THE VIOLENT NOTION OF

HONOUR IN MARRIAGE: AN
INDIAN LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
 ABSTRACT
From the onset of civilisation, men have often assumed tasks which require relatively more
strength, intelligence and responsibility and accordingly women have been restricted to the
space of the ‘house’ or the ‘family’. As a result, as generations passed by positions of higher
importance and responsibility in the social sphere came to be ‘inherited’ by men, thus, giving
rise to the patriarchal notions which are found to be prevalent in almost every culture or
civilization to have existed till date. With the rise of patriarchy, the value of women came to
be seen as being more and more of that of a mere object, the respective men with whom they
are tied to being the owners, whether that be their fathers, husbands or even sons. Now, even
in the modern age of machines and artificial intelligence, orthodox and vieux jeu notions of
violence against women continue to remain a serious problem across the world. More often
than not, we find that such violence against is very closely related with the aforementioned
problems of patriarchy and in the contemporary era, these incidents of violence could be
increasingly attributed to the notion of ‘honour’ (of the family) which is supposedly
determined by the behaviour of the women in the family. In India, notions like Honour, Pride,
Respect, Izzat often crosses the boundaries of individual liberty and expression. This article
thus, seeks to analyse and deliberate on the Indian notion of honour which is attached with
the institution of marriage and in trying to achieve its objective, the article would discuss the
practice of ‘honour killings’ in the Indian perspective and connect the same with the legal
provisions and legal recourse available to the victims of such heinous, despicable and utterly
unjustified crimes against women. The article also seeks to explore the judicial
pronouncements with respect to the Indian legal scene that would further help tackle the
instant matter of discussion in India.
 1

INTRODUCTION

“After a Marriage for love, a Death for ‘Honour’”

-The Washington Post (October 1, 2003).

These were the headlines in a newspaper article published in 2003 in the Washington Post
which served as a basis of inspiration to help form the research structure of this project. The
article talked about how it was a Sikh-Canadian girl’s own mother, “who gave the final order
to cut the young woman's throat, who gave the order for the gang to leave the body in a
farmhouse.”1 Even in the modern age of machines and artificial intelligence, orthodox and
vieux jeu notions of violence against women continue to remain a serious problem across the
world.2 Gender-Based violence persists and cuts across the boundaries of demography,
cultures, etc., affecting all women around the world to some extent or the other. Such
Gender-based violence is often irrespective of a women’s social standing or her position in
the hypothetical socio-economic ladder. Although violence against women is not a
particularly new phenomenon, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
Women, 1993 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly for the first time recognised
and thus, provided for a formal defection of the same- “any act of gender-based violence that
results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or private life”.3 Now, as per various recent studies and international
reports, out of the multiple forms of recognised violence against women, crimes of ‘honour’
especially ‘honour killings’ are at the top of the list. Diverting our attention to the Indian
scenario- Crimes in the name of ‘honour’ are also, like several other places in the world, on a

1
DeNeen L. Brown and Rama Lakshmi, After a Marriage for Love, a Death for 'Honor', THE WASHINGTON
POST (Oct 1, 2003).
2
Abdul Hadi, ‘Honor’ Killings in Misogynistic Society: A Feminist Perspective, ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (Vol. 9, No.3, 2020).
3
THE DECLARATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, UNITED NATIONS GENERAL
ASSEMBLY (1993).
rise in our country.4 Every day, we find instances in the news with regard to the commission
of horrific crimes in the name of ‘honour’ against the young citizens of our country who were
merely exercising their democratic and arguably their fundamental right of choosing their life
partners. As it is clear from our discussion so far, we will be predominantly focusing on the
violent and retrograde practice of ‘honour killing’ with respect to the Indian perspective of
the notion of ‘honour’ in marriages.

