My duty is to ensure that laws adopted by Parliament are obeyed and enforced.

“Whoever is the cause of the crime, an individual or a collective, must be punished. My duty is to ensure that laws adopted by Parliament are obeyed and enforced. Once the law is made, it must be enforced. Those involved must be punished,” 

Without directly naming the Khap panchayat’s (village councils) that generally approve honour killings, the Union minister said the proposed law would define honour killings and take within its sweep cases of forcing women to strip in public and expelling people from villages.

“Acts which are humiliating will be punished with severity.”

He added that such cases bring ‘dishonour to the families, the community and the country’.

Mostly village councils in rural India, particularly in northern states, award death sentence to couples or even their entire families in they go for same caste or clan marriages.

A Group of Ministers (GoM0 has already been set up by the Cabinet to consider a draft bill.

“I am confident that the GoM will give its report shortly and my intention is to introduce the bill in this session itself,” Chidambaram said.

Whether the new law would be a stand-alone one or would the Indian Penal Code or the Criminal Procedure Code be amended would be debated by the Union Cabinet, he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, expressing concern at the growing menace of honour killings, said, “It is a dehumanising process and we have to take it very seriously.”

Centre to spend Rs 15,000 cr for infrastructure in courts

"The Cabinet note on the issue is ready. The programme upon approval would be implemented over a period of four years," Moily said at a conference of advocates and human rights delegates on the theme "Law as an instrument of Economic and Social Change" here


Government was contemplating setting up five regional consultative centres to prepare faculty and improve curriculum in legal education in Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Goa, he said, adding, it was also working on a plan with the Chief Justice of India to ensure that the delay in disposal of cases does not exceed beyond three years. 

Fourteen National Law School of Universities would be added to as many existing in the country in the coming years, he said. 

In the wake of increase in the number of honour killings in parts of the country, Moily said a bill to prevent such crimes was in the offing and being drafted.

Honour killings can't be justified

Issuing a strong warning against "honour killings", Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said these killings could not be justified but said the government is ready to listen to the demands of khap panchayats (caste councils).
"Each one has got his own opinion. We recognise personal laws in this country. I can definitely look at it, if someone petitions me from the khaps. But that doesn't justify honour killings," Moily told CNN-IBN news channel.

The government will bring a new law on honour killings, he said.

"The bill is now with the home ministry. Five clauses will be added to Section 300 (of the Indian Penal Code). The Indian Evidence Act will be amended to shift burden of proof to the accused and we will amend the Special Marriage Act to take away the 30 days notice period to get married," Moily said.

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No one has any right to take another’s life. Supporting “honour killing” is like supporting the action of Taliban. These are heinous acts and the perpetrators must be strongly punished to stop such killings. Unfortunately in India the punishment is not as strong as USA. Our judiciary still orders two thousand rupees fine for causing rioting, burning houses in the name of religion. It is the duty of the government to ensure the safety of any individual whose life is in peril from such Talibans in India.