Khap mahapanchyat protests verdict in Haryana honour killing
By IANSTuesday, April 13, 2010
KURUKSHETRA - The apex body of ‘khaps’ or traditional caste councils in Haryana and adjoining states Tuesday decided to extend its support to six people convicted in an honour killing case last month.
The khap mahapanchyat here even sought an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act seeking a ban on marriages within the same ‘gotra’ or subcaste. The khap leaders decided to proceed to National Highway No. 1 linking Delhi with important north Indian cities like Chandigarh and Ambala to block the road to protest the verdict.
A Karnal court last month sentenced five people to death and one to life imprisonment for killing Manoj and Babli who had married despite belonging to the same gotra.
Defiant khap leaders are headed for a confrontation with the state government and recent rulings of the Punjab and Haryana High Court over illegal decisions announced by various khaps, specially in cases of couples from the same sub-caste who get married.
