PIL against State's failure to comply with Court directives to curb Honour Killings: Madras High seeks status report

The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the State authorities to file a status report on how far earlier directives given by the High Court and the Supreme Court to curb honour killings in the country have been complied with (Vidya Reddy v State of Tamil Nadu and anr). .Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition moved by Vidya Reddy..The petition highlights the death of 20-year old Savithri last year after she reportedly attempted to elope with a man of another caste. The couple was detained by the police, who called up their parents and sent them back to their homes with their parents, against their wishes..Reddy points out that instead of respecting Savithri's wishes and despite her objections, the police chose to "counsel" her and sent her with her parents. According to the police, if she did not go home with her parents, the only other option was to send her to a government home. This assumption was erroneous since she was an adult i.e. above 18 years, the petitioner highlights. .Savithri was later found dead under mysterious circumstances and her parents quickly rushed to cremate her without informing the police, the plea states. .Reddy goes on to observe that the police had acted under archaic and extra-Constitutional perceptions and that such conduct is just another instance of moral policing. Savithri's case is not an isolated instance of police apathy, it is highlighted. Rather, Reddy raises concerns that this is a recurring phenomenon in Tamil Nadu..Savithri's case has been pinpointed by Reddy to argue that the police have failed to adhere to the directions of the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court in matters concerning inter-caste couples..In this regard, it is noted that a nine-point set of directions was issued by the Madras High Court in B Diliplumar v. The Secretary to Government. These included: The creation of special cells in every district to receive complaints of threats to inter-caste marriages, which were also tasked with providing 24-hour protection to such couples in need. Such Special cells were also asked to take steps to counsel the parents of the couple, to provide temporary shelters for the couple if neededThe failure of officers part of the special cell to perform their duties and protect the couple would be viewed as major misconduct..However, the State authorities have failed to establish functioning special cells and no information regarding the same is available in the public domain, Reddy has claimed. .While a representation was sent on the issue to the Director General of Police in June 2020, urging that police officials should deal with elopement cases with sensitivity and according to law, it yielded no action or response, the petitioner says. .The failure to protect inter-caste couples also entails a violation of the Supreme Court’s directions in Shakti Vahini v UOI, the petitioner adds. In the Shakti Vahini case, it was observed that the right to choose a life partner is a facet of individual liberty. As such, the top court had issued preventive, remedial and punitive measures to safeguard the autonomy of couples. .The petitioner has now sought directions from the Madras High Court to ensure that the directions in Shakti Vahini case and B Diliplumar’s case, particularly the constitution of special cells to protect inter-caste couples, are complied with by the State in a time-bound manner. .The petitioner has also sought the constitution of a committee to keep a check on the incidents of honour killing in Tamil Nadu and submit periodic reports in the Madras High Court. .After allowing the petitioner's interim prayer for the submission of a status report by the State, the Court posted the matter for further hearing on March 10. The petition was clubbed with a similar plea already pending on the issue. .Government Pleader V Jayaprakash Narayanan took notice in the matter for the State of Tamil Nadu and the DGP on Wednesday. The petition was filed and argued by Advocate Deepika Murali and drafted by Advocate Pavan K Gandhi. .[Read Order]