SPECIAL CRIMES: HONOUR KILLING FEMALE FOETICIDE, TERRORISM, WITCH HUNTING

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This article is written by Nalluri Chetan of 5^th Semester of Vitap School Of Law Amaravati

Abstract:

Criminal activity poses a threat to society. Crimes will lead to issues with law and order, which will destabilize society. Murder and other crimes are among them. There are some crimes that are just committed by abrupt provocation without any deliberate action. So, he can be justified if there is no mental component. However, there are a few strange acts that are being done to harm others that need to be put stopped immediately. Some of these things include honour killings and female foeticide. Therefore, I will focus on special crimes in society and legislation that is opposed to them in this article.

Keywords: Crime, special crimes, Female Foeticide, Terrorism, witch Hunting, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Introduction:

Crime comes from the Latin word Crimea. As we all know, crime is a violent activity. Law and order may be disrupted in various instances as a result of criminality. So, to combat crime in society, we have many laws, one of which is the Indian penal code (IPC). Recently, the central government submitted a measure abolishing the IPC and replacing it with a new legislation, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, in the parliament The major objective for all of these laws is to suppress crime and maintain a peaceful state.

Definitions of crime:

According to Austin, “A wrong which is pursued at the discretion of the injured party and his representatives is a civil injury; a wrong which is pursued by the sovereign or his subordinates is a crime.”

According to Kenny “Crimes are wrongs whose sanction is punitive, and is in no way remissible by any private person, but is remissible by the Crown alone, if remissible at all.”

Elements of crime:

Human being
Mens Rea
Actus Reus
Injury[1]

Human being: A human being is required to constitute a crime since there is no crime without a human being because crime is something done by one person against another person.

Men’s rea: Men’s rea refers to a negative purpose or malicious intent to do evil or attack someone. We cannot penalise somebody who committed a crime without having any evil intentions.

Actus Reus: Just having evil intentions does not constitute a crime; it must be accompanied by any voluntary conduct or act that may cause damage to the subject.

Injury: Injuries are the final and most critical component of a crime. It must be done illegally to another human person, a group of people, or society as a whole. The new law, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, defines injury. It is stated in section 2(13) that as ‘any harm, whatever, illegally caused to any person in body, mind, reputation, or property[2].’

Special crimes

Aside from regular crimes, some cause problems in society. Because of their unique nature, the crimes are also known as special crimes. Some of the examples are witch-hunting, female foeticide, terrorism, and homicide.

Female Foeticide

Female foeticide: Female foeticide is the most serious problem confronting society today. Female foeticide is the death of a female kid child inside the womb by abortion. They can use the technique of scanning to determine if the child that is about to be born is a boy or a girl. There is a significant social consequence following female foeticide. The sex ratio has severely decreased; today, according to the 2011 census, there are only 940 females for every 1000 men in the community; this demonstrates how the problem is affecting society. The are so many reasons for female foeticide some of them are

Safety Problems
Dowry system
Misuse of technology

Safety Problems: As we see people are thinking twice to give a birth to female child because of safety problems. After seeing incidents like the Nirbhaya Disha cases people are been scared because if we don’t pay attention if we don’t look carefully at the female child there may be problems for our child

Dowry system: Dowry is the most serious family problem for all families, regardless of their socioeconomic status. We see so many cases of dowry death every day when innocent women are dying or committing suicide as a result of dowry harassment. So, to prevent all of these issues, many are thinking about having a girl kid.

Misuse of technology: As we can see, individuals exploit technology to determine whether an unborn child is a girl or a boy, which is the primary cause of female foeticide.

Efforts done by the central government to prevent female foeticide

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: It is a central government initiative to safeguard girl children and enrol them in schools to learn.

Balika Samriddhi Yojana: The primary goal of this programme is to offer monetary help to economically disadvantaged girls and mothers to increase the rate of enrolment in schools.

Central government law against female foeticide

The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994: The primary motivation for passing this law is to combat female foeticide. As a result, scanning cannot be used to determine a baby’s gender; rather, it can only be used to diagnose any metabolic disorders.

Terrorism

Terrorism: The safety of society is seen as being threatened by terrorism. The peaceful environment and sense of national integrity in the country will be severely disrupted as a result of terrorism. Terrorism forces people to live in a state of fear. The rise of terrorism will also lead to domestic conflicts. The Latin word terrere is the source of the word terrorism. Everyone should oppose terrorism because it can be harmful and puts everyone at risk. Everyone should oppose terrorism because it can be harmful and puts everyone at risk. Terrorism may be traced back to India’s independence as well as the partition of India and Pakistan. Terrorism is motivated primarily by political, religious, and socioeconomic factors. Many people become involved in terrorism as a result of an injustice that occurred to them at the outset of their lives. So that any injustice done to them can be avoided, as well as any injustice that is done to others.

