CRIMINAL OFFENCES ARRIVING OUT OF MORAL POLICING: A Legal and Empirical Analysis of Vigilante Constitutional Infringements, Statutory Deficiencies, and Penal Accountability

Abstract

Moral policing represents a pervasive socio-legal pathology wherein non-state actors, self-appointed vigilantes, and cultural groups extra-judicially enforce perceived moral, cultural, or religious norms upon individuals. This research analytical essay critically investigates the spectrum of criminal offences arising out of moral policing, ranging from physical assault, wrongful confinement, and extortion to gender-based violence, cyber-stalking, and mob lynching. Evaluating statutory criminal law provisions alongside constitutional guarantees of personal liberty, privacy, and bodily autonomy, this paper demonstrates how moral policing subverts the rule of law and infringes fundamental rights. It further scrutinizes police inaction, structural complicity, and the judicial guidelines issued to curb mob vigilantism, concluding with comprehensive legislative and administrative reform proposals.