Honor killings involve the murder of a family member by other family members due to a belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family. They commonly occur when a person refuses an arranged marriage, engages in a forbidden relationship, or is the victim of rape. While honor killings have deep historical and cultural roots, they violate basic human rights. In India, about 1000 honor killings occur annually, though there is no specific law against the practice. It is typically prosecuted under murder statutes. Various international agreements also prohibit gender-based discrimination and violence. Strengthening laws, increasing awareness, protecting victims, and changing social attitudes are all seen as important to prevent future honor killings.

1. HONOU KILLING

2. INTRODUCTION

3. WHAT IS HONOUR KILLING ??
An honour killing is the homicide of a member of
a family by other members, due to the perpetators
belief that the victim has brought shame or
dishonour upon the family, or has violated the
principles of a community or a religion, usually for
reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged
marriage, being in a relationship that is
disapproved by their family, having sex outside
marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in
ways which are deemed inappropriate, or
engaging in homosexual relations.

4. DEFINITION
Human Rights Watch defines “honour killings” as
follows:
“Honour Killing are acts of vengeance, usually death,
committed by male 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 “dishonours” her
family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.”

6. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF HONOUR
KILLING:
• Historically there are no definitive explanations regarding the origin of honour
killings. In South Asian continent some scholars claim the practice originated with
the various baloch tribes of Baluchistan and spread to other countries as they
migrated to different parts of the country. Colonial records clearly mentioned the
custom of 'honour killing' of Baluchistan. And later on, it is believed to be adopted
these customs by region of Pakistan and India.
• Honour killing was a practice in middle eastern and south asian societies
In pre-islamic era when the patriarchal and patrilineal society was
interested in maintaining control over “ designated familiar power
structure”. As men from the family, clan, tribes wanted to control
reproductive power since women were seeing as 'factories' for producing
men.
• Religion plays a major role in the justification of honour killing.
Islamic law states that a wife must obey her husband and failure to do so
permits physical punishment and even killing. However, some men who
have committed an honour killing state that tradition is stronger than
religion.

7. HONOUR KILLING IN MEDIVAL
EUROPE
• Honour killings were encouraged in Ancient Rome, where male family
members who did not take actions against the females adulterers in their
family were “Actively persecuted”.
• Where early Jewish law mandated death by stoning for an adulterous
wife and partner as they known as honour based crimes.

8. HONOUR KILLING IN INDIAN HISTORY
• Ancient laws of Manu- Sati
In India, according to the ancient laws of Manu women were considered
immoral. Widows were encouraged to throw themselves on the funeral pyre of
their husbands to preserve their died spouses honour and prevent themselves
from living a 'life of dishonour'.
• Hindu Aryan customs
Hindu Aryan husbands were entitled to cut the nose and ears of wives suspected
or found guilty of infidelity- a custom that eerily echoes various cases of honour
crimes in the India subcontinent across the centuries.
• Hindu religious laws – Gotra system
According to the Hindu religious law and tradition, marrying or having
sexual relations with a member of a different caste is strictly forbidden.
So too, romantic involvement with someone from the same sub caste
(GOTRA) a proscription that contrast notably with Muslim cultures
where first cousin marriages widely accepted. In northern India, the
murderers are often explicitly sanctioned or even mandated by caste
based councils known as ' Khap Panchayat'.

11. MARRIAGE
ADULTERY
DIVORCE
DRESS
CODE
LESBIAN GAY
RELATIONSHIP
RAPE

13. HONOUR KILLING IN
INDIA PER YEAR
• 1000cases of
Honour Killing takes place
in India every year
• out of which
900 belongs
to Haryana,
Punjab and UP
• 100
belongs to
rest of India

14. International Stats
• 5000 cases of
Honour Killing listed
worldwide every year.
• 1500 in
Pakistan
• 1000
from India
• few cases
from UK
(12-15)
*Data by Honour Based Violence Awareness Network

16. What is Khap Panchyat
The “Khap” is an ancient concept which has written references found back
from the Rig Vedic times. These are socio-political groups, which usually
comprise of the upper caste and elderly men from the Jat community,
which are united primarily by caste. They consolidate their position and
power covering areas comprising a cluster of villages and set rules. These
are social institutions are not sanctioned under the law and have no legal
status.
Historical Background
The exact origin of Khap Panchayat is till date not known but is believed to
start back in 600 A.D. A council of five people from the elder class of the
village for the matters of justice, which is called “Panchayat”. Sabha or
Samiti, i.e., gathering or assembly are the forms of governing society in the
village. The “Sabhapati” was elected, who is the President of Sabha.
Since, Khap is a bunch of consolidated villages which have been united by
caste and geography. These are as old as 14th century which sort to provide
the rules, the prime rule being that all boys and girls within the same Khap
or sub- caste are considered as siblings, i.e. they are related to each other.

