Govt defers action on honour killings

No decision on Khaps; Centre constitutes GoM instead

The government has finally moved to take up the issue of honour killings but it seems that the path chalked out for the initiative is tantamount to deferring the matter, at best.


Kuldeep and Monikau00a0were killed last month in Delhi

A Cabinet meeting on Thursday decided that a group of ministers (GoM) would be constituted to deliberate on the matter thoroughly and seek views of states on the proposed changes to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

However, the divergent views of several ministers, most notably Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath and MS Gill, indicated that the government was yet to reach unanimity over the measures being taken for tackling the killer khap panchayats.

Though Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni expressed the government's eagerness to deal with the situation by bringing in suitable changes to the law in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the whole process might take a bit longer.

She said there was "urgency" to bring about changes in the law to deal with the "so-called honour killings".
"We do feel the pressure to bring the amendment in Monsoon session of Parliament. There is not only social pressure, not only media pressure but within our own Cabinet and party, we feel that the so-called honour killings have to be brought under the ambit of the law of the land and how best this can be done," Soni said.
However, many in the party and government feel that though the intent is "positive", the way it is being handled may send out "wrong" signals.

"The issue is very complicated and the states would definitely speak in contrasting voices, as it concerns vote bank for several leaders from across the parties. Therefore, it will take a lot of time for the government to reach a unanimous decision about it," said a Congress MP, requesting anonymity.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and party MP from the state Naveen Jindal have already expressed their support for the Khaps. While Hooda had defended the Khap's view on the same gotra marriages, Jindal had written a letter to the panchayat representatives declaring his support for them.

Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government's intention is to introduce the amendment bill in the monsoon session. "Consultations will be completed well before the (month-long) Monsoon session is over and views of the state government (will be) placed before the Cabinet," he said.

The amendments that have been proposed aim at bringing honour killings under the definition of murder by amending the Indian Penal Code. It would also seek to amend the Indian Evidence Act, which would bring the onus on Khap Panchayats to prove their innocence in any such case. The Khap panchayat (caste council) or any group ordering honour killings and any person who carries out the diktat will be jointly liable for punishment under the proposed legislation.

The Government also plans to do away with the 30-day notice period under the Special Marriage Act for inter-caste and inter-religion marriages. Taking note of the recent spurt in 'honour' killings, the Supreme Court had last month sought response from the Union Government and eight states on steps taken to prevent such incidents.