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Honor Killing: An Unspoken Crime

By Nikhilesh Koundinya

Source : Rediff.com

Introduction 

The blog addresses the growing menace of honor killings in a country like India. The first question to be answered is what is an honor killing? Honor killing is a gruesome act of violence committed by family members on members of the household for committing certain acts that according to them brings shame to the name of the family or to the group or religion they belong to. The definition clearly proves that for honor killing to be performed the mere perception of shame is enough. In fact, Amnesty International has stated that women on whom suspicion has fallen are not given an opportunity to defend themselves, and family members have no socially acceptable alternative but to remove the stain on their honor by attacking the woman. The reason why honor killing is such a big menace is because, it takes place in villages of India where people have normalized the concept of killing someone who acts differently from the group. In fact, the people who have committed the crime of rape or murder on such a person are congratulated and supported because it is believed that they have protected the group or religion from accepting new practices and diluting itself. 

The extent of the problem is huge as such killings are not only popular in the Indian sub-continent but play a huge role around the world. In fact, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has stated that more than 20,000 women and men are targeted as a result of this heinous crime every year. There are various ways of honor killing which include stabbing, murdering, raping and then killing, acid attacks, strangulation etc. which are used by family members to eliminate the individual who commits a crime according to the group. Now, we must observe the kinds of acts which are considered to be a crime by groups in India:

  1. Caste- One of the biggest reasons for honor killings is caste difference between the man and the woman. One such incident that can be quoted is that of a girl who belonged to a higher caste and wanted to marry a boy from a lower caste. She was helped by an organization which we would be referring to later where she was provided with pepper spray by the organization. She sprayed it on the people who had come to kill her and her lover thus escaping the chance of being killed. Though our Constitution as a fundamental right provides for equality under Article 14, such narrow mindset of people in India leads to increase in the problem of honor killing. 
  2. Unapproved Relationships- Another major problem recognized under honor killing is that if the community feels that the man or woman are in a relationship which can’t be approved, they can be killed. This brings in three major problems: 
    1. A man or woman cannot have a relationship with anyone unless and until it is approved by the group or religion they belong to. 
    2. They cannot indulge in pre-marital relationships due to the fear of being killed. 
    3. Many of them don’t come out of the closet and express their sexuality due to the fear of being killed or forced into a marriage to remove the mindset of homosexuality. 
  3. There are many other reasons such as pre-marital affairs, refusing for an arranged marriage, adopting a new religion, marital infidelity etc. but the problems indicated above are the two main causes for honor killing.

Moving forward there is a need to discuss about why the government is not active on the issue of honor killing or why this issue is not given the publicity it deserves. The main reason for this is that most of these crimes are masked as suicides by the villagers. What happens in most cases is that the villagers claim that the persons were extremely ashamed of their acts and thus resorted to suicide. Thus, we can understand that though the cases may be limited they aren’t an actual representation of the number of cases in India. A second reason could be that many political leaders actually support the practice of honor killing[1] and because these villages act as strong vote banks for them, they ignore this menace and term it as a minor problem. In fact, to protect their own from being punished, these groups or panchayats nominate child perpetrators who commit the act of honor killing so that they can be given a reduced sentence by the court and absolved of any liability. 

Judicial aspect 

Coming to the most important part of the paper which indicates what the legal system has successfully done to tackle the problem and how there are some areas in which there is a lacuna still present. The first point to be made in relation to the topic is that India as of yet does not have a legislation with categorically mentions the word honor killing and prescribes it as an offence. Some of the lawyers in court have justified honor killing in relation to Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. But these arguments are itself invalid because honor killing is neither moral nor justified in relation to public order. So, the states and the nation as a whole should try and eradicate this customary practice all together. 

In the case of Sujit Kumar and other v. State of Utter Pradesh and others[2] the Allahabad High court pointed out its judicial disapproval of the concept of honor killing and stated that such acts bring shame to the society as a whole.

