Explained: The Rajasthan honour killing Bill, why Governor has returned it

“In a number of cases, such bodies have resorted to incitement of violence and such newly-married couple or persons desirous of getting married have been subjected to intimidation and violence which has also resulted into their being hounded out of their homes and sometimes even murdered,” he had said, noting that although such violence is an offence under the Indian Penal Code, “it is necessary to prevent assemblies which take place to condemn such alliances as also to punish such acts of violence and criminal intimidation severely,” the statement said.

What were its provisions?

The Bill had defined unlawful assembly, endangerment of liberty, and criminal intimidation to prevent such acts, with all offences being cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.

It had defined unlawful assembly as “intention to deliberate on, or condemning any marriage, not prohibited by law, on the basis that such marriage has dishonoured the caste or community tradition or brought disrepute to all or any of the persons forming part of the assembly or the family or the people of the locality concerned.”

Endangerment of liberty was defined as when persons “counsel, exhort or bring pressure openly or otherwise upon any person or persons to prevent or disapprove of the marriage.”

“Assemble”, “congregate” or “gather” had included acting in concert through the use of any technological means or medium, since such proposed actions are propagated on social media. The Bill had also aimed to hold accountable those who indulge in ostracisation of such a couple or their family, which had included pressuring them to leave the village or dispossessing them of their land or property or imposing a fine on them.

The proposed Bill had also directed the DM or the SDM concerned to take preventive measures, including prohibiting such unlawful assemblies.

What were the penalties in the Bill?

Members of an unlawful assembly as defined in the Bill were to be punished with imprisonment between six months and five years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh. Endangering liberty of such a couple or their supporters by “generating an environment of hostility” were to be punished with two to five years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh. The Bill had also proposed punishment up to seven years for criminal intimidation.

For causing “simple hurt” in such a case, the punishment was three-to-five-year imprisonment and fine up to Rs 2 lakh. For causing “grievous hurt,” the punishment was a minimum of ten years imprisonment, which may be extended to life imprisonment, as well as fine up to Rs 3 lakh.

And for causing death of such a couple, or either of them, the convict may be punished “with death, imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life,” and with fine up to Rs 5 lakh.

Why has the Governor returned the Bill?

In its grounds, the Bhajan Lal Sharma government said that the 2019 Bill deals with certain Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that have been repealed. Additionally, the government said that Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, is sufficient to deal with honour killing; as per BNS section 103, murder is punishable by death or imprisonment for life as well as a fine.

Does such a law exist anywhere else in the country?

Currently, there is no such law in any state. Recently, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has also proposed a law that will tackle “honour killings” as a specific category of crime, besides protecting the freedom of choice in marriage. The Bill is currently in the drafting stage.

In December last year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had announced the formation of a commission to recommend legal and policy measures to prevent honour killings in the state.

In 2011, the draft Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill was proposed by the Law Commission of India but it was never enacted.