INDIA: HATE CRIME IN RAJASTHAN NOW PUNISHABLE BY DEATH PENALTY

August 7, 2019:

The Rajasthan assembly passed two bills on 5 August 2019 in which death penalty has been proposed for hate crimes against couples in the name of honour and tradition, and life imprisonment for mob lynching.
Rajasthan is the first state in India to have a special law to deal with hate crimes against couples, and second after Madhya Pradesh to make a law against mob lynching.
The Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019, and the Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019, were tabled in the assembly on July 30 by law minister Shanti Dhariwal.
The bill on hate crimes also provides punishment for holding assemblies to condemn inter-caste, inter-community marriages in the name of family honour.
The bill said a special law for such hate crimes will act as a deterrent as it has severe punishment for such acts of violence and prevent caste and community assemblies that take place to condemn such marriages.
Punishment could be death, imprisonment for life, and/or a fine which may extend to ₹1 lakh.