This is the major basis for naxalism is they just want to do justice quickly by taking the law into their hands, but they are blind to the crimes they are committing while doing justice; no one has the authority to take away the lives of others until it is established by procedure by law. The aim of the Naxals to seek justice is not bad, but the method they chose is. There is some terrorism as a result of this, as certain people from other countries use it as a weapon to undermine national integrity and sovereignty.

Central government law against Terrorism

Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 This act primarily discusses the rules and regulations for terrorist acts. As this is a special law, any terrorist activity can be curtailed by this act and he can be imprisoned. Obtaining bail in these types of cases is difficult because it involves extensive procedures. The federal government is utilising this law to combat terrorism in India. If there is even a little occurrence, the offender would be severely punished under this act.

Honour killing

Honour killing: It is a crime committed by members of one’s own family. It has been widespread for many years. People who support or participate in honour killing do it solely for the pride and respect of their families. Honour killing occurs mostly when a person marries someone from a different caste or religion, which is the most common cause of honour killing.

Even after 77 years of independence and nearly 73 years of constitutional enforcement, there is still a disparity between individuals based on caste, class, and religion. As we all know, the right to equality is an important element of the Indian constitution, which states that everyone should be treated equally regardless of caste, creed, or gender, yet the major reason for honour killing is just caste and religion, so how can we put a stop to it? Which is a deceptive element of the Indian people. I’m not sure why, but even political figures from a few parties are endorsing it, such as declaring that Hindus should not marry Muslims because it is dangerous to society. When elected officials promote religious hostility while marriage occurs, what is the point of democratic and secular government? This question strikes me whenever an honour killing occurs. But, to my surprise, they are the ones who advise don’t marry individuals from other castes or religions, but when the incident occurs, they are the ones who denounce it again. When they don’t take a stance on the same issue, how can we blame parents of children who committed honour killing since they, also seek honour and pride for their families?

Need for central law

It is essential to establish central legislation against honour killing, and elected officials ought to fight for it in order to instil fear in those who perpetrate honour killing. Even if honour killing occurs, there is no particular provision in place to deal with it; they will be sentenced for murder. For those who do a heinous crime, the punishment should be harsh, and we should have centralised legislation. Apart from central law, the central and state governments should raise public knowledge about honour killing by stating that murdering someone will not boost your pride or honour, but rather decrease it, as a result, I contend that everyone should speak out against honour killing and fight for central legislation.

Witch hunting

Witch refers to a lady with supernatural abilities. Witch hunting refers to the hunt of witches. Because it is distinct, witch hunting is regarded as a distinctive kind of crime. This kind of crime occurs when the local community turns against a certain woman and threatens to harass and abuse her. People don’t want witches because they are terrible for society, which is one of the motivations for chasing them. They will accuse these witches and attempt to torture and murder them if anything unpleasant occurs to young children in a particular area due to a lack of rain or agricultural progress.

If they are proven, real torture begins; they will be assaulted usually and, if necessary, murdered by displaying the awful that happened to them. Witch hunting undoubtedly infringes on women’s constitutional rights if they are proven to be witches. What can even witches do if it is not their fault just by blaming them for the mistake?

As we can see, many women have died as a result of witch hunts, and the figures were particularly high in the nineteenth century, even higher than sati practises. Women who die as a result of sati practises are less than witch-hunting.

The reason for the prevalence of witch hunting in society is that there is still no central law common in India. Bihar is the first state to have a witch-hunting statute, and a few other states, like Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, are among those that have a witch-hunting law.

So, I request that the central government enact at least one central law to safeguard women against witch hunts.

Conclusion:

Finally, special crimes are a complicated and comprehensive group of offences that frequently necessitate specialised legal and investigative procedures. These crimes differ from ordinary criminal acts by including unique conditions, motives, and consequences that distinguish them from regular offences. Special crimes test society’s understanding of criminal behaviour since they frequently incorporate aspects other than greed or personal gain. Special crimes need a multifaceted response that includes law reforms, advanced investigation tools, and proactive preventative initiatives. To successfully tackle these distinct types of criminal conduct, law enforcement agencies, legislators, legal experts, and communities must work together. Public awareness and education are critical in creating a safer society and lowering the prevalence of specific crimes.

References:

[1] lawtimesjournal.in/elements-of-crime

[2] www.writinglaw.com/crime-ipc-definition, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita