HYDERABAD: Decrying the failure of the official machinery in protecting young couples who crossed the barriers of caste and religion to enter into wedlock of their choice, scores of voices are now seeking a special law to curb honour killings.
Echoing it, senior high court advocate Dominic Fernandez referred to the recent spate of killings of young people by their kin or in-laws in the state and elsewhere.
Recalling the fact that law-making bodies made special laws in the past, he said: “Our Parliament and state legislatures rose to the occasion whenever it had become imperative to do so.” He cited the insertion of a more stringent 498-a in the dowry law to drive home his point.
He said laws like Pocso, aimed at preventing child abuse, and the ones meant for curbing domestic violence too came in only when the saner voices made their demand loud and clear. “Disha and Nirbhaya Acts are examples. Now the time is ripe for a comprehensive law aimed at eliminating the menace of honour killings,” he said.
“The law-making bodies should immediately frame a law after putting in place an effective mechanism to deal with the problem,” he added.
