CHENNAI: More than a decade has passed, but the pain is still fresh in the mind of Jothi Basu, the brother of Amirthavalli who was killed for ‘honour’ along with her husband Palaniyappan and their 40-day-old baby.
Deposing before the Justice K N Basha Commission, constituted last year to draft a special law to curb ‘honour killings’ in the state, on the 2014 incident in Tiruvarur, Jothi Basu’s eyes welled up when he said, “They slammed the 40-day-old baby on the floor and threw my sister in the river, questioning how she could fall in love with a farmhand employed by them.”
He also told the commission the attackers were acquitted in the case and that the family is yet to receive employment assistance under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Basu’s is among the many voices of survivors and kin of victims of ‘honour killings’ from across Tamil Nadu heard by the commission chaired by Justice K N Basha (retd), with retired IAS officer Dr V Palanikumar and ex-IPS officer S Ramanathan as members, during its special sitting organised by Madurai-based NGO Evidence in Chennai on Thursday.
The Tiruvarur incident apart, testimonies were recorded in 20 cases, including those of Udumalaipet’s Kausalya and Gokulraj of Salem. Evidence placed over 800 pages of legal documents before the panel.
Meanwhile, witnesses also exposed a critical legal gap affecting religious minorities. The brother of Deva Jesi Priya, a Christian Dalit woman found dead in her marital home in Villupuram after months of alleged torture, said as Dalit Christians are not classified as Scheduled Castes, the SC/ST Act’s protection does not apply to them, leaving such families without recourse.
A Vincentraj, aka Kathir, founder of Evidence, told the commission while the government had officially recorded only four ‘honour’ killings between 2017 and 2025, his organisation had documented 65.
“Investigating officers handle up to 145 cases a year against the international standard of 18 to 23, leaving nearly 7,500 SC/ST cases pending trial across Tamil Nadu,” he said. He urged the commission to recommend a separate law against honour killings, a ban on caste-based organisations that incite violence, and immediate rehabilitation measures.
The commission has invited suggestions from legal experts, activists, NGOs, political parties, and the public at hkcommission2025@gmail.com or in person at its office at CMDA Tower II, Egmore. The hearings will continue on Friday.
