Two brothers get death penalty for honor killing, five others sentenced to life imprisonment

Vijayapura: In a landmark judgment, the Kalaburagi Bench of the Karnataka High Court has upheld the death penalty for two brothers convicted in a brutal honor killing case, while sentencing five other family members to life imprisonment.

The convicts, Ibrahim Sab (31) and his brother Akbar (28), a lorry driver from Gundakanal village in Muddebihal taluk, were found guilty of burning their pregnant sister alive for marrying a Dalit youth.

According to police records, the victim, Banu Begum, had fallen in love with and married Saibanna, a Dalit man, against her family’s wishes. Enraged by the inter-caste marriage, her brothers allegedly doused her in kerosene and set her ablaze while she was nine months pregnant. The horrific murder took place in 2017 in Vijayapura district.

The district court had earlier awarded the death sentence to Ibrahim and Akbar, while sentencing five others — including the victim’s mother and other close relatives — to life imprisonment. The High Court, hearing the appeal, has now upheld that verdict, terming the act as a heinous and premeditated murder driven by misplaced notions of family honour.

The bench observed that such crimes, committed in the name of so-called honour, strike at the very foundation of a civilized society and must be met with the harshest punishment to deter others.

The judgment has been hailed as a strong message against honor killings in Karnataka, which continue to occur in certain regions despite repeated court warnings and awareness campaigns.

Legal experts have termed the ruling “historic” as it reaffirms the judiciary’s zero-tolerance stance towards caste-based violence and killings disguised as acts of honour.