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• The recent incident of brutal murders of two women as part of “ritualistic human sacrifices” in Kerala has started a debate about superstitious beliefs and witchcraft in India.

Present Status

• As per the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2021, a total of 6 deaths were linked to human sacrifices, while witchcraft was the motive for 68 killings.
  • The maximum number of witchcraft cases were reported from Chhattisgarh (20), followed by Madhya Pradesh (18) and Telangana (11).
  • Kerala saw two cases of human sacrifice.
• India saw 88 deaths due to witchcraft and 11 died as part of ‘human sacrifices, In 2020 as per the NCRB report.
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2021: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana accounted for 49 out of the 68 registered cases of witchcraft in the country.
• In India, no Union law criminalizes actions that promote the belief in witchcraft; however, several states had made laws.

States' law

• In 1999, Bihar became the first state to introduce a law on the subject.
  • It defined Witches as women who were thought by society members to possess the power of harming others through the art of black magic, evil eyes, or “Mantras” (chants).
• Bihar passed the Prevention Of Witch Practices Act, of 1999, which provides effective measures to prevent witch practices and identification of a woman as a witch and their oppression mostly prevalent in Tribal areas and to eliminate the woman’s torture, humiliation and killing by the society.
  • The act defined it as a cognizable and non-bailable offence; meaning a police officer could make an arrest without a warrant, and bail is not automatically given.
  • It has a provision of jail term extending up to 3 months or a fine of Rs 1,000 for those who caused harm to a woman by branding her a witch.
• In 2001, Jharkhand also made a law. According to the law identification of ‘witches’, lead to horrific crimes against women…including death, inhumane treatment, rape, etc.
• In Chhattisgarh; Provision of punishment of up to 3 years of jail for identifying any person as a witch.
• The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 criminalises practices related to black magic, human sacrifices, the use of magic remedies to cure ailments and other such acts which may exploit people's superstitions.
• Odisha passed a law in 2013 to provide effective measures to tackle the menace of witch-hunting.
• Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017 bans several practices related to black magic and superstition, like forcing a person to walk on fire at religious festivals and the practice of piercing rods from one side of the jaw to the other.
• In 2018, Assam passed a law to prevent the sharing of harmful information and to ensure the protection or shelter home the possible victims.

Way Forward

• Witch-hunting and superstition-related crimes violate basic fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
• These acts also violate provisions of several International legislations to which India is a signatory, such as;
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.
  • The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979.
• Illiteracy, misleading information, Orthodox and superstitious mindset of the people are the main reasons behind this evil practice.
• Strict implementation of the law and promotion of education and social awareness could help us to get rid of this social evil.

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