CHANDIGARH: With a stained image and stress from the Supreme Court for harassing couples in inter-caste marriages, khaps have filed an affidavit in the court for the first time, protesting against portrayal of them as Talibani. Filed by senior advocate Narender Hooda, the affidavit said khaps in Haryana have never passed any judgment and or order or so-called fatwa for honour killing. Hooda said they were in fact, encouraging inter-caste and inter-faith marriages, and had even permitted Haryanvi men to marry women from other states, considering the skewed sex ratio in the state.
“What khaps oppose is sapinda or sagotra marriage between men and women on when they are within the prohibited degrees of relationship, a bar supported by genetic science. Khaps try to uphold centuries of tradition and act as conscience keepers of society,” Hooda said. The affidavit came as a response to a PIL filed by NGO Shakti Vahini, which sought a crackdown on khap panchayats and the menace of honour killings. An SC bench had slammed khaps on two occasions. On January 17, the court termed all orders by khaps as illegal, and on February 6, it said no individual or group shall interfere and harass the couple entering into matrimony.
The affidavit said the petitioner NGO presented twisted version by quoting wrong facts about the functioning of khap panchayats. It said the NGO had wrongly quoted that honour killings were a result of any decision of khaps in Haryana and UP.
