It is among worst forms of crime, the court says.
It is a crime to punish a person for falling in love and yearning to have a life in each other’s company, the Supreme Court has said.
“You cannot punish someone for falling in love,” Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde observed orally at a hearing on Tuesday. It was among the worst forms of crime, he said.
The Chief Justice, leading a three-judge Bench, was hearing the case for granting bail to 11 former khap panchayat members who ordered the murder of a Dalit boy, his cousin and a girl. The boy had eloped with the girl. The cousin had helped them run away. They returned to the village a few days later, thinking the anger had cooled. They were caught and hanged from a tree. The genitals of the both boys were burnt before they were hanged.
The gruesome incident happened at Mehrana village in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh in 1991. Eight of the accused were awarded the death penalty, while others were sentenced to…