NEW DELHI: To protect the rights of couples marrying outside their caste, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that no Khap panchayat or society can question them if an adult man and woman opt for inter-caste marriage.Khaps are caste or community bodies in villages which at times act as quasi-judicial bodies and pronounce harsh punishments based on regressive and age-old customs and traditions.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, “What we are concerned with is that if an adult woman or man gets into marriage, no ‘Khap’, no individual or no society can question them. Whenever there is any kind of collective attack on a boy or girl who are adults it is absolutely illegal.”
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand said that the Centre was serious about the dignity of the citizens and if adults take their own marital decisions then there was no question of illegality.
The ASG said that the government has already come out with the 2015 Bill which has been introduced in the Lok Sabha and in which responses of states are still awaited.
The court asked the Centre to give its response on suggestions earlier given by amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran on ways to prevent harassment and killing of young couples in the name of family honour in inter-caste marriages.The amicus submitted that the Law Commission had recommended enacting a law to protect such couples, but the government is lethargically taking views of the state governments.
The bench added that if the Centre does not do anything to ban such panchayats then it would have to step in and slated the hearing for February 5.
The SC had earlier sought suggestions from an NGO ‘Shakti Vahini’, amicus curiae and ‘Khap Panchayats’ on the issue.The NGO had approached the court in 2010 seeking directions to the central and state governments to prevent and control honour crimes by taking measures.Earlier, the apex court had invited ‘Khap Panchayats’ to hear their views before issuing any order to stop them from harassing and killing couples and women in the name of honour.