Submission to the Commission Constituted to Prevent Honour Killings in Tamil Nadu
This submission is made to the Commission constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu to recommend measures for the prevention of honour killings. It has been jointly developed by the Vidhi Tamil Nadu team and the Crime and Punishment team at Vidhi.
Drawing on an examination of how honour-based crime manifests in Tamil Nadu, an analysis of the gaps in the existing legal framework, and a study of multiple legislative models, this submission proposes a dedicated law for the state: The Tamil Nadu Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prevention of Crimes in the Name of Honour (En Vāzhkkai, En Urimai) Act. We have adopted a broad understanding of honour-based crime, encompassing the full range of coercive practices through which it is enforced in Tamil Nadu rather than honour killings alone. We propose a law that reaches different manifestations of honour-based crime, from social and economic boycott to violence, and protects every person whose choices are policed in the name of honour, whether on grounds of caste, faith, class, gender or sexual orientation. Our suggested legal framework is designed around the distinct nature of honour-based crime, and places emphasis on the preventive, protective and rehabilitative architecture that honour-based crime requires.
The submission is arranged in four parts.
Chapter I sets out the nature and forms of honour-based crime in Tamil Nadu. Such crime is, at its core, an exercise of collective control. A person’s choice of partner, most often a woman’s, is seen as bearing upon the perceived ‘honour’ of their family, caste or community. A choice that defies social norms is deemed an affront to that honour. To protect and restore honour, sanctions are imposed by families and kin, and by caste associations and katta panchayats that assume the authority to judge and punish those who transgress. These sanctions often begin with acts of social and economic boycott, ostracism and the denial of shared resources, and escalate through surveillance, confinement and assault to ‘honour killing’. In Tamil Nadu, honour-based crime is frequently triggered by relationships across caste lines, but it also extends to relationships across sub-castes, economic strata and faiths, and to non-heterosexual unions.
Chapter II makes the case for a dedicated state law against honour-based crime in Tamil Nadu. There are gaps in the existing legal framework, both substantive and procedural, that justify the need for a separate state law against honour-based crime. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as the general criminal law, punishes discrete acts of violence, but it does not reach the social and economic sanctions that precede and surround them. Nor does it recognise the motive that distinguishes honour-based crime. Honour-based crime is also not sufficiently captured by special statutes like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 or the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. Neither reaches honour-based crime within the same caste, between sub-castes, or on grounds of faith, class, gender or sexual orientation. Moreover, ordinary criminal procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is not adequately equipped to address honour-based crime. Such crime calls for a distinct protective architecture, both because those at risk must often be shielded from their own family or community, and because police inaction may itself form part of the harm. The courts and the Law Commission of India have also recognised the deficiencies in the current legal framework.
Chapter III surveys the legislative models that have sought to address honour-based crime, and examines four of them in detail. These are: the Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill, 2011, drafted by the Law Commission; the Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019; the Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour Bill, 2023; and the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour and Tradition (Eva Nammava, Eva Nammava) Act, 2026. This chapter compares how each legislative model conceives of honour and whom it protects, and the range of conduct it prohibits, including social and economic boycott. It then considers each model’s treatment of offences, and the extent to which it shifts the burden of proof. Finally, it examines the models’ protective mechanisms, the duties of officials and mandatory reporting obligations, and the courts in which offences are to be tried.
Chapter IV proposes the framework of a new law on honour-based crime in Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prevention of Crimes in the Name of Honour (En Vāzhkkai, En Urimai) Act. The chapter first considers how the law should understand honour. It then turns to the scope of the law: the victims it should protect, the perpetrators it should hold to account, and the conduct it should address. It sets out the preventive, protective and rehabilitative architecture such a law would require, and the offences and penalties it should prescribe. It then considers special procedural standards and closes with the arrangements for implementation and monitoring that would give the law practical effect.
Filed Under
About the Authors
Aashna is a Research Fellow with the Criminal Justice team at Vidhi. Having recently completed their B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, they are keenly interested in Constitutional, Administrative, and Criminal Law. Outside of professional engagements, Aashna finds their greatest joy in animals and food, and also enjoys music, competitive parliamentary debate, and political and historical fiction.
Ayushi is a Senior Resident Fellow with the Crime & Punishment Team at Vidhi. Her work focuses on mapping of India's criminal law landscape and developing a framework for principle based criminal law making. Prior to joining Vidhi, she worked at Nirma University and National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar. She writes regularly for various national media outlets like Times of India, the Deccan Herald, Economic and Political Weekly etc. She graduated from National University of Law, Punjab (RGNUL) and obtained her Masters from the Indian Law Institute, Delhi. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at National Law Institute University, Bhopal, where her research is focused on violence against sexual minorities.
Ishaan Bamba is a Senior Resident Fellow with the Crime & Punishment Team at Vidhi. Ishaan graduated from Amity Law School, Delhi, with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) and completed his Master’s in Public Policy at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. Prior to joining Vidhi, he worked as a Senior Policy Analyst at Swaniti Initiative, a Child Rights Fellow with the Delhi Government, and a Young Professional at NITI Aayog. At Swaniti, he provided research and technical support to Members of Parliament (MPs) and civil society organisations on issues of human trafficking, bonded labour, and child labour. As a Child Rights Fellow with the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), Government of NCT of Delhi, he worked directly on the implementation and monitoring of various child-related policies, impacting both institutions and beneficiaries. Thereafter, at NITI Aayog, his work focused on revitalising the Planning Departments across States and Union Territories, as well as on implementing the State Support Mission, a Central Sector Scheme.
Raagini is a Research Fellow at Vidhi Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, she undertook research on WTO compliance and sustainable trade practices at the Centre for Trade and Investment Laws. She holds a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) degree from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (2022). Her areas of interest include gender, human rights and anti-discrimination laws. Outside of her work, she is a trained rifle shooter and enjoys surfing, scuba diving and learning about marine life.
Sruthakeerthy is a Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, as a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow working with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in rural Tamil Nadu, she was involved in the formulation and implementation of policies and action plans to improve the skill development ecosystem, targeted at raising economic output, mitigating unemployment and promoting livelihoods. She has also worked as a Legal Content Analyst at Nyaaya, creating explainers and guides to enhance legal awareness. She graduated with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law in 2020. She enjoys reading, listening to music, singing, and travelling.