Rajasthan bill to counter 'khap' rule

Rajasthan’s State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is studying the prospects of a law to rein in ‘khap’ panchayats.

If this bill gets the green signal, then Rajasthan would be the first state where a khap panchayat bill would be implemented. The commission officials are studying the nature of khap panchayat-related cases which took place in recent times across the state. Thereafter, they will draft some provisions and recommend to the state government to make a stringent bill on the issue.

 Deputy registrar of the commission R K Ashwani has said “we are studying around 25 cases in which khap panchayats had imposed inhumane sanctions on people in their respective areas in Rajasthan. Such cases have taken place in large numbers in the western parts of state.”

Commission member M K Devarajan said, “it is a serious issue and we are devising ways to deal with such acts of panchayats.

Such incidents are taking place frequently in Bharatpur division. As we are still studying the cases, it is too early to say what recommendations we would put forth to the government.”  A senior official said “because of the social impact of the bill, the commission wants to study all aspects related to the issue and wants to check ground realities too.

However, the commission officials added that the work is in the initial stage and they would take time to prepare the recommendations and send it to the government.