Overview
- The judge, Tabassum Khan, convicted multiple men and imposed life terms on June 12 for a 2022 mob lynching of a truck driver accused of cattle smuggling.
- Shortly after the verdict, videos and posts circulated that used communal slurs, showed effigy burning and threatened violence if the convicts were not freed.
- Seoni Malwa police registered an FIR under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita after a cyber‑cell notice and have increased the judge’s security while investigators try to identify those behind the online campaign.
- The court sustained convictions despite two surviving victims turning hostile, relying on medical and forensic reports and the recovery of blood‑stained weapons and clothing.
- Law and bar bodies have condemned the threats and urged visible state protection and supervisory oversight for the judge to uphold judicial independence against vigilante intimidation.