1.1

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

The Scope of this project is very precise and narrow which has been done with an intention to
achieve better quality of research. The central aim of this project is to examine and study the
violent notion of ‘honour’ in Marriage with respect to an Indian Perspective. In order to
achieve the same, we first analyse and thus, try to deduce the notion of ‘honour’ that is often
associated with women and their marriage with respect to the Indian Perspective. Then, as the
topic of honour in marriages is very vast, we specifically focus our attention and study
towards the retrograde practice of ‘honour killings’ which is often believed in different
cultures and communities as a means to restore lost honour to the family. Further, we discuss
the structural and theoretical bases of the notion of honour in marriages and their relation to
honour killings in India. Then, we discuss that although India does not have specific laws
pertaining to the prevention, deterrence and punishment of honour-based crimes, how the
exiting laws and legislatures, to an extent, serve the purpose for the same. Furthering our
discussion, we would discuss the role of the judiciary in preventing and punishment such
crimes and eventually, we turn our focus upon a case study.

Therefore, the objectives of work of this project may be stated as follows:

1) To determine the Indian notion of ‘Honour’ in marriages

2) To understand the idea behind ‘honour killings’ as a means to revive ‘honour’ in a
marriage.

4
Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Women’s Movement and Crimes concerning ‘Honour’ An Indian Experience, TATA
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (March, 2013).
 3) To identify and understand the structural and theoretical bases of the violent notion of
‘Honour in Marriages’ and its relation to ‘Honour’ Killings in India.
4) To discuss the existing legal provisions with respect to ‘honour crimes’ in India.
5) To understand the role of the Indian Judiciary in the deterrence and punishment of
offenders of ‘Honour Crimes’ in India.

1.2

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What is meant by ‘honour’ in marriages with respect to the Indian perspective?

2) What motivates ‘honour killings’?
3) Are there exiting legal provisions that help to prevent and punish ‘honour crimes’
especially honour ‘killings in India’?

1.3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This project has been researched and compiled using only qualitative methods of research.
The researcher has abstained from the use of any primary sources of information in the
making of this project and the preparation and conduct of any basic surveys and/or
questionnaires has not been done.

However, secondary sources which may include documents/ reports written by an author who
did not directly observe or participate in the events described or who was not the originator of
the concepts outlined were liberally used.

The researcher has predominantly depended on journal articles, newspaper articles, reports,
case laws and research papers by various authors in order to achieve his end of proving and
explaining the violent notion of ‘honour’ in marriage with respect to the Indian Perspective.
 1.4

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Kaushambi Kaushal, No Honour in Honour Killing: Comparative Analysis of Indian

Traditional Social Structure vis-à-vis Gender Violence, SAGE JOURNALS (Feb 6, 2020).

India has been always a proud country. Since Independence, it is proud of its democracy,
secularism and its political ideologies and diplomatic abilities. However, the ethos of
marriage remains the same. Although religiously marriage is supposed to be a holy institution
solemnized between two individuals, the notion prevalent in India possesses stark differences
from this idea. In India, even today, girls and daughters are forced and subjected to horrific
and heinous crimes if they do not marry in accordance with the socially accepted rules and
customs of their respective castles or communities. This research paper very aptly introduces
the idea of violence in congruence with the formal institution of marriage. It very precisely
depicts the existence of the idea of honour related to marriages and the repercussion women
have to face if they do not follow the socially accepted marriage norms. This particular paper
has significantly helped the researcher to form a connection between the violent notion of
‘honour’ in marriages in Indian and the resultant ‘honour killings’ which can be said to be a
‘by-product’ of the same and thus, this has further helped in the formation of a clear and
distinct structure for this project.

Gulafroz Jan and Khazin Munir, Honour killing: a socio-legal analysis with special
reference to district Srinagar of J&K, SOCIOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL (August 22,
2018).

