Government Officials will be held responsible for Honour Killings

19 April  2011/ PTI News

In CRIMINAL APPEAL NO._958__of 2011  Arumugam Servai Vs  State of Tamil Nadu  ( Respondent) The Bench of Justice Markandey  Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra  has passed a order on the Honour Killings being reported across India. The bench stated that    in   recent   years    `Khap   Panchayats’   (known   as  katta panchayats in Tamil Nadu) which often decree or encourage honour killings or other atrocities in an institutionalized way  on boys and girls of different castes and religion, who wish to get married or have been married, or interfere with the personal lives of people.    We   are   of   the   opinion   that   this   is   wholly  illegal   and   has   to   be   ruthlessly stamped   out.   As  already   stated   in  Lata   Singh’s  case   (supra),   there   is  nothing honourable in honour killing or other atrocities and, in fact, it is nothing but barbaric and shameful murder. Other atrocities in respect of personal lives of people committed by brutal, feudal minded persons deserve harsh punishment.  Only in this way can we stamp out such acts of barbarism and feudal mentality.  Moreover, these acts take the law into their own hands, and amount to kangaroo courts, which are wholly illegal.

Hence,   we   direct   the   administrative   and   police   officials to   take   strong measures   to   prevent   such   atrocious  acts. If   any   such   incidents   happen,   apart   from instituting criminal proceedings against those responsible for such atrocities, the State Government is directed to immediately suspend the District Magistrate/Collector and SSP/SPs of the district as well as other officials concerned and chargesheet them and proceed against  them departmentally if they do not (1) prevent  the incident  if it has not   already   occurred   but  they  have   knowledge   of   it   in   advance,   or   (2)   if   it   has occurred,   they   do   not   promptly   apprehend   the   culprits  and   others   involved   and institute criminal proceedings against them, as in our opinion they will be deemed to
be directly or indirectly accountable in this connection.

Copy   of   this   judgment   shall   be   sent   to   all Chief Secretaries,   Home Secretaries and Director Generals of Police in all States and Union Territories of India with the direction that it should be circulated to all officers up to the level of District Magistrates   and   S.S.P./S.P.   for   strict   compliance.   Copy   will   also   be   sent   to   the Registrar  Generals/Registrars  of all High Courts  who will  circulate it to all Hon’ble Judges of the Court.

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