Why in news?

10 persons convicted of abducting and murdering 23-year-old Dalit Kevin P. Joseph were awarded double life imprisonment and imposed a fine by the principal sessions court in Kottayam.

What is the case about?

• Two days before the death, Kevin and Ms. Neenu Chacko had filed a joint application for marriage.
• As per the case, a gang led by Shyanu Chacko, brother of Ms. Neenu, abducted Kevin, chased him to a stream, and drowned him.
• The court had accepted the prosecution’s argument that racial prejudice was the motive behind the youth’s murder.
• The court ruled that it was an ‘honour killing’, based on Neenu’s testimony that her family was vehemently against the marriage as Kevin was a Dalit.
• The convicts were awarded the sentence under IPC Sections 364 A for abduction and 302 for murder.

Why is this case significant?

• The term ‘honour killing’ describes the class of murders that family members commit, to impose the idea of ‘marriages within community’.
• The Supreme Court has been intervening repeatedly to preserve the freedom of marital choice of individuals.
• Various judgments have highlighted the need to take action on such crimes, as well as the social structures that keep such a communal outlook alive.
• The use of murderous violence in the name of imagined threats to family or community honour is an unfortunate reality in most parts of the country.
• It is disquieting that the ‘honour killing’ phenomenon persists in highly literate societies too.
• Discrimination against Dalits is not limited to Hindu communities listed as Scheduled Castes.
• It extends to those who have converted to other religions too.
• The Kottayam court judgement makes it the first-ever case of ‘honour killing’ to be reported in the State of Kerala.
• Moreover, the investigation and trial into the case have been notably fast, which is a good precedent.

What lies ahead?

• Caste groups have become politically organised, and caste associations attract the young and the educated.
• Given this, there is a need for a redoubled effort to eliminate the evils of a stratified society.
• In particular, administrators must give full effect to the various preventive, remedial and punitive measures recommended by the Supreme Court.
• The Centre may also examine the need for a comprehensive law to curb honour killings and prohibit interference in matrimonial choice of individuals.