Honour crime is vintage form of crime which still holds a firm grip over various sections of
the Indian Society. As we have discussed earlier this paper also provides that ‘Honour
Killings’ are the most aggravated form of ‘Honour Crimes’. Further, as far as the Indian
Legal system is concerned there is no specific law governing the notions of violence related
to the ‘honour’ in marriage and its subsequent violation if the societal rules and customs are
not followed. For instance, if a girl from the upper caste marries a lower-caste boy, then in
some cultures or communities in India, the same would amount to the gross deduction in the
honour of the family’s name and the same would bring shame to the family. Building upon
similar characteristics behind the undertaking of honour crimes especially honour killings in
India, this paper discussed in detail and thus, provides for the various reasons that often lead
to the commission of marriage related honour crimes. Further, reference to this paper has also
benefitted the researcher as it provides for the various existing legal provisions that help deter
and punish such violent honour crimes in India and the same has considerably helped the
research in fulfilling the hypothesised aims and objectives of this project

Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Women’s Movement and Crimes concerning ‘Honour’ An Indian
Experience, TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (March, 2013).

Honour based crimes are in a rise as both rural and urban populations of the country are
gripped with instances of such horrific and heinous crimes. The democratic minded citizens
of this country are both shocked and distressed by such incidents. The murders of young,
eligible and consenting men and women in the name of women are often disguised as due to
some other reason and thus, go unnoticed. There is a loss of the liberty of an individual to
choose their life partners. Now, as crimes in the name of honour make an upward movement
in our country, there arises a need to understand the structural and theoretical bases behind
this relatively high increase in the rate of such marriage-based honour crimes. This particular
research paper particularly analyses, deduces and discusses in detail the structural and
theoretical bases behind the existence of such honour crimes. It discusses why and how
certain people, even though reluctant, are at times forced to kill their daughter to rescue the
honour of their family in the society. It further discussed some relevant judicial decisions.
Therefore, this research paper has been of notable help to the researcher in the completion of
this project as it provided as a basis for certain important aspects which have been discussed
in this project.
 2

THE INDIAN NOTION OF ‘HONOUR’ IN MARRIAGE

Before starting out discussion, the first question that arises is that “What is Honour and why
is it prevalent in every culture or civilization?” In common parlance, it can be said to be the
“morally correct deeds of an individual which can give respect to the individual, family and
society”.5 Thus, Honour refers to a code of conduct, a specified social order and for some a
way of life in India and many other places. In India, notions like Honour, Pride, Respect,
Izzat often crosses the boundaries of individual liberty and expression. The Indian culture, as
we all know, has rich heritage, is ancient, widespread and diversified. Here, “honour is
external enforcement of the means of expression of power especially, violent and power as
played throughout gender norms.”6 Evidences of the violent notion of honour in marriages in
the Indian context are scattered all over the Indian Mythology and History. This is not only
an issue of the contemporary era but the same also existed in the medieval era and the time
before. History supports this statement as we find that ‘Akbar’ himself, the legendary Mughal
emperor became the reason for the death of his son’s beloved ‘Anarkali’, the reason being his
marrying against his wishes and tarnishing the ‘honour’ and image of the Mughal Dynasty.
Normative social assumptions in India, even today understand women mostly in terms of
domesticity and reproduction and therefore reinforce women’s traditional powerlessness.
They often are not allowed to receive the requisite education or choose a career of their
choice let alone the liberty to decide upon the matter of whom and when to marry. “Many
women in India are married off early in life to men chosen by their parents, often against their
will”.7 In India and also in some parts of South Asia, the violence against women is always in
some way or the other, connected to the ‘honour’ of the family which has its base and
5
A. M. C. Beckett and M. Macey, Race, gender and sexuality: The oppression of multiculture, WOMEN STUDIES
INTERNATIONAL FORUM (2001).
6
Kaushambi Kaushal, No Honour in Honour Killing: Comparative Analysis of Indian Traditional Social
Structure vis-à-vis Gender Violence, SAGE JOURNALS (Feb 6, 2020).
7
Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Women’s Movement and Crimes concerning ‘Honour’ An Indian Experience, TATA
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (March, 2013).
foundations on the control of the sexuality, fertility and labour of the women. Under this
system, a ‘good woman’ is theoretically someone who can specifically fulfil the socially
sanctioned roles of daughter, wife and mother. Further, as we have already discussed,
“‘Good’ women are typically expected not to actively express their sexuality, and are
discouraged from expressing independent desires or making decisions”.8 Further, they are
also expected to observe certain modesty norms, through which the society dictates how a
‘good woman’ ought to dress, where or with whom they go, their body language, etc. 9
Therefore, it may be inferred from the aforementioned that female behaviour in certain Indian
societies and cultures is guided by the rules of ‘honour’ and the attached threat of violent
enforcement of the same which in turn, acts as a mechanism of social control.

