Taking note that there was no specific law against “honour killings”, the Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the Centre and eight states which have seen a spurt in such crimes.
A two-member vacation bench took cognisance of a PIL by an NGO, Shakti Vahini, which had been tasked by the National Commission for Women to undertake a survey on honour killings and its causes.
Justices R.M. Lodha and A.K. Patnaik asked the Centre to file an affidavit on a “national plan of action” sought by the NGO to combat the crime, and from states on the creation of special police cells in each district which threatened couples could approach for protection and to file complaints.
The eight states to which notices were issued are Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Mandhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The PIL listed marriages within the “same gotra” or inter-caste or inter-religion liaisons as the main “triggers” for “honour killings”, citing the cases of Manoj-Babli in Haryana, journalist Nirupma Pathak in Jharkhand, Balkar Singh-Ravinder Kaur in Punjab, Rizwanur Rehman in Kolkata, the stoning to death of Swapna and Sriniwas in Andhra Pradesh and a UP BSP MLA’s brother allegedly killing his daughter and her lover as examples.
The NGO also noted how some politicians, including Congress MP Naveen Jindal and INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala, had openly tried to “justify” the demand of khap panchayats for banning “same gotra” marriages, and had taken up their demand to amend the Hindu Marriage Act for this.
“We are representing a class of persons whose rights have been violated or may be violated. The intense fear among the victims to take on feudalistic forces has prevented them from coming out in the open... It is, therefore, the duty of the State to ensure enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens and the protection of human dignity,” Shakti Vahini said.
Besides killings, the NGO presented different dimensions of “honour” crimes — including battery, torture, mutilation, rape, forced marriage, illegal confinement and public harassment.