DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,

LUCKNOW

SOCIOLOGY-III
A WORK ONHonour Killing Laws

Submitted to:
Dr. Sanjay Singh,
Asst. Professor, Sociology,
Dr. RMLNLU, Lucknow

By:
Roll No.- 118
Shashank Tyagi
Semester- I
B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
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INDEX
S.No.
1
2
3
4
5

Chapter
Introduction
Honour Killings and the current legal Approach
International Scenario
Conclusion
Bibliography

Page No.
2
4
6
8
9

I.INTRODUCTION
The recent turmoil in the socio-political circles of the country, particularly in its NorthWestern parts (including Western UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and parts of Punjab and MP)
regarding the Inter-Caste or Intra-Gotra ( Sagotra) marriages, compels one to think and
retrospect on Indias actual social progress in all these years, i.e. how rational has the
society become in its thinking since the first of the Rationalist movements to have taken
place in India. The first such movement pre-dates Independence and by more than a
century and a half, for Instance the Brahmo Movement started in the early 19th century.
From the time of these movements up till today, India as a nation as well as a society
has experienced great changes, the social changes included, inter alia, exposure to
western social thought and idea, thanks to the English education introduced by the
British Administration. Also, with the establishment of the Asiatic Society and other such
bodies, began the first of concerted efforts to dig out and document the Indian history,
though done in the imperial interest, it served as a great accelerator of social change in
the contemporary Indian Society, by infusing a sense of pride in the contemporary
Indians, in their rich cultural heritage and also gave them a realisation as to the evil
elements of the social practices which needed to be done away with. Amidst all this,
the English administration started the process of cleansing the society by introducing
laws against the prevalent social evils, beginning with the sati abolition law of 1829.
Next, with the introduction of the IPC, the government solidified its stand against the
social evils. The social evils of our society, in most cases have always concerned women
directly, be it Sati, Child marriage or even the Honour Killings. Women in our society
have been subjected to immense torment through out history. Such acts of crime,
especially against women may as well be termed Organised Crime, going by the literal
sense of the clich that the phrase today is. Organised, for the simple reason that
contrary to other crimes against women, like rape, sexual harassment and bigamy etc.
they happen to be institutionalised, i.e. they are perpetrated by social institutions, which
of course, in most cases, are male dominated. For instance, the Khap Panchayats, and
their antics. The Khaps, supposedly being the guardians of culture of their respective
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regions, indulge unabatedly themselves and the ignorant amongst the commoners, in acts
of heinous crimes, leading to serious questions marks against the Civil credentials of
our civil society. The most prominent of the acts that they resort to, in order to enforce
the absolute irrational medieval laws concerning the liberty and dignity of a woman,
happens to be murder of the women, and often, their male spouses, for having married
within the gotra or outside the caste or within the village or outside the state, so on and
so forth. Such acts, in the common parlance, are referred to as Honour Killings.

Honours Killings- Definition-Honour crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed
by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought
dishonour upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a
variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a
sexual assault, seeking a divorce even from an abusive husband or (allegedly) committing
adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that dishonours her family
is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.1
Honour killings are not new to rural India especially in the regions of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan. But then such cases are not just restricted to the rural areas. They are also heard
of in our capital and in the southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu etc. The Aarushi Talwar Case
and the killing of Kuldeep and Monica are speculated to be such killings.2
Our country has been very selective about the kind of development she has undergone. On an
international level with the nuclear deal, 8% growth rate and the recognition India is enjoying to
voice its opinion, it seems that India is shining. But dig deeper into the dark secrets of this
developing nation and we still find rampant killings of young couples by their own family
members to save their honor because of the incest committed by the couple. Their crime: living
in the same village and getting married.