In the contemporary Indian society, the notion of ‘honour’ has evolved to attain a darker
interpretation and as we will further discuss, killing an individual in the name of ‘Honour’ is
steadily gaining precedence over notions of love and affection between two consenting
legally recognised adults.

HONOUR KILLINGS- A WAY TO REVIVE LOST

‘HONOUR’?

The term ‘honour killing’ can be, at times, misleading as may seem to refer to the possibility
that such crimes are ‘honourable’. Further, in the Indian context the term also provides for a
pre-conception in the minds of the people that it refers to crimes which are a product limited
to cultures, customs or traditions specific to certain communities in India. Thus, association
of such crimes with rigid traditions specific to the practice of certain communities alone,
prevents the acknowledgement of the fact that these crimes are “extremely widespread in
India, across regions and communities”.10 At this juncture, we may refer to the case of
Nirupama Honour Killing, wherein in 2010, Nirupama, who was a student of journalism, was
8
J. L., Solotaroff and R.P. Pande, Violence against women and girls: Lessons from South Asia, WORLD BANK
PUBLICATIONS (Washington, DC, 2014).
9
C. Lynch, JUKI GIRLS, GOOD GIRLS: GENDER AND CULTURAL POLITICS IN SRI LANKA’S GLOBAL GARMENT
INDUSTRY (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 2007).
10
Nitya Rao, Marriage, Violence and Choice: Understanding Dalit Women’s Agency in Rural Tamil Nadu,
GENDER AND SOCIETY (Vol.29, No.3, June 2015).
killed by her family members in Jharkhand on mere grounds that she was planning to marry
her boyfriend who belonged to a different caste. Here, the Chairperson of India’s National
Commission of Women said that, “her murder did not count as an “honour” killing because
such killings were specific to the Indian state of Haryana where the “khap panchayats”
(community councils) exist.”11

The terms ‘Honour crimes’ and ‘Honour Killings’ are used to provide for generic expressions
to describe or refer to incidents of violence and harassment caused to the young people or
couples intending to marry or having married against the wishes of the community or family
members.12 Thus, they are more of a catch phrase than accurate terms.13 Further, as it was
held in the case of Bhagwan Dass v. State (NCT of Delhi) 14, “It is unjustified to call cold
bloodied murders of young people as honour killing”. Now, the Human Rights Watch defines
honour killing as, “honour crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male
family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought
dishonour upon the family”. Therefore, from the aforementioned discussion, it may be
inferred that there is always a question of honour attached to such crimes of honour killings,
wherein it is often believed by such families who undertake such measures that the death of
the perpetrators of their ‘customs and traditions’ would serve back and thus, revive their lost
‘honour’ in their respective communities. In some Indian communities where this practice is
prevalent, it is also believed that killing of a ‘daughter or son’ could be the supreme sacrifice
a family could make and therefore, the same is sufficient to render that family respectable and
honourable in their community once again and thus, such family would gain their previously
lost social honour and respect in their respective communities.15

11
Geetanjali Gangoli, Gender-Based Violence, Law, Justice and Health: Some Reflections, PUBLIC HEALTH
ETHICS (2020).
12
N. Aghtaie and G. Gangoli, Key issues: Researching gender-based violence, TAYLOR AND FRANCIS INC.
(2014).
13
J. L., Solotaroff and R.P. Pande, Violence against women and girls: Lessons from South Asia, WORLD BANK
PUBLICATIONS (Washington, DC, 2014).
14
Bhagwan Dass v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2011) 6 SCC 396.
15
Erin Robbins, How Do We Explain Honor Violence As a Function of Gender Norms and Identity?, THE
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (2016).
 4

