Nothing honourable about this delay

Despite receiving suggestions on how to check ‘honour killings’, the UPA has failed to act

Every year, women across the country are sacrificed in the name of family honour. A young woman is believed to be the repository of her family’s social values, and any perceived violation of the same — a love affair with one who belongs to a lower caste or another religion or even the allegation of unfaithfulness in marriage — is reason enough for cold-blooded premeditated murder. Hence, fathers have killed their daughters, brothers have murdered their sisters and entire villages have watched while one of their own has been beaten, thrashed, strangled, tortured, stoned, hanged or shot to death.

For all of India’s stellar economic credentials and its census statistics showing a marked improvement in literacy and education, several parts of the country are yet to emerge from their regressive mindsets that chain their society to the middle ages. The situation is made worse by the murderous role of the khappanchayats who often officiate over such killings and thus endow them with a sense of legitimacy even though they themselves have no legal standing. Entire communities have shown little remorse in having participated in honour killings.

And as if that was not enough, it now seems like more are joining the dark side with reports of honour killings now emerging even from the southern States. In November 2011, an entire village in Karnataka’s Mandya district stood quietly as 22 year old Suvarna was beaten to death by members of her immediate family for falling in love with a Dalit boy, who too was tortured before he was allowed to escape with his life. Add to this the constant stream of reports that have routinely come out of the northern States, particularly, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, especially in the last  two years, and there is no denying that the scourge of honour killings today is a pan-Indian issue.

Yet, the Union Government has done precious little to tackle the menace. It has gone through the motions of constituting task forces and expert panels — there is a working group under the Planning Commission and a Group of Ministers led by Union Minister for Finance Pranab Mukherjee assigned to deal with the issue — but that’s been the end of it. Take for instance, the Government’s panel headed by the Women and Child Development Secretary. Earlier this month, it recommended that a separate law be promulgated to exclusively deal with the issue of honour killings. But nobody has cared to respond. This is, of course, not entirely surprising, given that the Government had earlier effectively ignored the draft of the Prevention of Crimes in the Name of ‘Honour’ and Tradition Bill, 2010, piloted by former Minister for Women and Child Development Girija Vyas.

Ms Vyas’s Bill is a fairly broad-ranging one that brings under its purview all kinds of harassment that couples who seek to marry without the approval of their immediate family or society may face, such as threats of economic sanctions and social ostracisation, physical attacks and public support to such threats and actions. It also gives significant credence to even verbal complaints lodged by couples, with punishment of those convicted ranging from one to 10 years of imprisonment.

However, in one of its more contentious clauses, the Bill suggests an amendment to Section 105 of the Indian Evidence Act so as to put the burden of proof on the accused instead of the accuser. This is in reversal of the universally accepted principle of criminal justice that  an accused is innocent until proven guilty by the prosecution. It is perhaps for this clause  why the Bill has been all but dumped for good.

Yet, India’s anti-dowry laws already allow for such an exception. Indeed, it is pertinent to note that it was only after the Government amended Section 304 (B) of the Indian Penal Code  to bring about anti-dowry laws, that it has gradually seeped into the country’s social conscience that dowry deaths are a crime and there is no sanction, definitely no legal sanction, for such acts. Of course, the laws have not wholly obliterated every instance of dowry death but at least, they have contained the menace to some extent. A law against honour killings could have a similar impact.

Indeed, the Bill also calls for an introduction of a fifth clause to Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code which defines murder. This would make honour killings a distinct offence and anybody who participates in it, including community members supporting the khap panchayat diktat and not just those who actually carry out the murder, could be held responsible — similar to laws regarding Sati.

But, in early January, the Law Commission of India rejected all proposals to amend Section 300 on the ground that the current laws are adequate enough to deal with all sorts of killings, honourable or otherwise. It also warned against adding to unnecessary legalese and overturning established principles of jurisprudence.

Instead, the commission has presented its own Bill. The Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill, 2011, proposes that no person or group of persons shall assemble with an “intention to deliberate on, or condemn any marriage, not prohibited by law, on the basis that such marriage has dishonoured the caste or community tradition or brought disrepute to all or any of the persons forming part of the assembly or the family or the people of the locality concerned.” This effectively makes illegal khappanchayats that meet to interfere in legally valid marriages. Additionally, it also charges all those present at such assemblies with non-bailable offences, a two-year jail term and a fine of up to Rs 30,000.

These are only a few instances of concrete recommendations that have come in from various quarters but the Government remains blissfully oblivious to them. It is perhaps because the khaps are a politically powerful lot and their influence extends across various political parties.

The Supreme Court had said back in May 2011 that honour killings are the rarest of rare crimes and perpetrators deserve nothing less than the death sentence.

It noted, “In our opinion, honour killings, for whatever reasons, come within the category of rarest of rare cases deserving death punishment. It is time to stamp out these barbaric feudal practices which are a slur on our nation.”

Is anybody listening?

(This article was published in the op-ed section of The Pioneer on February 16, 2012.)