New Delhi: Observing that society needs
to change its mindset and stop honour-killing, a Delhi court
has sentenced a man to life term for smothering to death his
daughter who had eloped with a boy of her own village.
"Whether there is any honour in killing a person or
whether honour is saved by killing a person is a question to
be probed by the society. The incidents like one in hand would
continue unless the mindset of the society is changed,"
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sanjay Sharma said, while
sentencing Karkardooma Village resident Omkar of East Delhi.
"The time has come that we should respect the
sentiments of our younger generation rather than impose our
will upon them. A forced marriage is bound to destruct the
families and can never succeed," the court said.
Lamenting that the malady of casteism continues to
plague the society and its mindset, the court said, "It is a
well known phenomenon that even now, after so much of
modernisation and achievements in academic fields, the votes
in elections are sought on the basis of religion and castes."
The court ruling came on a case dating back to March
3, 2009, when Omkar had murdered his daughter, who was in love
with Sandeep of her village, belonging to same community and
sub-caste (gotra).
The girl had eloped with Sandeep on March 2, 2009 to
get married and stayed at his sister`s place for a night. An
infuriated Omkar, however, managed to get his daughter back
home from Sandeep, falsely promising him and his sister`s
family members that he had given consent to the marriage, but
needed to speak to her for 30 minutes before deciding upon it.
Omkar, the girl`s father took her daughter away even
as she pleaded that her family members would kill her.
According to the prosecution, Omkar and other family
members, after getting the girl back home began beating her,
drugged her and eventually smothered her to death.
In his deposition to the court, Sandeep detailed the
whole incident, adding, the girl was reluctant to return home
as she feared she would be killed.
As per the prosecution, the girl was taken to hospital
by her family members, but was declared brought dead there.
This led to registration of a First Information Report
at Anand Vihar police station in east Delhi. The subsequent
autopsy of the girl and probe into the case revealed what the
court described as a case of dishonour killing.
While convicting Omkar, the court dismissed defence
counsel`s contention that the girl had committed suicide by
consuming drug.
The court, however, did not impose death penalty upon
Omkar saying it was not a rarest of rare crime and also taking
into account the defence pleas for leniency.
"Omkar could not overcome his emotions and feeling of
social unrest because of the fact that his own daughter spent
a night with a boy of his own community and belonging to his
own village and thus, the act, though done with intention and
knowledge, was done more in a rage than in a planned manner,"
the court said.
PTI