STRUCTURAL AND THEORETICAL BASES OF THE

NOTION OF HONOUR IN MARRIAGES AND HONOUR
KILLINGS IN INDIA

Theory of Patriarchy

During the times of early human civilisation, human lives were short as they were not adept
to their surroundings and thus, to maintain a balance in the population, the high death rate
was balanced with a high birth rate. Consequently, around the world women limited
themselves to tasks that were associated with the home and child care, while men took other
tasks that required both greater speed and longer absences from the home. 16 As a result of the
same, the men became dominant. And thus, came into existence the patriarchal society. As
we have earlier discussed, in a patriarchal society there is prevalence of a pattern of social
evaluation based on the performance of the ‘prescribed roles’ by women in particular. The
idea or concept of 'honour' as the ‘apex’ of social values and the embodiment of societal
ideals provides for and sets the framework for a woman's social worth as it is constantly
assessed and sanctioned by family, neighbours, clan, caste, community, co-workers, etc. 17
Further, a woman’s conformity to normative roles which have been approved by the
patriarchal society “guarantees societal approval by conceding honour” whereas deviance
from the same “leads to isolation, social boycott, ostracization, even killing”. 18 In addition to
that, Patriarchy also imposes a double standard of morality for both men and women. Now,
with regard to women, “honour may be synonymous with ‘chastity’ or ‘virginity’, or in case
of a married woman, ‘fidelity’” (Kanchan, 2007).

16
Singh Satnam Deol, Honour Killings in Haryana State, India: A Content Analysis, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SCIENCE (2014).
17
Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Women’s Movement and Crimes concerning ‘Honour’ An Indian Experience, TATA
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (March, 2013).
18
Singh Satnam Deol, Honour Killings in Haryana State, India: A Content Analysis, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SCIENCE (2014).
Thus, with the passage of time, as the notion of patriarchy assumed recognition and
popularity in the society, “men began to associate women and their conduct with his pride or
honour” and this led to the men referring to women as their property reducing their existence
to that of mere ‘objects’ and their ‘sexual conduct’ became to be associated with the honour
and dishonour of men leading to such crimes under consideration of this project.

Dominant Caste System

A dominant caste is one which has a higher population in comparison to other castes in a
particular region or demographic area. “For instance, in the Mysore village, the peasant
Okkalinga composed of nearly half of the population made up of nineteenth jati group. The
Okkalinga were the biggest land owner. The chief criteria of domination of a caste are
economic strength, political power, ritual purity and numeric strength.”19 As we have seen
that such dominant caste owing to their greater number and certain other factors like higher
education and occupation rate, etc., over time, achieve an influence and grip over the
population belonging to other minority castle of a particular region and therefore, often are
recognised in that region or village as the upper-castes. Further, with their upper caste status
comes the wielding of economic and political power over other caste groups. Therefore, they
assume a position of dominance in a village with respect to matters relating to all spheres,
concerning all individuals of that particular area. They are also supported by the government
officials, police, etc. Thus, in such a situation, if a daughter of their family marries an
individual from a socially labelled ‘lower-caste’, then “in order to retain the existing caste
system and dominance of higher caste over lower caste, honour-based crimes creep into
society”.20

Khap Panchayats

Khap Panchayats are endogamous, clannish institutions, which are generally a ‘Jat’ body that
exists around Delhi, some parts of Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and the adjoining areas. 21
It is ‘gotra’ centric and these panchayats cover a cluster of villages dominated by a particular

19
Navratna Singh, Honour Killing, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (2012).
20
Sango Bidani, Honour Killing in India: An in-depth Study, EDITOR’S PICK SOCIETY (2010).
21
Kaushambi Kaushal, No Honour in Honour Killing: Comparative Analysis of Indian Traditional Social
Structure vis-à-vis Gender Violence, SAGE JOURNALS (Feb 6, 2020).
gotras of Jat.22 Also because all Khap members are considered tied by blood and a common
ancestry, various marital taboos have developed, including the prohibition of same village or
gotra marriages. Further, Marriages between villages belonging to different Khap are
likewise prohibited. Now, most of ‘honour crimes’ related to marriage including the ‘honour
killigs’ are often decided upon and ordered by the by the Khap Panchayats. These are
assemblies gathered on castle lines and they assume “to themselves the power and authority
to declare on and deal with objectionable matrimonies and exhibit least regard for life and
liberty and are not deferred by the processes of administration of justice”. 23 If any family
under such Khaps do not follow their decision, then such family is subjected to repeated
taunts, making its existence unbearable and as a result, this drives some of its members to
“commit murder to restore family Honour” (Choudhary, 2011, August 20).

Apart from the aforementioned, there are several other reasons based upon which family
members undertake the assistance of ‘honour crimes’ or ‘honour killings’ to resuscitate their
lost ‘honour’ in their respective societies like the retrograde and primitive societal and
individual mentality prevalent in some parts of India mostly rural, lack of governance and
state intervention, relatively higher rates of illiteracy, uneven sex ration, etc.

LEGAL PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO ‘MARRIAGE

RELATED HONOUR CRIMES’ AND ‘HONOUR KILLINGS’
IN INDIA

Although ‘honour crimes’ inclusive of ‘honour killings’ are prevalent in India at a high rate,
India lacks a specific and separate law which governs and thus seeks to deter and punish the
same. However, several existing laws and legislatures, to somewhat extent have the
provisions to punish such ‘marriage related honour crimes’. These are mentioned, in brief, as
follows:

22
Navratna Singh, Honour Killing, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (2012).
23
P. K. Rana and B.P. Mishra, Honour Killing: A gross violation of human rights its challenges,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL INVENTIONS (2013).
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Sections 299-304 provide for offences affecting the human body. Further, Section 300 and
302 of the Penal Code, 1860 specifically provides for the definition of murder and
punishment for murder respectively and these may be specifically related to honour killings
to punish the offenders. As sections 300 and 302 provide for the provisions related to murder,
it may be argued that to relate “Honour killing with Section 300 and 302 of the Indian Penal
Code, 186024 it has to be seen whether a killing is based on honour or not”. 25 In general,
honour killings are pre-planned, premeditated murders well executed with the aid of family
members, society members or even at times with the aid of police officers. Therefore, it
would not be faulty to contend that every ‘honour killing’ falls within the ambit of Sections
300 and 302 as well as other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The Constitution of India

If we consider the fundamental rights provided under the Constitution of India, we find that
multiple of them are violated in some way or the other when such crimes based on ‘honour’
in marriages are committed against individuals. It causes the violation of Articles 14, 15(1),
15(3), 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.26 These honour crimes based on marriages often
violate the provisions enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India as they deny an
individual the liberty and freedom of choice in terms of her life partner or spouse which falls
within the ambit of Right to Life. Further, Khap Panchayats also violate a person’s Right to
Life when they pass orders to kill or instigate murder, in the name of honour.27

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

The Act in consideration was enacted by the Parliamnet of India to “prevent the commission
of offences of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes,…, for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of such offences and for matters

24
The Indian Penal Code, 1860, No. 45, Acts of Parliaments (India, 1860).
25
Gulafroz Jan and Khazin Munir, Honour killing: a socio-legal analysis with special reference to district
Srinagar of J&K, SOCIOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL (August 22, 2018).
26
The Constitution of India (1950).
27
Puneet Kaur Grewal, Honour Killings and Law in India, IOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL
SCIENCE (2012).
connected therewith or incidental thereto”.28 Thus, as we know numerous cases of ‘honour
killings’ are concerned with the upper-caste individuals marrying lower caste individuals
against their families’ or society’s wishes. And as in such cases the honour crimes are related
to caste and religion, the provisions of this particular act are attracted.

The Special Marriage Act, 1954

This act was enacted by the Indian Parliament to “provide a special form of marriage in
certain cases, for the registration of such and certain other marriages and for divorce.” Thus,
it provides the liberty to any two consenting adults, of India and all Indians residing in
foreign countries, to marry irrespective of their castle, religions, faith and other factors which
most communities or families that engage in marriage-based honour crimes follow and thus,
such acts of crime also violate the provisions as well as the objective of this act under
consideration.

