INTRODUCTION
‘Honor crimes’ are crimes that are committed by people against their family members who indulge in activities that are against the reputation and the honor of their family in society. It is a crime that considers women as an object responsible for preserving family honor. These are the shame killings prevalent in our country since ancient times. According to I.A. Rehman, a human rights activist, crimes related to honor are committed because it is perceived that the honor of the family members is injured and observed that it is a consequence of the low status of women in society. These crimes are mostly committed against women as they are considered to be responsible for the reputation of the family in India. These are also prevalent in Muslim countries across the world.
REASONS
According to the UN Population Fund, almost five thousand females are murdered annually for family honor reasons. Out of which, almost 1000 cases are from India and 1000 from Pakistan. It is most common in north Indian states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Also, several such cases remain unreported. The most common reasons behind honor killings are as follows:
- Refusal to go for a prearranged marriage or forced marriage.
- Women attempting to seek divorce from their husbands.
- Extra-marital affairs and adultery.
- Refusal to obey cultural restrictions like purdah.
- Renunciation or change of religion by a person or adoption of some other religion.
- Marrying a person of one’s own choice outside their caste or religion.
- Non-acceptance of LGBT persons.
- Rape victims.
HONOR KILLING AND INDIAN CONSTITUTION
The preamble of the Constitution itself provides for justice, equality, and fraternity among its citizens. In addition to this, the fundamental rights provided under the Constitution ensure the personal liberty, dignity, and freedom of an individual. Our Constitution provides for protection against honor crimes under the following provisions:
- Article 14 & Article 15: These provisions under our constitution provide for equality of all before the law and prevent any discrimination against an individual based on caste, race, creed, sex, or religion. Honor crimes are mostly committed against women due to the Indian mindset of the inferiority of women.
- Article 19: It provides the freedom of speech and expression which is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens according to which a person has the right to express his thoughts freely.
- Article 21: It provides the right to life and personal liberty to the citizens. It gives them the right to live their life in the way they want to and to make their own choices. It also includes the right of an individual to make choices regarding their religion and marriage.
OTHER PROVISIONS
The All India Democratic Women’s Association drafted a bill concerning honor crimes, ‘The Prevention of Crimes in the Name of Honor & Tradition Bill, 2010. However, it was not enacted. So as of now, we don’t have any specific legislation that protects against honor crimes but several legislations promote dignified life, personal liberty, and freedom of an individual and provide somewhat protection against such crimes. Some of these legislations are as follows:
HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955
Section 3 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides that two Hindu persons of sound mind and age of majority (18 years for women and 21 years for males) who fulfill the other conditions as provided under the act can marry. The concept of honor crimes is also in violation of the freedom to marry provided to the people of India.
THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860
Honor crimes are mostly committed collectively by the family members of a person and Sections 34 and 35 of the code provide punishment for several-person criminal acts in support of a common intention.
- Sections 107 to 116 of the code provide punishment to those people who abet murders and culpable homicide-related crimes.
- Section 120A and Section 120B provides for punishment for those who participate in a criminal conspiracy.
- Sections 299 to 304 of the code provide punishment for those who are found guilty of murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder which is life imprisonment and imprisonment up to 10 years respectively which may be accompanied by a fine.
- Section 307 provides punishment which may extend to 10 years along with a fine for those who threaten to kill the other person.
- Section 308 provides punishment of up to 3 years along with a fine or not, to those who commit culpable homicide.
THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 1993
The act provides for the establishment of NHRC, SHRC, and human rights Courts across the country to preserve the basic human rights of an individual. Living a dignified life is a basic human right that is protected under this act.
THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005
It was enacted to provide justice to women who are victims of any kind of violence occurring within their family and matters connected therewith. Honor crimes are committed by family members by taking the law into their own hands which needs to be prohibited.
SCHEDULED CASTE AND SCHEDULED TRIBE (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) ACT, 1989
It can be seen that atrocities like honor crimes badly affected the Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes sections of the society. There is a need to protect the weaker sections of the society against such crimes.
CASE LAWS
In Lata Singh v. State of UP, the Supreme Court observed that everyone has the right to marry a person of his/her own free will and rebuked the prevalent concept of honor crimes which is encouraged by the people with feudalistic mindsets.
In the case of Chandrapati v. State of Haryana and Ors., where two lovers of different castes eloped and married each other the matter was decided by the Khap panchayat. Both lovers were abducted and killed in honor of their family members. The court held that Khap panchayat had no jurisdiction to decide the case and even sentenced life imprisonment to the five perpetrators.
In the case of Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, the court held that the right to marry a person of one’s own choice is provided under the Constitution of India. It was also observed that it was not necessary to obtain the consent of the family members if two adults were of sound mind and were capable of marrying. Also, the court observed that there was an urgent need to bring a law to prevent honor crimes in India.
In the case of Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab, the court held that honor killings were against the provisions of our Indian Constitution as they are against an individual’s liberty, right to freedom of choice, right to life, and personal liberty.
In the case of State of Maharashtra v. Eknath Kisan Kumbharkar, the court held that honor crimes are barbaric and brutal crimes by bigoted people with feudal minds and such practices must be discouraged as they act as a hindrance to the development of our nation. Also, the court considered it as a part of an outrageous and uncivilized society.
SUGGESTIONS
To prevent these crimes, there is a need to take appropriate steps like:
- Increasing the representation of women and vulnerable sections of society in politics.
- Abolishing the concept of ‘Khap panchayats’ and punishing those who act by their decisions.
- Spreading awareness and promoting adaptability towards the LGBT community among the people.
- New legislation should be enacted to prevent and discourage the prevalence of honor crimes in society.
- Stricter punishment should be given to those who commit and promote such heinous crimes.
- Judicial reforms for speedy disposal of such cases and proper implementation of the orders of the court.
CONCLUSION
It is very disappointing that our society prefers the so-called ‘societal reputation and honor’ over the lives of their family members who choose to make their own choices or to live their lives in their own way. Some countries like Pakistan are having legislation to curb these heinous crimes. But, on the other hand, there are countries like Jordan where it is legally valid and in some other countries, very minimal punishment is given to those who commit such crimes. According to Article 418 of the Penal Code of Morocco, the husband is granted the power to kill or injure his wife if he finds her involved in an act of wrongdoing, especially sexual misconduct. The Constitution of India and the provisions of the Indian Penal Code of 1860 deal with honor crimes. Currently, we do not have any specific legislation concerning the prevention of honor crimes. Only a few provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 deal with the honor crimes prevalent among Dalits and Adivasis. The Supreme Court has in a number of its judgments emphasized the need to bring the new legislation to prevent such honor crimes and has considered it to be a tradition of an outrageous and uncivilized society. Honor crimes disrespect the laws and regulations of a country. No person should be punished by others except as per the provisions of the law.
Authored by- Leezer Kaur, Army Institute of Law, Mohali.
