India - Five get death sentence for honour killing

In some parts of North India, it is a crime to love and marry outside one’s caste or community or same gotra, without the parents’ approval and the punishment meted out is called “honour killings.”

The verdict is pronounce by village elders in panchayats which function like a ‘Kangaroo court’ where the guilt of the accused boy and girl is presumed and all that is needed is the quantum of punishment. These bodies function outside the realms of established law and no one dare to oppose the verdict.

There have been many cases recently of such “honour killings’ in which even both families participate in hunting and killing the boy and girl who are lured by promises that nothing will happen to them and they can return to their homes.

In a landmark judgement in a Haryana ‘honour killing’ case, a Karnal court on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to five persons and life sentence to one for murdering a couple on the diktats of a self-styled community panchayat for marrying against societal norms. Marrying within the same gotra is considered a taboo in many communities, as they are supposed to be blood relations. There have been killing of cousins who dare to love, marry and flee to avoid the wrath of the community.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Vani Gopal Sharma pronounced the sentence after reserving the judgement in the case on Monday. The prosecution had termed the case as the "rarest of the rare" and pleaded for capital punishment to the six convicts for killing Manoj (23) and Babli (19), who hailed from Karora village in Kaithal district and had got married on May 18, 2007.

Last Thursday, the court had convicted them for murdering the couple of the same 'gotra' (sub-caste) in 2007. Another person was held guilty of abduction and the quantum of punishment in his case was also reserved. It is the first case in which the boy's family had moved court against the ‘honour killing ‘ after the 'khap' panchayat (caste-based council) had ruled against the couple's marriage.

Those sentenced to death are the girl's brother Suresh, uncles Rajender and Baru Ram and her cousins Gurdev and Satish besides leader of the panchayat Ganga Raj who was given life imprisonment. A driver Mandeep Singh was convicted of kidnapping and awarded a seven year prison term.

Public prosecutor Sunil Rana described the court verdict as landmark judgement as khap panchayats "are acting against the law. They are taking law into their own hands and despite protection of the courts, innocent couples are being murdered".

- Asian Tribune -