In addition to the aforementioned Acts and legislatures, crimes related to the notion of
‘honour’ in marriages in India also violate to varying degrees several other acts like The
Indian Majority Act, 1857, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005,
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 to name a few.

JUDICIAL APPROACH TO ‘HONOUR-BASED’ CRIMES

RELATED TO MARRIAGE

Throughout its judgements, the Supreme Court has time and again emphasised that the “right
to exercise one’s choice is an inalienable part of an individual’s liberty and dignity.” 29 Thus,
we the same is violated and ignored in the name of the so-called ‘honour of the family’ and
the individual’s liberty, choices and physical and mental well-being is treated with indignity,
it adversely affects the entire Indian society as a whole.
28
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, No. 33, Acts of Parliament
(India, 1989).
29
Yogesh Dharangutti and Rhea Bazaz, Prevention Of Honor-Killings Via The Special Marriage Act, JOURNAL
OF POSITIVE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY (Vol.6, No.3, 2022).
Shakti Vahini v. Union of India

In this landmark judgement, then Chief-Justice of India Dipak Mishra reiterated the
following, ““Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense consists in the ability to choose.”
When the ability to choose is crushed in the name of class honour and the person’s physical
frame is treated with absolute indignity, a chilling effect dominates over the brains and bones
of the society at large.”30 In this landmark judgement the Supreme Court further directed the
“the respondents- State Governments and the Central Government to take preventive steps to
combat honour crimes, to submit a National Plan of Action and State Plan of Action to curb
crimes of the said nature and further to direct the State Governments to constitute special
cells in each district which can be approached by the couples for their safety and well-
being”.31 Therefore, it is evident that the same was a definitive step which was adopted and
asserted by the Indian Judiciary to prevent and deter the marriage related ‘honour crimes’.

Bhagwan Das v. State (NCT of Delhi)

In the instant case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held the following, “In our opinion honour
killings, for whatever reason, come within the category of rarest of rare cases deserving death
punishment. It is time to stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our
nation. This is necessary as a deterrent for such outrageous, uncivilized behaviour. All
persons who are planning to perpetrate `honour' killings should know that the gallows await
them.” This was particularly hailed as a landmark judgement as far as marriage-related
honour crimes including honour killings are concerned. This case had a significant impact on
the attitude of the judiciary towards the violent notion of honour in marriages, as, it was seen
from the newspaper reports that “almost all the accused in the so-called honour killing
murder cases were sentenced to death by the Sessions Courts in U.P. and Delhi”.32

30
Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, (2018) 7 SCC 192.
31
Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, (2018) 7 SCC 192.
32
Gulafroz Jan and Khazin Munir, Honour killing: a socio-legal analysis with special reference to district
Srinagar of J&K, SOCIOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL (August 22, 2018).
 7

CASE STUDY

Shankar Murder Case- Justice Denied?

As the Madras High Court pronounced its judgment on the case of Chinnasamy and ors. v.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Udumalpet Sub Division, Udumalpet, the same has
become a source of serious controversy. In this case, Kausalya struggle for justice for her
murdered husband Shankar. They were victims of of what is incorrectly termed as "honour
killing".33

Facts: Kausalya, belonging to an OBC community and Shankar, belonging to a scheduled

caste eloped on July 12, 2015 after she was threatened by her parents to end their
relationship. Later, on June 23, 2015, her family abducted her, subjected her to black magic
rites, and again threatened and abused her. She was only rescued after three days when
Shankar filed a police report and thereafter, returned to her marital home. Then, a year later,
while waiting for a bus on a public road in Udumalpet in Tirupur district, they were attacked
and consequently, Shanker was “hacked to death” and Kausalya barely managed to survive.
In December 2017, the trial court held that the incident was the result of a conspiracy led by
her father, Chinnasamy, who hired killers to conduct the murderous attack on both of the
victims. It was argued by Kausalya that her father planned and desired to kill them both as
she married a “Dalit” and brought “dishonour to her family”. All the evidence was against
the father and the co-accused and eventually, the father and the others involved confessed as
well. The trial court held her father and five others guilty of conspiracy and murder under
certain Sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989 and were sentenced to death. Two others were sentenced to life imprisonment. Also, her
mother and three others were exonerated. However, the State and the convicts appealed
against the order and the same was brought for adjudication by the concerned High Court.

