu along with his wife Mahi Murmu, elder son Sukul Murmu (Petitioner No.1), his wife Sita Murmu and younger son Narasingha Murmu (Petitioner No.2) tied the hands and legs of the deceased and started assaulting her by means of Trident, crowbar and iron rod.When the informant (the brother of the deceased) reached there, he saw that his sister was severely injured and they called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. However, the deceased, Sambari Murmu breathed her last in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.The observations of the CourtWhile observing that the ancestry of present-day witchcraft and sorcery has a long and chequered history, the court highlighted the fact that at present, in some parts of the world many precious lives are sacrificed at the altar of witchcraft and that, witch-hunting abounds with the stigmatization of specific groups of people including widowed women and children of the lower caste. Significantly, the court said that "India represents an unfortunate paradox with a projected upward growth curve and a population mired in superstition to rationalize bad events". The court further noted that various states of India have risen to the occasion to end the still rapaciously prevalent scourge of superstition and have enacted various legislations at the State level but these legislations, which are relatively new, indicate that the society is surprisingly still afflicted by such mindless and absurd practices. The bench observed that the famous verse from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya) reflects a collectively evolved social mindset of the people who held a firm belief in a knowledge-based society and relatively free from regressed and abject superstition. The bench further said,"But the said practice is still very active in the 21st century despite science and scientific temper has reached its pinnacle. The fact remains, in the absence of central legislation it has resulted in a lack of uniformity in the application of the law across the country. The provisions of the Indian Penal Code, although applicable for the crime associated with the menace, have not proved to be as effective in deterring these criminals." The court further stated that...

Witch Hunting Still Very Active In This Century Though Scientific Temper Reached Its Pinnacle : Orissa HC Calls For Uniform Law [Read Order]

Sparsh Upadhyay

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