Authored By: Krishna Jaiswal
New Law College, Pune
ABTRACT
Honour killings in India are a serious social and legal problem that crushes individual freedom in the name of tradition and family honour. This article focuses on understanding that honour killings are not merely personal or family disputes, but rather a result of deeply rooted caste systems, patriarchy, and community control. In Indian society, women, in particular, are considered symbols of family honour, leading to their personal choices, such as love marriages, inter-caste, or inter-religious relationships being perceived as violations of societal norms. When these norms are violated, violence is justified in the name of “honour.”
This article explains the difference between honour killing and honour crime and highlights how the scope of honour crimes is not limited to murder but extends to threats, social boycott, forced marriage, and physical abuse. Using NCRB data, it also highlights that honour killings are heavily underreported in India, with family involvement, community pressure, and police inaction being major contributing factors. The article also analyses the judicial approach, particularly landmark Supreme Court judgments such as Lata Singh v. State of UP and Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, where the court clearly protected individual choice and the right to marry under Article 21 and declared the actions of khap panchayats (caste councils) illegal.
Furthermore, the article argues that the lack of a specific law for honour killings in India means that existing criminal laws fail to adequately address the social and collective nature of this problem. Despite the government’s preventive and remedial steps, the absence of comprehensive special legislation remains a significant gap. The article concludes by emphasising that honour killings are not merely a law enforcement issue but also a societal failure, and tackling it requires not only legal reform but also a fundamental change in social mindset.
INTRODUCTION
“Honour killing” and “Honour crime” are two broad categories of actions taken “to protect honour”. The “Honour crime” includes harassment, social boycott, threats, forced confinement, forced marriage, emotional or physical abuse, and attacks on couples. “Honour Killing” refers to the heinous act of murdering an individual who is believed to have brought shame or dishonour upon a family or community by defying(not following) its rigid social or cultural norms and rules, and is often viewed as a justified manner to safeguard the reputation of the family or community as a whole. It has many sociological theories as to why this happens; the most common are the patriarchal theory, Community Control Theory, and Purity-Pollution theory. This article will be more focused on honour killings.
GLOBAL DEFINITIONS
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defined it as “Killings committed against individuals, primarily of females by family members who believe that the victim has brought shame or dishonour upon the family”The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) defined its as “Honour killings are acts of murder in which a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behaviour, which is deemed to have brought shame or dishonour upon the family.”
REASONS TRIGGERING HONOUR CRIME
The caste system has historically directed whom one can associate with, marry, or even socially interact with. Endogamy (marriage within the same caste or subgroup) was enforced to maintain caste purity. When young people violated these unwritten rules by choosing partners outside their caste, family or caste groups viewed this as an attack on their social identity.
Patriarchy further strengthened these norms. Women were treated as bearers of family honour, and their choices in clothes, friendships, mobility, and relationships were constantly monitored. Men were expected to “protect” their family’s honour through control, and in extreme cases, through violence and further murder. This combination of caste and patriarchy created the perfect environment for honour killings to flourish as a plant in society.
One of the most common reasons is inter-caste marriage in India, where couples violate societal expectations of marrying within the caste hierarchies. An example is the Manoj-Babli honour killing case (2007), where a young couple from Haryana was murdered on the orders of a Khap panchayat (local caste-based council) head for marrying within the same gotra, a practice deemed unacceptable in their community.
Similarly, when it comes to inter-religious relationships, families often see love across faiths as a threat to their beliefs and traditions. Even after the case Lata Singh vs. State of Uttar Pradesh(2006) Where the Supreme Court recognised the right of individuals to marry a person of their choice, even in inter-caste marriages, as a part of their personal liberty (Article 21), there have been reported cases of honour killing in inter-religious marriages. In the name of protecting their religion or preserving their community’s purity, they justify violence, believing it safeguards their honour from what they perceive as cultural betrayal.
In most instances throughout India, Inter-Caste or Inter-Religious marriages aren’t always the cause of “Honour Killings”; sometimes, merely marrying without parental consent is enough to instigate violence. In extremely patriarchal community- oriented societies, marriage is not merely a personal choice; it’s a family honour, reputation, and control issue. When a daughter or son marries on their own terms, particularly in a love marriage, it is typically regarded as disobedience or shame, irrespective of whether the union is from the same caste or religion. Families, particularly in conservative rural areas, will feel that their status has been violated in public opinion and respond with harmful behaviour to restore their social status. This strict mentality, grounded in notions of obedience, dominion over women’s freedom, and communal approval, frequently makes love a crime, and the lovers themselves the victims. According to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) records, 28 honour killings were reported in 2014, which then spiked to 251 in 2015, before settling at 77 in 2016. Academic research shows many of these were triggered not by caste or religion, but by simple love marriages without family approval.
The threat extends beyond marriage as well; girls suspected of premarital relationships, often based on mere rumours or fabricated stories, have been brutally punished.
In some conservative communities, even using mobile phones or wearing Western clothes is perceived as dishonourable, exposing young women to threats or violence from their own kin.
These acts reveal that honour killings are not spontaneous or impulsive; they are the result of deeply patriarchal and conservative social codes, especially those of women.