Judgement: Extraordinarily, the High Court, in its decision on 22 June, 2020, acquitted her
father of all charges on the basis that he was “roped” in on these offences and it held that

33
Brinda Karat, For One Of India's Most Brazen “Honour Killings”, Justice Denied, NDTV (Jun 26, 2020),
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/for-one-of-indias-most-brazen-honour-killings-justice-denied-2252889.
there was no conspiracy involved and there was no involvement of the castle factor. The High
Court did not consider the aspect of motive. And the others who were sentenced to murder by
the Sessions Court were given reduced sentences of life imprisonment. The High Court also
upheld the decision by the Sessions Court to exonerate her mother and others. The Court
mainly relied upon the ‘evidence’ at hand. It considered the facts that after Kausalya returned
to her marital home post-abduction by her parents, she withdrew her complaints to the police
including the one that involved the issue of her abduction, returned the jewellery as asked by
her parents and tried to maintain the peace between the two families. On the basis of the
same, the High Court presumed that the matter between them was “settled” and “that there
were no ill-feelings harboured by the parents against their daughter”34.

Observations/ Analysis: It is a well-known fact that individuals especially daughters

involved in such situations often try to compromise as much as possible from their side to
maintain the peace. Therefore, the actions of Kausalya post-abduction could be understood as
a compromise on her part to not take any revenge on her parents and live in peace. It would
not be judicious if the same are incorporated as evidence to prove the absence of motive on
her parents’ part. While adjudicating upon such cases, it is pertinent to keep in consideration,
the appreciable power of the caste system among certain sections of the society and how such
caste-based disputes provide for the commission of the most despicable of crimes by
individuals belonging to certain sections of such casteist society especially when a girl
belonging to an upper caste marries or offers to marry a person belonging to a lower caste.
Ignorance of the same would lead to an inability to comprehend the relevant “chain of
circumstances” and also, render useless the relevant “proof” of crime which may be deduced
on the basis of the abridged ‘honour’ of the family through marriage. In the absence of such
considerations, it is probable that the same would, more often than not, lead to denial of
justice to the deserving victims. Kausalya, now, pledges to not rest until her husband gets the
justice he deserves and she plans to appeal the matter before the Supreme Court of India.

34
Brinda Karat, For One Of India's Most Brazen “Honour Killings”, Justice Denied, NDTV (Jun 26, 2020),
https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/for-one-of-indias-most-brazen-honour-killings-justice-denied-2252889.
 8

CONCLUSION

The notion of ‘honour-based crimes’ especially honour killings are not confined to the
cultures, sub-cultures and communities of the Indian society only, the same has a diverse and
widespread practice. It is the duty of the Country, the government, the Judiciary and also the
people of the country to change this retrograde notion of attaching honour to the institution of
marriage. Marriage is a private institution between two consenting adults and no other
individual has the right to interfere in the same. The Constitution of India itself provides for
several rights which can be interpreted to include the prospect of the allotments and
availability of individual liberty of an individual to choose their own life partners. As we
have discussed earlier that India, in recent times, has seen a rise in the number of such
marriage related honour crimes including honour killings. This calls for immediate action and
there is a need to protect the human rights of women by avoiding the Honour Killings. One
preferred manner of achieving the same efficiently would be by creating an evident and
specific law which would cater to matter regarding such violent exercise o the idea of honour
especially with respect to marriages. Presently, India does not have any specific laws which
would protect women from the commission of such heinous and despicable crimes against
them which violate their liberty, freedom and dignity. It is pertinent to mention here that not
only the legal system needs an upgrade with respect to marriage related honour crimes
against women, the mindset and ideologies of the primitive Indian society and families must
also change to reduce such discrimination against women and then only there remains the
possibility that we may one day witness a society where there is no concept of ‘honour’
connected with the right to marry of women.
 9

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