Enact law against caste-based honour killings, Thirumavalavan tells Tamil Nadu government

Thol. Thirumavalavan
| Photo Credit: File photo

VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan on Tuesday reiterated his demand to the State government that it enact a special law to prevent caste-based honour killings in Tamil Nadu.

It was the responsibility of State governments to prevent such murders, he added.

In a statement, the Chidambaram MP pointed out that the Supreme Court had upheld the life imprisonment given by the Madras High Court to convicts in caste-based honour killing of Kannagi and Murugesan from Kuppanatham village in Cuddalore district. “Justice has been served in this case after 22 years. On behalf of the VCK, I welcome this verdict. We urge the Tamil Nadu government to enact a law to prevent such honour killings in the future. In July 2003, Kannagi and Murugesan were brutally murdered. In 2021, the trial court sentenced Kannagi’s brother, Marudhupandiyan, to death and 12 others, including Kannagi’s father, to life imprisonment,” he added.

Mr. Thirumavalavan further said that honour killings were not widely recognised in Tamil Nadu before the Kannagi–Murugesan murder, and that such crimes had been increasing year by year. “In the Shakti Vahini vs. Union of India case in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must enact a law to prevent honour crimes. It is concerning that even after seven years, neither the Union government nor the Tamil Nadu government has enacted such a law,” he said.