The Karnataka government on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) got the ‘Karnataka Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honor, Tradition and Freedom of Choice in Marriage Bill, 2026’ passed in the Assembly after a long debate. During this, there was a heated discussion between the ruling party and the opposition regarding the effectiveness of the bill.
State Law Minister H.K. The purpose of this bill introduced by Patil is to prevent crimes like honor killings and to protect the rights of youth to marry of their own choice, especially in cases of inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.
Law Minister spoke in the House while presenting the bill
While presenting the bill, the Law Minister said that the youth have every right to marry of their choice, but despite this, incidents of violence and honor killings from families keep coming to the fore. He appealed to the House to support this law and said that it can become a model for other states also. The bill provides for mandatory reporting of such cases, monitoring at the district level and pre-emptive measures if there is a possibility of possible violence.
Need for detailed discussion regarding the bill: Leader of Opposition
Opposition leader R. Ashok supported the objective of the bill, but called for a more detailed discussion. He said that many cases of honor killing have come to light, especially in the old Mysore region, and clear provisions for punishment in the law and social initiatives are also necessary to solve caste problems.
Many MLAs raised questions on the bill
At the same time, MLA Suresh Kumar raised questions on the need for a new law and said that there are already provisions for such cases in the Indian Judicial Code (BNS). He asked what new this bill has brought apart from the existing law.
MLA Sunil Kumar also expressed concern and said that this bill seems to be repeating the old provisions and there is no concrete new provision in it. He also questioned whether the law effectively addresses issues related to hate speech and social structure.
Law Minister answered the questions of the House
In response to these questions, Law Minister H.K. Patil said that this bill has been prepared keeping in mind many aspects and its objective is also to stop those social practices which indirectly promote honor based violence. Giving an example, he said that some families boycott marriage, but participate in the post-death rites, which is socially harmful.
After long discussions and deliberations, the Assembly passed this bill, which is considered an important step against crimes like honor killings in the state.
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