Khap panchayats cannot be conscious keepers of the society to decide whether a marriage between two consenting adults is good or bad, said the Supreme Court on Monday in a scathing response to khaps who sought to project inter-caste and inter-gotra marriages to be a social issue rather than a legal one.
Hearing a PIl filed by NGO Shakti Vahini condemning the increasing trend of honour killings in north India, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said a marriage between two consenting adults can only be questioned with regard to their marital status. But if two adults consent to a marriage, neither an individual nor group can interfere with the marriage or harass the couple.
The petition had targeted Khap panchayats as the PIl pointed out several instances where the boy or the girl who marry outside gotra or caste are either killed or harassed. Khaps, however, denied it. Appearing for an association of khaps, senior advocate Narender Hooda said, “We believe custom cannot be above human life. Khap panchayats do not approve of honour killing. We look at these marriages as not a legal issue but a social issue.”
The bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said, “Who has appointed you as guardians of society. Do not become conscious keepers on your own…If the law prohibits a marriage, law will take its own course. You can’t get into whether a marriage is good or bad.”
At the end of the proceedings, the Court asked the amicus curiae senior advocate Raju Ramachandran to suggest guidelines in order to rein in such associations that prevent or cause harm to the marriage or married partners.
The bench said, “No individual right, group right or collective right can interfere with a marriage between two consenting adults or harass them.” Ramachandran suggested to the Court to frame the guidelines in such a way that instead of directing the order against khaps, it can be collectively worded as marriage prohibition assemblies or associations.
An attempt was made by a social activist as an intervenor to draw the Court’s attention to an incident in Delhi where a Hindu boy was killed by the girl’s family who were Muslims. The Court made it clear that the incident does not concern them as the fundamental issue being decided related to the choice of two consenting individuals to get married.