MANOJ AND BABLI HONOUR

KILLING CASE
The Manoj-Babli honour killing case was the honour killing of
Indian newly-weds Manoj Banwala and Babli in June 2007 and the
successive court case which historically convicted defendants for
an honour killing. The killing was ordered by a khap
panchayat (khap), a social caste -based group among Jatts, in
their Karora village in Kaithal district, Haryana.
The khap passed a decree prohibiting marriage against Societal
norms. Such caste-based group are common in the inner regions
of several Indian states, including Haryana, Punjab , western Uttar
Pradesh,and parts of Rajasthan, and have been operating with
government approval for years. In any event, the state
government expressed no concern about the ruling of the khap
panchayat.
The Khap panchayat's ruling was based on the evidence that
Manoj and Babli belonged to the Banwala gotra, a Jat community,
and were therefore considered to be siblings despite not being
directly related and any union between them would be invalid
and incestuous. Nevertheless the couple went ahead with their
marriage, following which they were abducted and killed by
Babli's relatives.
In March 2010 a Karnal district court sentenced the five
perpetrators to be executed, the first time an Indian court had
done so in an honour killing case. The khap head who ordered but
did not take part in the killings received a Life sentence, and the
driver involved in the abduction a seven-year prison term.
According to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the UPA-led central
government was to propose an amendment to the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) in response to the deaths of Manoj and Babli, making
honour killings a "distinct offense".

DETAILS:Manoj's and Babli's families lived in Karoran Village, Kaithal.

Manoj's mother, Chanderpati Berwal, had four children, of which
Manoj was the eldest. Chanderpati was widowed at the age of 37,
when Manoj was only 9. Manoj owned an electronics repair shop
at Kaithal and was the only member of his family receiving
income. Manoj's cousin, Narender, lived with the family and
worked in Panchkula.
Babli's mother, Ompati, also had four children, including eldest
son, Suresh, and Babli. Like Manoj, Suresh was the only earning
member of the family. Manoj owned an electronics repair shop at
Kaithal . Ompati is a widow.

Development of the relationship and subsequent marriage

In 2005, Manoj and Babli began to show interest in each

other.Manoj was two years older than Babli. All residents of their
Karora village belong to the same caste of Banwala, a Jat
community, and marrying within the caste is considered a
sacrilege.Chanderpati recalled, "We knew about Babli long before
they decided to marry each other. She would call up often and I
would sermonize to her about staying away from Manoj, fearing
the fallout of such an alliance. They were, however, unconcerned
and chatted for hours together. If I did walk into the room while
they were talking, Manoj would quickly disconnect the phone and
run off to avoid any questioning." She continued, "I even went to
Babli's house and told her mother that Manoj and Babli were
seeing each other. I asked her to dissuade Babli or quickly marry
them before the word spread."
Two years later, on 5 April 2007, Chanderpati last saw Manoj. "He
ate his food and left to sleep at the shop since he had a class XII
compartment exam in English to take the next day. Unlike other

days, next morning, he did not show up." The following day Babli's
uncle arrived to speak with Manoj. According to Chanderpati, "He
said he had come to recover some money that Manoj had
borrowed, had tea and left when I told him that Manoj was away
for an exam. We only discovered late in the evening that Babli,
too, was missing and the two had run away." Manoj had eloped
with Babli to Chandigarh and married her on 7 April at
a Durga temple, their commitment to one another transcending
their willingness to abide by the societal norms.
Furious with the marriage, Babli's family asked for intervention
from the local khap panchayat, which annulled the
marriage. The khap also announced a social boycott on Manoj's
family. Anyone who kept ties with them would be
fined 25,000.Ompati tried to persuade her family that Babli did
nothing dishonorable and that she and Manoj would move back
home soon.
Court Appearance
On 26 April, Babli's family filed a First Information Report (FIR)
against Manoj and his family for kidnapping Babli. On 15 June,
Manoj went to court with Babli, testifying that they had married in
conformity with the law and that he did not kidnap Babli. The
judge ordered police protection for the two. Chandrapati did not
attend the trial so that Babli's family would not be aware that
Manoj and Babli were in town.
After the trial, Manoj and Babli, accompanied by a team of five
police officers assigned to them for protection, left for
Chandigarh. The police left them at Pipli and slipped away.
Suspecting foul play, Manoj and Babli did not continue toward
Chandigarh, instead boarding a bus for Karnal. According to a
statement filed by Chanderpati, later that day, around 3:40 pm,
she received a call from a Pipli telephone booth from Manoj, who
said that the police had deserted them, and Babli's family
members were trailing them, so they would try to take a bus
to Delhi and call her back later. Babli asked for acceptance from
Chanderpati, who replied affirmatively. That was the last time
Manoj's family heard from the couple.

