Justice finally delivered in Nagadih case — but too late

Eight years on, justice limps to the finish line

A Jamshedpur court’s life sentence verdict in the Nagadih mob lynching case exposes the deep rot of judicial delay and fading faith in India’s justice system.

After eight long years, the lower court in Jamshedpur has finally pronounced life imprisonment for five men involved in the 2017 Nagadih mob lynching.
The victims — three young men and their elderly grandmother — were beaten to death by a frenzied crowd over false child-lifting rumours.
The gruesome incident shook the conscience of the nation and exposed how mob frenzy can destroy lives under the shadow of fear and misinformation.

But the real tragedy lies in the delay.
Justice delivered after nearly a decade is justice denied.
India’s judicial machinery, burdened by millions of pending cases, risks losing public faith if verdicts take years.
There must be a law mandating disposal of criminal and civil cases within one year.
Mob lynching is not just a crime against individuals but a crime against civilization.
The courts, Parliament, and police must act in unison to ensure such barbarity never recurs.