No place for those who kill kin for choosing partner: Allahabad HC

While refusing bail to a Mainpuri man for his role in an alleged hate crime, the Allahabad high court observed that there is no place in society for citizens that murder a family member for choosing a life partner against their choice

While refusing bail to a Mainpuri man for his role in an alleged hate crime, the Allahabad high court observed that there is no place in society for citizens that murder a family member for choosing a life partner against their choice.

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“There is no place for citizens in our society who act in derogation of the much cherished constitutional values of individual liberty, and, instead, repose faith in archaic social values of family honour to an extent that they would go to eliminate a family member choosing a life partner for herself,” the court observed.

Justice J J Munir on July 2 was hearing a bail plea of the applicant, Gulshan, who along with his family, allegedly killed his sister Jyoti for marrying a man belonging to another caste and also shot her husband to “punish” him.

Taking note of the case, the court said, prima facie, if these allegations were established at the time of trial, there is no place for such citizens in the society.

The prosecution called it a case of hate crime even though the defence pleaded that the role assigned to the applicant was of assaulting one of the witnesses and that the couple was killed by another co-accused.

“The assault, as a whole, was a brazen act of honour killing and the woman’s family, going by the eyewitness’ account, had eliminated her to redeem their false notions of family honour and shot her husband to punish him,” the government’s counsel argued.

After hearing both parties, the court concluded: “Prima facie, it is a brazen case of honour killing where family members, including the deceased’s father, uncle, cousin and her brother have all participated to put an end to a young life on account of a false sense of family pride, which they have prima facie sought to redeem through this crime.”

While denying the bail to the applicant, the court observed, “He was certainly an active participant in the entire episode, though he may not have wielded the gun or inflicted the fatal injury.”