..gallows await them

May 9 and May 13, 2011 and I was waiting if there comes another day in this month... But it didn’t.

The two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra reiterated in the both dates the common but unusual statement, “…gallows await them”.

Will not say today that they were threatening but yes! they were not in agreement with my teacher, who gives the example of pick pocketing to make us understand: Deterrence is not an effective principle in criminal law jurisprudence. When the Supreme Court has shown a declining tendency to impose death sentence, averring it should be granted in the rarest of rare case, this Bench's threat to impose the sentence is not only diverging but perplexing.

“The encounter philosophy is a criminal philosophy… Trigger-happy policemen who think they can kill people in the name of encounter and get away with it should know that the gallows await them.”

May 13, 2011

“All persons who are planning to perpetrate honour killings should know that the gallows await them.”

May 09, 2011

We will not deal today the matters of ‘fake encounter’ and go straight to ‘honour killing’. Here is a fact! There was the murder of Seema, a girl in 2006, who had left her husband and was living with an uncle. Her father, Bhagwan Das was annoyed with his daughter for having, in his opinion, an “incestuous relationship”. So, he strangulated her with an electric wire. The trial court convicted him, which was further upheld by the High Court. And now the Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

The Bench while upholding the life sentence of a man for killing his daughter as she had “dishonoured” the family held that honour killings came within the rarest of rare cases deserving the death penalty. The court termed it as barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our nation and death penalty is necessary as a deterrent for such outrageous, uncivilised behaviour.

Photo courtesy: www.honourkilling.in

It referred to Lata Singh vs State of UP and Anr and quoted that there is nothing honourable in honour killing or other atrocities and “honour killings” were nothing but “barbaric and brutal murders by bigoted persons with feudal minds”. The Bench also busted on the khap panchayats (caste councils) for encouraging honour killings or other atrocities in an institutionalised way.

The court didn’t pass a general comment but casted duties on the administrative officers. It was ordered that if any such incidents(honour killing) 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 [senior superintendents of police/superintendents of police] of the district as well as other officials concerned and charge-sheet 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.

Photo courtesy: newsleaks.in

The court tried hard to check the crime by making offices liable and deter people by repeating the word gallow. But India remained India and the false honour remained sacrosanct as before. What we are today impressing upon is the deterrent principle doesn’t work in reality. Despite the pronouncements of the Supreme Court, honour crimes didn’t end. Today, IBN Live reports the killing of Sharda Prasad Tiwari, and his wife Shobha Tiwari, in their Harsh Vihar residence in east Delhi by Sonu, whose sister was eloped with the elder son of the murdered couple. Few days back on May 14 there were news reports of two mothers in Baghpat district, western Uttar Pradesh, strangling their daughters who had dared to elope and marry men belonging to a different religion.

More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honour Killings'.

Yes! We may demand with the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) for a separate legislation to deal with, punish and prevent these crimes or the court may pass deterrent orders but the society will remain as it is, unless there is a change in mind set, change in attitude, change in behavior and change in outlook.

Violence is not our culture… Murder is not our custom… and let us understand it.