Contrasting reactions to judicial pronouncements in the neighbouring states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh tell a story that every right-thinking Indian must be concerned about. Last month, a Muslim judge, Tabassum Khan, in Madhya Pradesh, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment seven Hindu men involved in lynching a Muslim to death. Scholars with far greater knowledge of the law than this newspaper possesses have scrutinised the judgement and concluded that it is both reasoned and fair.

In days that have followed, Judge Khan has been hounded on social media, threatened with bodily harm ~ and more ~ and castigated in terms that do not deserve to be repeated. In parallel, a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court, comprising two Hindu judges, has confirmed the death sentences awarded to 38 Muslim members of the Indian Mujahideen in the Ahmedabad blasts case, a pronouncement that has provoked a milder response, either celebratory or of criticizing the system for not having achieved this outcome sooner. While the Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken notice of Judge Khan’s case, and the........

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