What is the Rajasthan Honour Killing Bill, and why Governor has returned it? | Explained

Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade returned the Bill to limit honour killings which was passed under the previous Ashok Gehlot government’s 2018-23 tenure. 

On Wednesday, the first day of the budget session in the Rajasthan Assembly, the House was informed that the Governor had returned the Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019, along with a message.

What is the Rajasthan Honour Killing Bill

The state Legislative Assembly under Gehlot government on August 5, 2019 passed the “Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Act, 2019”.

While introducing the Bill, then Congress government described its objectives and of the Bill saying, ““there has been a spurt in illegal intimidation by self-appointed bodies for bringing pressure against Sagotra marriages and inter-caste, inter-community, and inter-religious marriages between two consenting adults in the name of vindicating the honour of family, caste, or community.”

The Bill defined unlawful assembly, endangerment of personal liberty, and criminal intimidation to curb such acts, making all these offences cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable.

The Bill prohibits any individual or group from assembling, meeting, or gathering at any time with the purpose or intent of discussing, criticising, or condemning a marriage that is legally valid and not prohibited by law, on the grounds that it has dishonoured the traditions or customs of their caste or community, or

damaged the reputation of the family members, the participants themselves, or the people of the local area. 

It also required the District Magistrate (DM) or Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to take preventive actions, including the authority to prohibit such unlawful gatherings.

What punishments did the Bill prescribe?

The Bill provided that members of an unlawful assembly face 6 months to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Creating a hostile environment that endangers the couple or their supporters carries 2 to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Criminal intimidation is punishable by up to 7 years of imprisonment. 

Causing “simple hurt” leads to 3 to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 2 lakh, while causing “grievous hurt” carries 10 years to life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 3 lakh. If the act results in the death of such couple, or either of them, the punishment for the convict could be death or life imprisonment along with a fine up to Rs 5 lakh. 

Reasoning behind the Governor’s return of the Bill?

In its statement, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma led BJP government said that the 2019 Bill references with certain Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that have already been repealed. In addition, the BJP government said that Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, is adequate to address honour killings, prescribing death or life imprisonment along with a fine for murder.