Murder most foul: On Kerala ‘honour killing’ case (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: Honour killing
Mains level: Measures taken by government to curb honour killing incident.

Context

• The use of murderous violence in the face of imagined threats to family or community honour is an unfortunate reality in most parts of the country.

About the term

• The term ‘honour killing’ is being used widely to describe the class of murders that family members commit while seeking to impose on young couples their medieval view that all marriages should be within their community.
• The Supreme Court, which has been intervening repeatedly to preserve the freedom of marital choice of individuals, once remarked that there is no ‘honour’ in ‘honour killing’.
• Various judgments have highlighted the need to come down on such crimes, as well as the social structures that keep such a communal outlook alive.

Steps taken by the court

• The court rightly chose not to award the death penalty. Instead it handed down two separate life terms, one each for kidnapping with intention to threaten the victim with death, and for murder.
• Even though there is a Supreme Court judgment allowing trial courts to deem ‘honour killings’ as those that fall under the ‘rarest of rare cases’ category, the trial judge chose to take note of the fact that the accused were young and had no previous criminal background. It is disquieting that the ‘honour killing’ phenomenon persists in highly literate societies too. Discrimination against Dalits is not limited to Hindu communities listed as Scheduled Castes, but extends to those who have converted to other religions too.

Way forward

• At a time when caste groups have become politically organised and caste associations attract the young and the educated, there is a need for a redoubled effort to eliminate the evils of a stratified society.
• In particular, administrators must give full effect to the various preventive, remedial and punitive measures recommended by the Supreme Court.
• The Centre may also examine the need for a comprehensive law to curb killings in the name of honour and prohibit interference in matrimonial choice of individuals.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Global Housing Technology Challenge- INDIA (GHTC- INDIA), consider the following statements:
1. It was launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to fast-track the construction of affordable housing and meet the target of constructing 1.2 crore houses by 2022.
2. It is undertaken under Smart Cities Mission.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: A
Mains Questions:
Q.1) To what extent India needs a comprehensive law to deal with ‘honour killing’. Critically analyse.