However, honour crimes are not limited to villages. Metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad have also witnessed cases where families killed or attacked their children for choosing partners across caste, religion, or class. Urbanisation has created more opportunities for young people to meet independently, but it has also led to intense backlash from conservative families.
LEGAL GAP: LACK OF SPECIFIC LAW
There is still neither a specific definition of what “Honour Killing” is nor particular statutes or legal principles to regulate this act. These crimes are often committed by one’s own family in the name of protecting pride or reputation and are treated just like any other murder under Section 103 (Murder), 109 (attempt to murder), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 3(6)(7) (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or under section 302 (punishment for Murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 102(B) (criminal conspiracy), 35-36 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) The Indian Penal Code, 1860, are used to prosecute the offenders.
The ‘Law Commission of India (2012)’ tried to prevent the obstacles for a person’s freedom to choose their partner in the name of tradition and family honour in its 242nd Report. “It proposed a draft bill named ‘Prevention of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances (in the name of Honour and Tradition) A Suggested Legal Framework,’ to counter the threat of Honour Killings and other violent crimes against couples who choose their life partners, but was never adopted.
In Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, (2018) case, the Supreme Court constituted infringement of fundamental rights under Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 19(1)(a) (to freedom of speech and expression) and Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Indian Constitution. “right to marry person of one’s choice , ‘Honour Killing’ and other forms of honour crimes inflicted on young couple/families by Khap Panchayat, freedom to marry ,illegality of honour crimes ,illegality of actions of Khap Panchayats and duty of courts and all authorities concerned to protect young couple/families from such illegality”. Right to marry “consent of family or community or clan not necessary when two adults agree to enter into a wedlock, rule of law that only formal institution under law deals with such situations”. “Khap Panchayat or any panchayat of any nomenclature cannot create a dent in exercise of human rights, protected by ‘rule of law’ which as a concept is meant to have order in a society, elder of family or clan can never be allowed to proclaim verdict guided by some notion of passion and eliminate life of young who have exercised their choice to get married against wishes of their elders or contrary to customary practice of clan.”
DATA AND STATISTICS
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started recording honour killings-related crimes separately only after 2014. Even being recorded separately, there was massive underreporting, like 28 recorded cases in 2014, 251 cases in 2015, 77 cases in 2016, 25 cases in 2020, 33 cases in 2021, and 18 cases in 2022. These numbers solely indicate the honour killing crime officially recorded in India, amongst these, Jharkhand (16), Punjab(16), and Madhya Pradesh(14) have the highest number of honour killing related cases in 2020,2021,2022 collectively. But activists estimate hundreds of unreported cases annually, and the reasons for the same are multiple, like Families destroy evidence, Police record it as normal murder under section 302 of IPC, Community pressure stops investigation, Victims often belong to rural or marginalised areas, Perpetrators are family members, so, less chance of complaint. These may not be the only reasons for not getting the crimes recorded, but they can also be something else.
RESPONSE BY THE GOVERNMENT
‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens, including investigation and prosecution of crime, rests with the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. State Governments/UT Administrations are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws. However, Government of India has been taking several steps to tackle crime against women including crime of honour killings, which are as follows:- (i)In pursuance of Supreme Court’s judgement dated 27-03-2018 in W.P. (C) No.231 of 2010, Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a comprehensive advisory on 31st May, 2018 to all State Governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrations to take/ implement preventive, remedial and punitive measures to address the issues relating to ‘honour crimes’. Preventive steps inter alia include identification of districts, sub-districts and villages having reported instances of honour killing, etc. in the last five years, sensitisation of police officers to be vigilant in this regard, timely and prior reporting of such gatherings to senior officers, etc. Remedial measures inter-alia, include immediate registration of FIRs, effective investigation of the crime and provision of security to the couple/family. Punitive measures inter alia include initiation of departmental/disciplinary action against erring police officials and trial of the cases before the designated Court/ Fast Track Court earmarked for the purpose.
CONCLUSION
Honour killings are brutal crimes disguised in the guise of tradition, culture, and honour. They are a reflection of a society where family honour is more important than the rights of an individual, especially for women and their freedom and independence. An Inter-caste marriage, an inter-religion marriage, or even a marriage without the consent of parents, these are all done to “regain honour” that never existed in the first place.
Despite constitutional protections under Articles 14(Right to Equality), Article 19(1)(a) (to freedom of speech and expression), and Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty), and forward-looking judgements such as Shakti Vahini v. Union of India (2018), there is no special honour killing law in India. “Honour killings” are dealt with under regular criminal statutes, not encompassing the social motive and community participation behind them. The Law Commission’s interim scheme (2012) to check it is still pending. It is a fact that honour killings are not private tragedies but a consequence of the failure of law, of society, and culture. There is a need for special laws that not only penalise the offence but also touch upon the collective role of the family, khap panchayats, and societal pressure in the offence. Ultimately, no tradition or belief system should ever be allowed to stifle love or stifle human freedom. Honour does not rule as a society, but in respect, compassion, and acceptance of choice.
