New Delhi, Jul 18 (IANS): A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre and state governments to take appropriate steps to control superstition and sorcery.

The plea said that the root cause behind the recent stampede in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, where at least 121 people died and several injured, was “superstition & sorcery”.

It referred to Delhi's 2018 Burari incident, where all 11 members of a family committed suicide under the influence of "superstition & sorcery".

“Similarly, the brutal murder of two women as part of ritualistic human sacrifices in Kerala has left the country in shock. According to a preliminary probe, the victims were subjected to extreme torture and sexually harassed, their body parts cut into several pieces before they were buried in a pit. There are hundreds of similar cases across the country,” it said.

The PIL also sought direction to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform and to promote the fundamental duties among citizens in the spirit of Article 51A of the Constitution.

It said a strict anti-superstition and sorcery law was urgently needed to do away with the unscientific acts prevalent in society that adversely impact the community and prevent any fake seers from exploiting innocent people.

“Allowing unhindered continuance of superstition sorcery and black magic violates the citizens' fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution,” said the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, adding that only eight states in India have witch-hunting legislations so far but they don't cover all aspects of superstition sorcery and black magic.