Karnataka governor grants assent to law to prevent ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages

The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system—an amalgamation of all castes—used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.

The Act prescribes punishments for discrimination against individuals on the basis of caste in inter-caste marriages of adults and also puts the onus on the state to identify instances where honour and tradition are used to impede inter-caste marriages and to provide shelters for couples facing threats over mixed marriages.

‘Violate fundamental rights’

“The persistence of caste-based discrimination in Karnataka continues to manifest in brutal forms of violence, including honour killings, particularly against young adults who exercise their constitutional right to choose their life partners through inter-caste marriages,” says the statement of objects and reasons in the law.

The law states that offences like murder, assault, and criminal intimidation in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, “do not adequately address the specific social motive of preserving perceived ‘caste honour’ or the wide range of coercive practices employed from performing death rituals (thithi) for living daughters, denying lawful inheritance rights, social ostracism, to insidious attempts at causing harm through poisoning or other covert means.”

“Such acts not only violate fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India but also undermine the vision of social reformers like Sree Basavanna and Dr B R Ambedkar, who advocated inter-caste marriages as a means to eradicate caste hierarchy,” it adds.

The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.

In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.

The law proposes a three to five year imprisonment for persons involved in intimidating and threatening inter-caste couples, while those who are part of groups that intimidate couples can face a term of six months to five years in prison.

The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.

In the shadow of 3 deaths

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had indicated on January 3, 2026, that the state would bring a bill to prevent ‘honour killings’ in the wake of the December 21, 2025, murder of a 20-year-old woman allegedly by her father and his relatives near Hubli.

The incident took place seven months after Manya Doddamani’s family opposed her wedding. Her father and two relatives allegedly attacked her when she was working on a field at Inam Veerapur village in Dharwad district, near Hubli. The victim hailed from the Lingayat community while her husband was from a Scheduled Caste community.

The murder was among the three cases of killings reported in Karnataka in 2025 over inter-caste marriages. In April 2025, a 17-year-old from the OBC Kuruba community was allegedly killed by her father at Raichur after she eloped with a boy from an SC community. In September 2025, 18-year old Kavita, from the Lingayat community, was allegedly killed by her father over her relationship with a boy from the OBC Kuruba community.

The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.