1
2

Definition by Human Rights Watch

Twist in Delhi Honour Killing case: 22 June 2010 (The Times of India)

According to the conservative Khap Panchayat, marriage between people of the same village is
considered incest as they are siblings and hence these marriages are not valid. So the panchayat
orders the murder of the couple and hangs their body in the village crossing as an example to
other straying couples.
In India, with its patriarchal society, women are considered as property and the vessel of familys
honor. And any act which might blot the familys prestige renders an absolute right to the male
members to murder the girl, undo her wrongs and win back the honor.3
Such crimes as well as such criminals have been breeding under the political blessings of
political units mainly interested in the vote banks of these villages and the support of the khap
panchayat. Khap panchayat have become a law unto themselves and have treaded into numerous
avenues, which ideally shouldve been taken care of by the state. Khap Panchayats already are
kangaroo courts running a parallel system of medieval and irrational laws in certain regions and
are an immensely influencing force for entire communities. Owing to the position that they
enjoy, in our country of vote bank politics, no political outfit would ever want to draw their
displeasure and thus the state of affairs that are.

Honor Killing- Tradition Or Cold Blooded Murder?- Radhika Karkhanis, www.legalservicesindia.com

II HONOUR KILLINGS AND THE CURRENT LEGAL

.

APPROACH
The IPC does not list honour killing as a separate crime. They come under general categories of
Homicide or manslaughter. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) doesnt mention
anything about Honour Killings either. There has been a spate of honour killing cases in the
recent past. On examining and analysing the decided cases, one gets a sense as to, both the lower
and the Higher Judiciarys , stand on such cases.
It is seen that the conviction rate in Honour Killing cases are extremely low, owing to the fact
that the perpetrators are generally members of the same family and thus there arent any
witnesses.
One of the landmark decisions to have come in this regard is that of a sessions court at Karnal,
Haryana in the Manoj and Babli honour killing case. The case is presently at the Punjab and
Haryana High Court. The decision of ASJ Vani Gopal Sharma, has been hailed as a landmark
judgement, it sentences five accused to death, one to life imprisonment and another to seven
years imprisonment. The accused were found guilty of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, and
destroying evidence under their respective sections in the Indian Penal Code sections 302,
364,120(b), and 210. It was the first judgement in an honour killing
The judgement came in March 2010, after 33 months of hearing (41 hearings). Manoj and Babli
belonged to the same caste i.e. Jat, but being from the same village, were forbidden to marry as
per the Khap Laws . They married against the wishes of the community, away from their village
at Kaithal Haryana at Panchkula. Later, they were kidnapped and murdered by Bablis family.
This after, the District and Sessions Judge of Panchkula ordered special protection for them after
Manoj went to the court for fear of his and Bablis life.
This judgement has met with serious opposition from the Khap quarter and all the Khap
Panchayats of the region have come together in the form of a Maha Khap to oppose this decision.
The khaps have also started pressing for amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
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As has been discussed in the Introductory chapter, the sheer magnitude of power and influence of
the Khap bodies, makes it really difficult for law maintenance agencies to act against them.
Another recent Supreme Court Judgement has come in an Honour killing case of 1991. The
Supreme Court on 4.08.2010 awarded life sentence to three persons who caused the death of six
persons of a family in a case of honour killing at a village in Uttar Pradesh in 1991.
A Bench of Justices H.S. Bedi and J.M. Panchal reversed the order of acquittal passed by the
Allahabad High Court after the trial court handed them the death sentence.
The Bench said: There is no manner of doubt that killing six persons and wiping out almost the
whole family on the flimsy ground of saving the honour of the family would fall within the rarest
of rare cases [principle] evolved by this court and, therefore, the trial court was perfectly justified
in imposing the capital punishment on the respondents. However, this court also notices that the
incident had taken place about 20 years ago. Further, the High Court acquitted the respondents
by a judgment dated April 12, 2002. Thereafter, nothing adverse against any of the respondents
is reported to this court. To sentence the respondents to death after their acquittal in 2002 will not
be justified on the facts and in the circumstances of the case.
The Bench imposed a fine of Rs.25,000 on each of the accused.
The incident took place on August 10/11, 1991 at Lakhanpur in Farrukhabad district. Krishna
Master and two others were charged with murdering Guljari and his family members. The
provocation was that a boy eloped with a girl belonging to another community.
To convict the accused, the trial court relied on the evidence of Madan Lal, who was six years
old when the incident happened. However, the High Court acquitted them. The State filed an
appeal in the Supreme Court.
The usual remedy to such murders is to suggest that society must be prevailed upon to be more
gender-sensitive and shed prejudices of caste and class. Efforts should be made to sensitise
people on the need to do away with social biases. But equally, it should be made clear that there
is no escape for those who take justice into their own hands.

