Image by Vinod Puli from Pixabay. (Picture for Representation)
To further comply with the Supreme Court’s guidelines issued in the Shakti Vahini vs Union of India and others via writ petition 231/2010, the Maharashtra government has taken its fight against honour killings of inter-caste and inter-religious couples to the next level.
The State Home Department on December 19, 2023 issued a fresh circular and formed a Committee headed by District Collector to take preventive, remedial and punitive actions to thwart honour killings. This was coming in addition of the an apparatus that was already in force, designed and rolled out to stop such killings in the state.
The five-member Committee comprises District Collector as Head, Municipal Corporation Commissioner at the district level as Member, Superintendent of Police / Police Commissioner as Member, District Social Welfare Officer as Member, Women and Child Development Officer as Member Secretary.
The Committee has been given the task of ensuring security of the newly-wed inter-caste and inter-religious couples who defy death threats and marry by going against the prevailing customs, rituals and practices in their respective caste and religion.
Safe Houses For Nominal Fee
One of the primary tasks of the Collector-led panel is to make arrangement of Safe House, if there was a need for it, for these newly-weds in order to keep them insulated from honour killings. The government circular also says that these Safe Houses must be provided in a place where police protection can be given easily and on time.
The state government has also directed the Committee to provide these houses at a nominal fee for one month in the beginning, this arrangement can be extended to one year maximum if the circumstances were seriously grave. The government has asked the Committee to make arrangement of Safe House through the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department.
The Committee has also been saddled with the responsibility of conducting a quarterly-review of the working of the machinery put in place to stop honour killings.
A Special Cell of Superintendent of Police
From the security view point of these couples, the state government has formed at the district level Special Cell which will be headed by the Superintendent of Police. The three-member Cell comprises the SP as Head, District Social Welfare Officer as Member, and District Women and Child Development Officer as Member Secretary.
The primary task of the Cell is to take in a proper manner cognisance of all types of grievances pouring in and start quick action on them. Besides, the Cell has been asked to conduct quarterly-review of the cases filed, and overall implementation of the guidelines against honour killings.