17. Purpose
Khap Panchayat regulates the Khap formed under the same Gotra [clan or
sub-caste] families in the villages it covers. It basically asks for the
amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 banning marriages within the
same Gotra or even Gotra from the same village. According to this, a boy
and a girl belonging to the same Gotra are brothers and sisters. Love
marriages are considered as taboo in the villages where the Khap Panchayat
operates.
How Do They Function
• People of the village possess undeniable faith in the decisions of Khap, since
everything is cross-checked to ensure there is neutrality in decisions and
also for the fact that these Khap s deliver judgment on a single sitting as
opposed to courts, where cases linger for years, and so they can survive
from courts where innocent people become subject to harassment of the
police sometimes.
• Khap Panchayat enforces its verdicts through socials prohibitions and
sanctions, imposes heavy fines or even kills the victims or makes them
commit suicide. A lot of young couples are being killed because of flouting
the Khap rules.

18. States in which Khap Panchayat mostly exist
These Khap Panchayats exist mostly in the States of Western UP, eastern
Rajasthan, but are most prevalent in the Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani,
Karnal, Jind, Kaithal and Hisar districts of Haryana.
Case Study
• Ved Pal and Sonia(Haryana)
• Monika and Rinku
• Journalist honour killing case (Jharkhand)
• Sivakumar and Megala(Tamil Nadu)
• Ravinder Gehlawat case(Jhajjar)

19. INDIAN
LAWS
AND
CASES

20. What Law Says ??
• No specific law in India which deals with this gruesome act of honour killing
and any punishments regarding the same.
• They are treated as ‘murders’ under the provisions of IPC or the Code of CrPC
as it is not a crime specified separately under the laws
• No data about this crime has been collected by the National Crime Records
Bureau ( The Hindu, Aug 6,2010, p 11)
Constitutional Provisions in India
 Art. 14 - Equality before law.—The State shall not deny to any person equality
before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
 Art. 15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or
place of birth.—(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
 Art. 15 (3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any
special provision for women and children.
 Art. 17. Abolition of Untouchability.—“Untouchability” is abolished and its
practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out
of “Untouchability” shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.

21.  Art. 18. Abolition of titles.
 Art. 19 Right to Freedom
 Art. 21 Right to Life and Liberty
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HONOUR KILLING AND HOMICIDE

22. Relationship between Honour Killing
and Murder
There are no specific laws to deal with honour killings and if they are treated
as murder they fall under the category of sec 300 of Indian Penal Code
1860. Clause fourth of Sec 300 IPC specifies that if the person committing
the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all
probability, cause death or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and
commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death
or such bodily injury as aforesaid commits the offence of murder. This very
explanation covers the act of killings which are done for honour. Here the
act is intentional, imminently dangerous and in all probability has the
chances of causing death, so it will not be improper to say that the culprits
involved in honour killings should be punished as the murderers and capital
punishment should be imposed on them.

23. LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS
Indian Penal Code, 1860
• Sections 299-304: Penalizes any person guilty of murder and culpable
homicide not amounting to murder. The punishment for murder is life sentence
or death and fine. The punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to
murder is life imprisonment or imprisonment for upto 10 years and fine.
• Section 307: Penalizes attempt to murder with imprisonment for upto 10 years
and a fine. If a person is hurt, the penalty can extend to life imprisonment.
• Section 308: Penalizes attempt to commit culpable homicide by imprisonment
for upto 3 years or with fine or with both. If it causes hurt, the person shall be
imprisoned for upto 7 years or fined or both.
• Section 120A and B: Penalizes any person who is a party to a criminal
conspiracy.

24. • Sections 107-116: Penalizes persons for abetment of offences including
murder and culpable homicide.
• Section 34 and 35: Penalizes criminal acts done by several persons in
furtherance of common intention.
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954
• Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989
• The Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Act, 2006
• The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,
2005

25. Case Laws
• Manoj Babli Case
• State of U.P. vs Krishna Master and Anr
• Lata Singh vs State of U.P. and Anr
• Arumugam Servai vs State of Tamil Nadu
• Bhagwan Das vs State(Nct) of Delhi

27. PROHIBITION OF UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY
(INTERFERENCE WITH THE FREEDOM OF
MATRIMONIAL ALLIANCES) BILL, 2011
• Short Title, Extent and Commencement [Section 1]
• Unlawful Assembly[Section 2]
• Endangerment of Liberty[Section 3]
• Criminal Intimidation[Section 4]
• Provisions of IPC remain unaffected[Section 5]