So far, there is no specific law to deal with honour killings, one is in the pipeline. The murders
come under the general categories of homicide or manslaughter. When a mob has carried out
such attacks, it becomes difficult to pinpoint a culprit. The collection of evidence becomes tricky
and eyewitnesses are never forthcoming.
Like the case of Sati and dowry where there are specific laws with maximum and minimum
terms of punishment, honour killings, too, merit a second look under the law. Undoubtedly, the
virus of caste and class that affects those carrying out such crimes affects the police in the area
too. But that can be no excuse to sanction murder. Active policing and serious penal sanctions is
the only antidote to this most dishonourable practice.
Either, an amendment to the IPC to bring Honour Killings as a different category of crime, or an
independent legislation specifically for honour killings had to be brought in. The government has
chosen the latter and a new legislation in this regard is to be brought in soon. A specific law to
deal with honour killings shall go a long way in controlling this menace. It is also being
speculated that the new law might as well be accompanied with certain amendments to the
Indian Evidence Act, to the effect of onus being shifted to proving innocence, keeping in view
the heinousness of the crime. Also, fool proof provisions, are said to have been included so that
none involved can scot free or even get away with a less severe punishment. Indicting the Khap
Panchs, giving the decision effecting the murder shall be made possible. For now, they can only
be held either as conspirators or abetters. An affirmative action in this regard is long awaited and
finally, when it is coming, it shall serve a great deal in putting an end to this social menace.

III. THE INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

Honour Killing crimes are prevalent in most parts of the world. It is significantly widespread in
the Islamic world and some of Latin America. The following are the countries which have laws
regarding Honour Killings, shockingly, most countries having laws regarding honour killingshas
provisions for defense of the accused.
Countries where the law is interpreted to allow men to kill female relatives in a premeditated
effort as well as for crimes of passions, in flagrante delicto4 in the act of committing adultery,
include:

Jordan: Part of article 340 of the Penal Code states that "he who discovers his wife or
one of his female relatives committing adultery and kills, wounds, or injures one of them,
is exempted from any penalty." This has twice been put forward for cancellation by the
government, but was retained by the Lower House of the Parliament, in 2003: a year in
which at least seven honor killings took place. Article 98 of the Penal Code is often cited
alongside Article 340 in cases of honor killings. Article 98 stipulates that a reduced
sentence is applied to a person who kills another person in a fit of fury.

Countries that allow men to kill female relatives in flagrante delicto (but without premeditation)
include:

Syria: Article 548 states that "He who catches his wife or one of his ascendants,
descendants or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sexual acts
with another and he killed or injured one or both of them benefits from a reduced penalty,
that should not be less than 2 years in prison in case of a killing."

In flagrante delicto (Latin: "in a blazing offence") is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught
in the act of committing an offence (compare corpus delicti). The colloquial "caught in the act," "caught redhanded," or "caught rapid" are English equivalents.( The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English, Ed.
Jennifer Speake, Berkley Books, (1999) Oxford University Press)

Countries that allow husbands to kill only their wives in flagrante delicto (based upon the
Napoleonic code) include:

Morocco: Revisions to Morocco's criminal code in 2003 helped improve women's legal
status by eliminating unequal sentencing in adultery cases. Article 418 of the penal code
granted extenuating circumstances to a husband who murders, injures, or beats his wife
and/or her partner, when catching them in flagrante delicto while committing adultery.
While this article has not been repealed, the penalty for committing this crime is at least
now the same for both genders.