Particularly referring to inter-caste marriages under the case of Arumugam Servai v. State of Tamil Nadu[3]the court held that the caste system is the biggest bane of the country and the sooner it is eliminated the better it is for the country. In another case of Lata Singh v. State of U.P. and another’s[4]Justice Ashok Bane stated that the perpetrators who perform honour killings due to inter-caste marriages are committing something illegal and must be punished severely. Both the cases stated that inter-caste marriages are in fact helping the country as they are blurring the lines of cast which exist in the Indian landscape. In fact, in the case of Geeta Sabharwal v. State of Haryana[5] and Jivabhai v. State of Gujarat[6]the court directed the police to protect the couples who had married out of their caste because of the importance of inter-caste marriages as indicated above. This has also been re-iterated in the case of Ashok Kumar v. State.[7]

Of late the courts have been extremely active on the case of honor killings and have been ruling heavy punishments on perpetrators. Some of the rulings which are noteworthy are: 

  1. State of Uttar Pradesh v. Krishna Master and another[8]– In this case the court awarded life imprisonment to three members of a family for performing the act of honor killing. The accused in the present case was sentenced to death. 
  2. State of Maharashtra v Ramesh Vishwanath Darandale[9]– In this case the court sentenced five out of the six accused to death as the crime committed by them was beyond heinous and shook the conscience of the court. 
  3. Maya Kumar Singh v State of Maharashtra[10]– The court upheld the judgement of the lower courts while pronouncing a death sentence to five people for committing the crime of honor killing. 

Another issue to be discussed in detail is the prevalence of Khap Panchayats. They are union of a few villages who have emerged as quasi-judicial bodies which pronounce harsh punishments on people who do not follow their age-old principles or practices. They have acted as a body who appoint perpetrators or who order for families to commit the crime of honor killing. The reason why they have not been abolished yet is the power they yield in their village or town which makes them important people for political parties who use them for their vote bank. But, the courts in the recent times have been taking cognizance of their crimes and punishing them: 

  1. A recent judgement by a sessions court in Karnal for the first time awarded the death penalty to five men for murdering a young couple who had married against the diktats of a Khap panchayat.  
  2. In another case the court gave life sentence to a member of the Khap panchayat who declared a marriage invalid and was present when the killing took place. 

The judiciary in 2011 through the bench of Justice R.M. Lodha and A.K Patnaik issued notices to various states for taking appropriate steps against honor killing after an NGO filed a petition. 

The way forward 

There needs to be formulation of a new provision under criminal law specifying honor killing and dictating adequate sentencing. The reason for this relates to causing deterrence amongst these groups to make it clear that such acts will not be tolerated anymore. The existing penalties under criminal law for handling the situation are: 

  • Sections 299-304: Penalises any person guilty of murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
  • Section 307: Penalises attempt to murder with imprisonment
  • Section 308: Penalises attempt to commit culpable homicide
  • Section 120A and B: Penalises any person who is a party to a criminal conspiracy.
  • Sections 107-116: Penalises persons for abetment of offences
  • Section 34 and 35: Penalises criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.

A new law is needed is due to the following reasons as mentioned below: 

  • Making the crime of honour killing a separate offence would help bring more clarity for law enforcement agencies and would give recognition to such an act around the country. 
  • One of the proposals is to amend the Indian Evidence Act to put the burden of proof on the accused.  Thus, the Khap panchayat or the family members would be responsible for proving their innocence. This would improve the situation as now the defence would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that what they did was legal and did not oppose in pre-existing provisions in law. 
  • There would be joint liability under the proposed new law.  The Khap panchayat (or any group ordering honour killings) and the person who carries out the killing would be jointly liable for punishment. This is a needed step as this would stop appointment of child perpetrators and would cause deterrence. 
  • In addition to all this there should be education imparted to members of the group. At least the young members of the group must be informed about the harmful effects as they are the ones who have the power to change this regressive regime. In addition to this there can be a national helpline specifically for honor killing crimes. 

“To conclude let’s bring change, because everyone should be given an opportunity to be different. # I am different.”

[1] https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/honour-killings-are-we-prepared-tackle-problem (makes a reference to leaders such as Naveen Jindal and Bhupinder Singh Hooda)

[2] 2002 (456) ACC 79

[3] (2011)6 SCC 405 (AIR 2011 SC 1859)

[4] (2006(5) SCC 475), AIR 2006 SC, 2522

[5] Criminal Miscellaneous No.M 27548 of 2008 Dated of Decision October 22, 2008 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh

[6] Criminal Miscellaneous No 585 of 2011 in the High Court of Gujarat

[7] (2009) DMC 120

[8] CRIMINAL APPEAL NO 1180 OF 2004

[9] CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.949 OF 2018

[10] AIR 1991 SC 207

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