On 20 June, Chanderpati's complaint regarding the kidnapping

was filed as an FIR at the Bhutana police station following media
pressure on the police.

Kidnapping and murder

The couple's bus left for Delhi, but en route at 4:30 pm, Babli's
relatives stopped the bus near Raipur Jatan village, about 20
kilometres (12 mi) from Pipli. They kidnapped the couple in
a ScorpioSUV driven by Mandeep Singh. Kuldip Thekedar,] a road
contractor, witnessed the kidnapping and filed a complaint at the
Butana police station in Karnal district, giving the licence plate
number of the Scorpio. Later, Chanderpati ascribed the murder to
the unauthorised withdrawal of the couple's security team
ignoring the orders given by the district and sessions judge (DSJ)
of Kaithal. Upon receiving no further news, Chanderpati's nephew,
Narendra Singh traced the contractor, and after he was shown a
photo of the couple, the contractor recognised the couple. The
family then understood that Manoj and Babli were the victims of
the kidnapping.
After the kidnapping, the couple were beaten. Babli's brother
Suresh forced her to consume pesticide, while four other family
members pushed Manoj to the ground, her uncle Rajinder pulling
anoose around Manoj's neck and strangling him in front of
Babli. They wrapped the bodies in gunny sacks and dumped them
in Barwala Link Canal in Hisar district. On 23 June, nine days later,
their mutilated bodies, hands and feet tied, were fished out of the
canal by Kheri Chowki police. After autopsy, police preserved
Manoj's shirt and Babli's anklet and cremated the bodies as
unclaimed on 24 June. On 1 July the family identified them by the
remnants of their clothing. The accused were subsequently
arrested.
Police discovered a number of articles in the Scorpio used to
kidnap the coupleparts of Babli's anklet, two buttons from
Manoj's shirt, and torn photographs of the couple. Manoj's purse
was found on one of the accused.

BRIEF FACTS:The Manoj-Babli honour killing case was the honour killing of
Indian newly-weds Manoj Banwala and Babli in June 2007 and the
successive court case which historically convicted defendants for
an honour killing. The killing was ordered by a khap
panchayat (khap), a religious caste -based council among Jatts, in
their Karora village in Kaithal district, Haryana.
Manoj owned an electronics repair shop at Kaithal and Babli was
studying in school. In 2005, Manoj and Babli began to show
interest in each other.Manoj was two years older than Babli. All
residents of their Karora village belong to the same caste of
Banwala, a Jat community, and marrying within the caste is
considered a sacrilege.On 7 April 2007 Manoj and Babli eloped to
Chandigarh and got married in Durga Temple.
Furious with the marriage, Babli's family asked for intervention
from the local khap panchayat, which annulled the
marriage. The khap also announced a social boycott on Manoj's
family.Later on they were murdered by the accused Suresh ,
Gurdev, Satish, Rajender, Baru Ram, Ganga Raj and Mandeep
Singh.