In two Latin American countries, similar laws were struck down over the past two
decades: according to human rights lawyer Julie Mertus "in Brazil, until 1991 wife
killings were considered to be non-criminal 'honor killings'; in just one year, nearly eight
hundred husbands killed their wives. Similarly, in Colombia, until 1980, a husband
legally could kill his wife for committing adultery.

Countries where honor killing is not legal but is known to occur include:

Turkey: In Turkey, persons found guilty of this crime are sentenced to life in prison.
There are well documented cases, where Turkish courts have sentenced whole families to
life imprisonment for an honor killing. The most recent was on January 13, 2009, where a
Turkish Court sentenced five members of the same Kurdish family to life imprisonment
for the "honour killing" of Naile Erdas, 16, who got pregnant as a result of rape.

Pakistan: Honor killings are known as karo kari. The practice is supposed to be
prosecuted under ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it.
Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar
Bakhtiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261
women were murdered in honor killings. On December 8, 2004, under international and
domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a
prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women's
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rights organizations were, however, wary of this law as it stops short of outlawing the
practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's
relatives. Women's rights groups claimed that in most cases it is the victim's immediate
relatives who are the killers, so inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the
provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the
Islamic provisions. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a bill which sought
to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing. However, the bill was brought
up again, and in November 2006, it passed. It is doubtful whether or not the law would
actually help women.

Egypt: A number of studies on honor crimes by The Centre of Islamic and Middle
Eastern Law, at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, includes one
which reports on Egypt's legal system, noting a gender bias in favor of men in general,
and notably article 17 of the Penal Code : judicial discretion to allow reduced punishment
in certain circumstance, often used in honor killings case.

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IV. CONCLUSION
The barbaric practice of 'honour killings', that is. killing of young women by their relatives or
caste or community members for bringing dishonour to the family or caste or community by
marrying, or wanting to marry, a man of another caste or community or whom the family
disapproves of is frequently reported to take place in Pakistan which is a State based on feudal
and communal ideology. However, this Court has been shocked to note that in our country also,
which boasts of being a secular and liberal country, 'honour killings' have been taking place from
time to time, and what is deeply disturbing is that the police and other authorities do not seem to
take steps to check these disgraceful and barbaric acts. In fact such, 'honour killings', far from
being honourable, are nothing but pre-meditated murder and must be treated accordingly. - The
opening paragraph of M. Katju, Js judgement in the case of Sujit Kumar And Ors. vs State Of
U.P. And Ors. on 6/5/2002, at the Allabad HC.
Actually, the solution to this problem mainly lies in the eradication of myths in the minds of
people. They need to be educated with the provisions given in the Hindu Marriage Act and what
kinds of marriages are actually considered invalid. Khap Pachayats should at last be ripped out of
all its power so that it is unable to wrongly influence the nave people and to instigate them to
commit such inhuman acts.
It is time India finally developed in the real sense. Building malls and increasing the standard of
living of the common man is not really development. Cases such as these show that more than
half of the Indians still lead lives within the strong crutches of caste system and even today
youths dont have the power to make decisions regarding their own lives. To see that even today,
people blindly commit such barbaric crimes and consider it as an act of sanctifying the impure
shows that India has really not modernized. Development has to be from the very base, the
core. Or else its just a hollow wooden structure eaten on the inside by the termites that
eventually comes crashing down.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shobha Saxena, Crimes against women and protective laws

Indira Jaisingh, Law of domestic violence, 2nd edition.

Other Internet Sources.

Various news papers, magazines and journals.

Reports of the law commission and the womens commission.

www.manupatra.com

http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/honour-killing-in-india-an-in-depth-study

http://www.Indiankanoon.org

http://www.stophonourkillings.com

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