Khap Panchayat: Self Proclaimed Adjudicating Mechanism in Case of Honour Killings in India

Abstract

Any civilization has recognised the significance of administering justice, even though different cultures have different ways of doing so. The Khap Panchayats have played a significant role in the administration of justice in several regions of India, including Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The establishment of Khap Panchayats has drawn criticism for a variety of reasons, though. It is seen by a select minority as being male-dominated and patriarchal ideology, that is, pro-men and anti-women. Despite the fact that there have been several occurrences, such as honour killings, which blatantly demonstrate the Khap Panchayats' patriarchal mindset. The Panchayati Raj System was implemented in India with the intention of democratising and decentralising government. As "custodians of honour," Khap Panchayats are fully legitimate and powerful. The most retrograde ideas are sought to be implemented through them. In nature, khap adjudications are exclusively feudal and patriarchal. The mediaeval remains of backward tribal civilizations that have endured for far too long into the modern liberal era are honour killings, brutal murders carried out for the purpose of upholding the honour of a family, a clan, or a village by encouraging criminal culture for future generations, in the name of others. The majority of these actions, which the outside community sees as being exclusively Arab in origin, were and still are largely caste Panchayats made up of higher and middle class people who have grown powerful by dominating the lower caste hierarchies. The once trustworthy, socially conscious Khap Panchayats and Caste Panchayats have become very politicised. They are active across the nation at a time when the shameful rulings of the so-called courts of the caste lords would undoubtedly ruin the nation's reputations. The Indian court has gone a long way, but there is still much that needs to be done to free society from the grip of illegitimate and unconstitutional justice-dispensers. The study makes an effort to draw attention to the pattern of criminality that is promoted by the so-called keepers of honour against this background.