JUDGEMENT:-

No Karnal lawyer would adopt the case, so Manoj's family had to

find lawyers from Hisar. Later on Adv. Sunil Rana from karnal
accepted the case, arguing on their behalf public prosecutor Sunil
Rana and lawyers Lal Bahadur, Surat Singh, Cornel Omparkash,
and Rakesh Manjhu from Hisar, Haryana. Bahadur argued that the
couples' clothes recovered from the canal and photographs from
the Scorpio established that day's happenings. Bahadur also cited
the contractor's statement and the last phone call from Manoj, in
which Manoj had related that Babli's relatives were trailing them.
However, the contractor "turned hostile" and withdrew his
statement.
Arguing for the defence was lawyer Jagmal Singh. He asserted
that there was no evidence against the accused and that it was all
contrived by the media, no evidence that the khap panchayatever
met to discuss the fate of the couple, and no evidence indicating
that Manoj and Babli were dead. The cremated bodies recovered
from the canal were never confirmed to be those of Manoj and
Babli.
On 29 March 2010, after 33 months of 50 hearings with 41
witnesses, the karnal District court found the accused guilty of
murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, and destroying evidence under
respective sections in the IPC. The next day, 30 March, for the
first time in Haryana state history, a death penalty verdict was
announced in the double murder case for the five accused. All
were related to Babli, and included her brother Suresh, cousins
Gurdev and Satish, paternal uncle Rajender, and maternal uncle
Baru Ram. The leader of the khap panchayat Ganga Raj (52), was
given a life sentence for conspiracy, while the driver, Mandeep

Singh, held guilty of kidnapping, was given a jail term of seven

years. The court asked the Haryana government to provide a
compensation of 100,000 to Chanderpati, who had filed the
case. Ganga Raj was fined 16,000, and the other six convicts
6,000 each.
The court also accused six police personnel of dereliction of duty
and directed the SSP of Kaithal to take action against them. The
personnel included head constable Jayender Singh, sub-inspector
Jagbir Singh, and the members of the escort party provided to the
couple. They claimed that the couple wanted them to leave. The
SSP's statement was that "[i]t is correct that the deceased couple
had given in writing not to take police security any further, but
Jagbir Singh was well aware that there was a threat to their lives
from the relatives of the girl." The report stated that Jayender
informed Gurdev Singh of the location of the police and that of
Manoj and Babli over his mobile phone. Jayender was dismissed
from the police force, and both he and Jagbir were penalised by a
cut of two increments.
In her verdict, district judge Vani Gopal Sharma stated, "This court
has gone through sleepless nights and tried to put itself in the
shoes of the offenders and think as to what might have prompted
them to take such a step. "Khap panchayats have functioned
contrary to the constitution, ridiculed it and have become a law
unto themselves."
Bahadur was satisfied with the decision, "Out of seven accused,
five have been given death sentences. This will send a strong
message to the public that law is greater than the khap."
However, he was disappointed that "the leader [Ganga Raj] got
away with death penalty because he intentionally disappeared
during the killing." Narendra said, "We will appeal in High Court
for death penalty to the main accused, Ganga Raj. We respect the
court's decision but he should be punished so that the instigators
of the crime get the punishment. Also it is important that it is a
very clear message so that no khap gives such directions, ever."
Seema seconded Narendra's concerns, "We would have been
happier if the main accused was also given the death sentence.
The decision of the panchayat was not justified and people should

not to be allowed to misuse their power. We have fought this

battle alone when no one was supporting us." She requested
more security for her family, "They tried to bribe us to withdraw
the case then they threatened that they would kill us if we didn't
withdraw the FIR. Even after the decision we're afraid of a
backlash from the Khap Panchayat."

APPEAL:The accused appealed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Ganga Raj's appeal for parole was declined. On 13 May 2010, the
court admitted the appeal of him and the other six convicts
challenging the court's verdict. On 11 March, the Punjab and
Haryana High Court commuted the death sentence awarded to
four convicts Babli's brother Suresh, uncles Rajender and Baru
Ram and Gurdev in the Manoj-Babli honour killing case to life
imprisonment. Ganga Raj, said to be the prime conspirator, and
another convict Satish were acquitted. In an interview to
Newsclick, Manoj's relatives Seema and Chanderpati affirmed
that they would challenge Ganga Raj's and Satish's acquittal in
the Supreme Court.

My view regarding such cases:These types of cases shows how backward is our society is still
living in this modern era.I think we should raise our voice against
such types of social groups which threatens our society.I We
should exploit theses social groups totally which trying to dictate
their decisions over the innocent peoples. These types of
institutions like khap panchayats murders the will of the people
and in the name of the myths they make decisions like dictators
which harms our democracy, and liberty.
Honor killing can be defined as the homicide of the member of a
family or social group by other members due to the belief of the

perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonour upon the

family or community.
Each and every individual has the right to live his or her own life
according to their own wishes. After attaining the age of 18 and
21 by the girl and the boy respectively, the family has no right to
force them into marriage or any other act if they are unwilling to
do so. If an individual be it a boy or a girl feels that he or she
wants to marry according to their wishes, their parents should
accept the wishes.
In fact, parents only desire to see their children happy and if the
children are happy, the parents should let them do what they
desire. But for a number of families, their status and position in
the society is so much more important than their kids that they do
not mind killing them or sacrificing them just to maintain their
desired status.
Only one question comes into the mind of all the people- Is the
society more important than your children? When asked all will
say that their children are more important. But in some of the
cases the reality is totally different. These people who kill their
children for the breach of so called code of conduct of their
societies are actually only concerned about their status and
position in the society.
Such people can be termed as criminals who are far more
dangerous than the terrorists. Terrorists kill people who are
unknown to them. But these people who support honour killing
and are a part of it are heartless because only a heartless
individual can kill someone they love and that too for a baseless
reason.
The government of India has formulated laws against honour
killing but still this inhuman practice exists. In my opinion people
involved in honour killing should also be treated as criminals and
should be punished as severely as possible. Even capital
punishment should be offered to these individuals so that they
realize that how painful death was to the person they killed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

During the preparation of this assingnment I have taken the help

of following sources;
Internet Source- Wikipedia(An article on Manoj and Babli
honour killing case).

Chander Suta Dogra(2013)- Manoj and Babli: A Hate

Story (Penguin Books Ltd.).

The June 3, 2012, episode, Intolerance to Love of TV

series, Satyamev Jayate, hosted by actor Aamir Khan,
featured an interview with Manojs sister and mother Seema
and Chandrapati Banwala. The episode discussed this
incident along with other cases in the episode.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my
teacher respected Ms. Aprajeeta who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this knowledgeable project, which also helped
me in doing a lot of Research and i came to know about so many
new things.
I am really thankful to her.
Secondly i would also like to thank my parents, friends ,and also
our Library staffs who helped me a lot in finishing this
assignment on time.

PRESS RELEASE
KHAP KILLINGS

Now, slain boys mother faces life threat

Ashique Quamar
Jamia Press Release

Kaithal, March 28
He is no more but his room is preserved the way it was in 2007.
Rani Mukherjee smiles down from a wall while a poster of an
intense Aamir Khan adorns another. Zaheer Khan with the
ball...but it will never be the same for the lady.
Chandrapati, a widow who lost her husband when the children
were very young, is the silent witness of a love story scripted in
blood. And every day she relives the cold-blooded murder of her
son, Manoj, who had dared to elope and marry the girl of his
choice. Babli also lived in the same village and studied in the
same school which he had attended.
The son had confided in the mother and she knew about their
affection for each other. I even went to Bablis house and
requested them to allow her to marry Manoj, she recalls. But her
family failed to respond, forcing the couple to elope.

Chandrapati now lives alone with two bored policemen in

plainclothes and her buffaloes as company. The village has
boycotted her. Nobody is permitted to socialise or speak to her
and even the grocer refuses to sell anything. I have now
stopped going out, says the lady listlessly, whatever I need is
brought by my surviving children as and when they pay me a
visit.
But she remembers the last call she received from her son and
daughter-in-law from Pipli. He told her that Bablis family was
following them. He was short of money and did not have enough
balance to use his pre-paid mobile phone. Babli also spoke to her
and asked if she would accept her. Babli asked if I would keep
her and I replied in the affirmative...her voice still rings in my
ears, recalls the mother.
But while the old lady is at peace after the trial court held seven
villagers guilty of the honour killing , the mood in the village is
ugly. The villagers have threatened to eliminate us, she
explains, I am enemy number one and my son is a culprit. Weve
been told our ordeal can end if we withdraw the police case but
we refused. So, the nightmare continues, she says stoically.A
mention of the case or the couple can trigger trouble, The Jamia
team was told. Dont mention you are from the media. Take our
advice and go back. Dont say you were not warned, say some
well-meaning men. Another group was even more blunt. What
the courts are doing is wrong enough and the media is squarely to
blame.
We know Mondays verdict will pronounce life imprisonment for
those in the police net. Thats not justice. As for you, let sleeping
dogs lie. Just go away, they say menacingly.
But the lady, locked behind a black gate, has steel in her spine
and determined to fight her lonely battle for justice.