333 honour crime complaints registered this year

At least 333 complaints on honour crime have been registered in the current financial year on the basis of victims' complaints, the Lok Sabha was told Tuesday.

"As per information provided by the National Commission for Women (NCW), in the current financial year 333 complaints on honour crime have been registered on the basis of complaints of victims and proceedings initiated in all of these cases," said Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh.

"Apart from the above, the commission has taken suo-moto cognizance in 11 cases of honour killings and initiated necessary action," Singh added. Singh was responding to a question on the number of cases in which the central  government was issued notices by the NCW to protect the life and property of couples who entered into inter-caste marriages.

The minister was also asked whether the government proposed to amend the constitution to deal with incidents of honour killings. "At present, the government is not considering any amendment to the constitution to deal with the incidents of honour killings. However, in its 242nd report on 'Prevention of interference with the freedom of matrimonial alliance', the Law Commission has advocated for a stand-alone legislation to curb caste councils interfering in cases of young persons marrying partners belonging to the same gotra or a different caste/religion," said Singh.