“Hamare Ghar ki Izzat”

On 7 April 2007, Manoj Banwala and Babli prevailing from Karoran Village, Kaithal eloped and got married. Babli’s family was against the marriage. In June 2007, the said couple was brutally murdered by Babli’s male relatives, which included her grandfather (Khap leader), brother, maternal and paternal uncles and two cousins. The killing was ordered by a khap panchayat, a religious caste-based council among Jats, in their Karora village in Kaithal district, Haryana. This order was given based on the assumption that Manoj and Babli belonged to the Banwala gotra, a Jat community, and were therefore considered to be siblings despite not being directly related and any union between them would be invalid and incestuous.

In March 2010, after 33 months of 50 hearings, a Karnal District Court sentenced seven out of the five accused to be executed. The khap head who ordered but did not take part in the killings received a life sentence, and the driver involved in the abduction was given a seven-year prison term. This was the first time an Indian Court did the same in an honour killing case.

According to Wikipedia, Honour killing is “the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honour of their family.” These killings are mainly ordered by the khap panchayat.

Now, what is khap panchayat? Khap panchayats are traditional local law bodies. They are self-proclaimed leaders of caste courts in village. These are active in north-western states like Haryana, northern Rajasthan, rural belt of Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh. These are expected to be in existence since the fourteenth century. The fundamental paintings of conventional panchayats revolve around problems threatening village peace, disputes over property and inheritance, and sexual / conjugal transgressions.

The khap leaders preserve entire supremacy and energy inside their caste institution as custodians of honour.

Khap Panchayats ought to be abolished to a few degrees in order that their loss of manage in the villages can assist to solve matters.

According to the honour crime verdict of the Supreme Court of India, honour-related violence may be related to the following circumstances:

 (i) loss of virginity outside marriage; (ii) pregnancy before marriage; (iii) infidelity; (iv) unfaithfulness authorized relationship; (v) Give up to facilitate arrange marriage; (vi) Apply for divorce; (vii) Seek custody of children after divorce; (8) Leave the family or married family without authorization; (ix) Cause scandal or gossip in the community; and (x) Become a victim of rape.

Laws under Indian Penal Code:

Sections 299–304: Punishing any individual responsible of murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.  The punishment of murder is life imprisonment or death, and fine. The punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder is life imprisonment or imprisonment for up to ten years, and fine.

Section 307: Punishment for threatening to kill for up to 10 years of imprisonment, and a fine. If a person gets injured, the punishment can extend to life in prison.

Section 308: Punishment for attempting to commit culpable homicide by imprisonment for up to 3 years or with fine or with both.  If it causes injury, the person shall be imprisoned or fined for up to 7 years, or both.

Section 120A and 120B: Punishment for whoever is a participant to a criminal conspiracy.

Sections 107–116: Punishment for people for abetting murders, including murder and culpable homicide.

Section 34 and 35: Punishment for several-person criminal acts in support of common intention.

There are a few steps which might be taken by the authorities towards bodies like khap panchayat inclusive of the regulation commission have drafted a invoice titled “Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly 2011”. The invoice gives for punishment for our bodies which have ordered killing of couples which might be accused of affection marriage. Also, there are wide variety of instances in which the judiciary has given pronouncements towards those extra-constitutional our bodies.

However, such cases are still reported and according to reports, the state with the most honour killings in Uttar Pradesh is honour killings.

These honour crimes violated human rights and the right to live with dignity as stipulated in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. They showed the lack of compassion, love, compassion, tolerance and other qualities of others, and caused a crisis of trust in the government. The machines that control such murders.

It violates choice and causes stress, anxiety and trauma among lower-class people; it disrupts the integration of the country, unity, and company; it disrupts comfort and shows a lack of rational thinking and emotional intelligence. If a certain group believes that they superior and are beyond the law, then it is a crime against the entire society.

In 2021, while denying bail of a man who participated the ‘brazen act of honour killing’ of his sister, the Allahabad High Court rightfully said.

“…there is no place for citizens in our society who act in derogation of the much cherished constitutional values of individual liberty, and, instead, repose faith in archaic social values of family honour to an extent that they would go to eliminate a family member choosing a life partner for herself,”

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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