28. • Presumption [ Section 6]
• Power to Prohibit certain Acts [ Section 8]
• Trial of Offence [ Section 9]
• Procedure and Power of Special Court [ Section 10]
• Power of Special Court with Respect to other offences
[Section 11]
• Offences to be Cognizable, Non- Bailable and Non-
Compoundable [ Section 12]

29. INTERNATIONAL
PROVISIONS

30. Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW).
• Article1-Discrimination against women
• Article2(c) Gender Equality.
• Article2(g) Change in discriminatory laws against women.
• Article2(f) Change in customs of traditions that discriminate women.
• Article5(a) Change in discrimination against women by educating
society.
• Article15(1),(2) Equality before law.
• Article16(1) Discrimination against women by their own family.

31. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS 1948.
• Article 1 - All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights.
• Article 2 - Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom
set forth in.
• Article 3 - Right to life, liberty and security of a person.
• Article 5 - Prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment

32. Other Provisions
• Under Article 12 of the International Convention on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR 1976) State parties have to take all steps to ensure
the “right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health”, is ensured. Crimes of honour that involve
sexual violence and mental violence or physical or mental torture obstruct
the right of women to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. India,
as a State party, is therefore legally obligated to ensure that individuals and
victims of crimes of honour are able to avail this right.
• Paragraph 232 of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA 1995)
• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women(1993)
• Working towards the Elimination of Crimes against Women
Committed in the Name of Honour (2003)

33. NGOs
in
India

34. • Shakti vahini.(New Delhi)
• Himmat Mahila Samooh.(Rohtak,Haryana)
• Human Rescue Team.(New Delhi)

35. CONCLUSION

36. Conclusion
• We have so far discussed at length various aspects of laws related till
present times over the issue of honour killing. Also we have seen the various
ought to be rules and laws to strengthen our judiciary over this most
dishonourable practice.
• It is the State's and the Society's responsibility to protect the human
rights of its young citizens, to avoid honour killings, to create
possibilities and opportunities for the people concerned to break free
and to find protection, support and aid.
• Normally in a country where there is rule of law, the customary laws should
not be given much value over the codified laws in matters of such heinous
crimes like honour killing.
• Honour killing is done saving the honour of the family. But there is no such
honour in killing any person. ‘Religion’ and ‘Culture’ cannot and must not
be invoked as excuse for the killing of women, because religion and the laws
which derive from it are always subjective interpretation.

37. • No ‘Culture’ has the right to kill and harm women based on their
perceptions of morality or honour. The freedom of belief does not mean
freedom to kill. Everyone has right to life with full dignity and equality.
• Therefore, it is to be suggested that honour killing like social evil
cannot be just eliminated through law alone rather almost every
substitution social, economic, political and cultural will have to be
sensitized against this crime; no doubt law could only be one of the
important tools to fight this heinous practice.

39. Suggestions
• The networking of the police, judiciary, government, non-governmental
organizations, human rights activists, sociologists, social workers, and
psychologists is to be done in order to mitigate this social evil.
• It gives a wrong massage that Khap Panchayat shave their own law
and they adjudicate not according to laid down any procedure but
summarily which they deem fit. They have scant regard to judicial
institutions and courts. The steps shall be taken who so ever is
involved in the crime should immediately be brought under the law.
• The onus should put on the accused persons (members of such
groups/ organization/Panchayats) thereby making them responsible to
prove their innocence.
• Special clause should be added to section 300 of the Indian Penal
Code to deal with the cases like honour killing.

40. • Several help lines numbers and special cells all over the affected areas
of honour killings should be established with special police task and
action group force to nab the culprits and extend proper
protection(Shelter Homes) to the couples or victims.
• There should be a uniform definition of honour killing so that there is no
room left for ambiguity as to what constitutes that crime.
• It will be worthwhile to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions and to
change the orientation of the Panchayati Raj leadership to take up social
development and eradication of social evils as matters of top priority.
• To deal with the cases of honour killings fast track courts should be
constituted, and amendments should be immediately done in Special
Marriage Act 1954 so as to reduce the period of registration of marriage
from one month to one week.

41. • Last but not the least, the Government of India should remember its
obligations and commitment to protect its citizens from such violence
under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of which India is a signatory and
has also ratified it.
• Support to National NGOs
• Support to the Judicial System
• Support to the National Women’s Machinery and other National
Authorities
• Establishment of a comprehensive referral system
• Identify, mobilize and support internal forces for social change
• Programme of legal literacy and access to justice for potential victims and
survivors
• Provide protection for women threatened by honour killing