To,
Mr. Salman Khurshid
Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice
Shastri Bhavan,
Subject:
A law to address Crimes and Killing in the Name of Honour
Dear Mr.
Khurshid,
We are writing this
letter to express our disappointment at the reported winding up of the GOM
which was setup to recommend laws on honour killing under the chairmanship of
the then Finance Minister. We feel that this is particularly unfortunate as
incidents of crimes and killings in the name of ‘honour’ seem to be increasing
day by day. These crimes are prevalent in several parts of the country
particularly in the northern and western states. Thus, there is an urgent need
to enact a comprehensive law on killings and crimes in the name of honour. We feel
that apart from a provision which addresses killing in the name of honour, the
law should address the range of violent and abusive acts which are being
initiated by the girls family to stop
her from exercising her right to choose her partner in marriage or have a
relationship outside her caste or community or religion. In all these cases the
girl, the boy and his family are targeted. As you know, these crimes are also
committed through caste or Khap or community based panchayats who issue diktats
or fatwas and act like kangaroo courts outside the judicial system. These
panchayats and the girl’s family, either acting together or alone, harass and
intimidate anyone who disobeys them by various acts like extraditing the couple
or the boy’s family or anyone who supports them from the village; by declaring
a couple brother and sister; by leveling illegal fines; by imposing social
and/or economic boycott on the boy’s family and several other acts. There are
no provisions in the penal code which deal with these acts.
We feel that it is
essential therefore to define these acts of harassment which seek to prevent
young people, particularly girls from exercising their fundamental right of
choice and to punish the perpetrators of these acts. We also feel that if any
member of a panchayat participates in taking these illegal decisions and in
issuing illegal diktats he should be punished. In a killing or crime of this
nature the onus of proof should be on the accused. We also feel that anyone
publically supporting or glorifying these crimes should be punished. Apart from
this we feel that the Collector or District Magistrate should have suo moto powers to issue prohibitory
orders to stop any diktats from being issued. We further feel that a young
couple should be able to declare their intention to marry to any government
officer and not be acted against by the police on false charges of kidnapping
etc. The comprehensive law should also hold the police accountable and provide
for protective homes where the girl and the boy can take shelter to escape the
wrath of her relatives or those conspiring with them. We are enclosing a draft
prepared by AIDWA on this issue. This draft had also been given earlier to the
previous Law minister Shri Veerappa Moily on 3.8.2010.
We urge you to take this
matter seriously and enact a comprehensive legislation as it involves the
democratic and fundamental rights of millions of young people in our country.
Thanking
you,
Yours
Sincerely,
Dr. T.N
Seema Ms. Jharna Das Ms.Sudha
Sundararaman Ms Kirti Singh
(MP, Rajya
Sabha) (MP, Rajya Sabha) (AIDWA) (AIDWA)
Ms.Annie Raja
Dr. Jyotsna Chatterjee Dr Mohini Giri Ms. Indrani Majumdar
( NFIW ) (JWP) (GOS) (CWDS)
Ms
Sheela Kakde Ms.
Leila Passah Ms. Jagmati
Sangwan Ms. Vimal Thorat
(AIWC) (YWCA) (AIDWA) (AIDMAM)
Ms
Azara Abidi Ms. Anuradha
Bose
(MWF) (GOS) 
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