The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has proposed a new law that will tackle “honour killings” as a specific category of crime, besides protecting the freedom of choice in marriage.
The government is bringing this Bill in the wake of some recent caste-linked honour killings in the state. In one such incident reported from a village in Dharwad district on December 21, 2025, which sent shock waves across the state, a 20-year-old Lingayat woman was murdered allegedly by her father for marrying a man belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
Siddaramaiah had indicated on January 3 that his government would bring a Bill to prevent honour killings, citing the December 21 incident that took place seven months after the marriage of 20-year-old Manya Doddamani.
Opposed to Manya’s marriage, her father and two relatives allegedly attacked her when she was working on a field at their Inam Veerapur village near Hubli.
“To curb such crimes in the future and to create awareness among people about the law, a special legislation will be introduced. This matter will be discussed in the upcoming session of the Legislature, and an appropriate decision will be taken,” the CM had then said.
The draft Bill – called the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Bill, 2026 – highlights the values of universal humanity espoused by the 12th century saint and social reformer Basavanna.
The phrase “Eva Nammava Eva Nammava” is a reference to Basavanna’s message. Basavanna who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words Eva Nammava (“he/she is a part of me”) to underline that “all people are one”.
While prescribing punishments for discrimination against individuals on the basis of caste in inter-caste marriages, the Bill puts the onus on the state to identify instances where honour and tradition are used to impede inter-caste marriages, seeking to provide shelters for such couples facing threats.
“The persistence of caste-based discrimination in Karnataka continues to manifest in brutal forms of violence, including honour killings, particularly against young adults who exercise their constitutional right to choose their life partners through inter-caste marriages,” says the statement of objects and reasons in the draft Bill.
It states that the penalties stipulated by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 for offences like murder, assault and criminal intimidation “do not adequately address the specific social motive of preserving perceived “caste honour” or the wide range of coercive practices employed from performing death rituals (thithi) for living daughters, denying lawful inheritance rights, social ostracism, to insidious attempts at causing harm through poisoning or other covert means.”
“Such acts not only violate fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India but also undermine the vision of social reformers like Sree Basavanna and Dr B R Ambedkar, who advocated inter-caste marriages as a means to eradicate caste hierarchy,” says the draft legislation.
“Existing laws lack proactive mechanisms for protection of at-risk couples, mandatory police intervention, fast-track adjudication, and restoration of civil rights such as inheritance. In the absence of dedicated legislation, perpetrators often escape stringent punishment and victims or survivors receive inadequate relief and rehabilitation,” the Bill states.
“The Constitution of India enshrines the principle of fraternity as essential to securing the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation and this principle demands the eradication of caste-based discrimination and the promotion of social solidarity through the recognition and protection of inter-caste marriages,” it adds.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to prevent violation of human rights, bring honour to inter-caste marriages, prevent enforcement of caste-based discrimination on individual choices and to create a forum called “Eva Nammava, Eva Nammava” to facilitate marriages. It defines social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages; refusal to provide services, provide work and conduct business; and denial of loans and admissions to schools. All these acts will be punishable under the new law.
The Bill says, “The consent of the person’s parents, family, caste or clan is not necessary once the two adult individuals agree to enter into a marriage.”
In the case of honour killings, the Bill prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years and in the case of assaults a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The legislation proposes a three to five year imprisonment for persons involved in intimidating and threatening inter-caste couples while those who are part of accused groups can face a term of six months to five years in prison. The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable.
The Bill proposes that a declaration be given by inter-caste couples to the local district magistrate who in turn will forward it to the local police stations ahead of marriages to check any police intervention sought by opposing families. The declaration will however not be a precondition for an inter- caste marriage, it states.
The proposed legislation also grants powers to civil courts to grant injunctions against disruptions of inter-caste marriages by others in the event of applications filed there.
The onus of protection of inter-caste marriages will be on the state, says the Bill. “It shall be the duty and responsibility of the State to make arrangements for the protection of victims, their dependents, and witnesses against any kind of intimidation or coercion or inducement or violence or threats of violence,” it states. “It shall be the duty of the State Governments to provide homes for couples in need of shelter and a safe place to stay. There should be adequate security for the protection of these couples in these shelter homes, with due regard to their privacy.”
Government officials neglecting duties outlined in the proposed law will be liable to face departmental action, the Bill says. The implementation of the law will be supervised by district committees while special courts will be set up for trials. In each district the district magistrates should constitute an “Eva Nammava Vedike”, comprising a retired judge, police officer, revenue officer, sub-registrar among others, to facilitate such marriages and provide counselling services.
The December 21 incident was among the three cases of killings over inter- caste marriages reported from different parts of the state in 2025. Last April, a 17-year-old girl from the OBC Kuruba group was allegedly killed by her father at Raichur after she eloped with a Dalit boy. In September, an 18-year old Lingayat girl was allegedly killed by her father over her relationship with a Kuruba boy.
During the winter session of the state Legislature last month, the government passed the Karnataka Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2025, to curb social boycott, discrimination and social disabilities at various levels. The government also passed the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2025. However, both these Bills have yet to receive the Governor’s assent.