The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Haryana government to place on record its policy,if any,on the illegal orders passed by khap panchayats,and the steps the government has taken,or intends to take,to stop them. The court also asked the state what steps it had taken to change mindsets in the panchayats. A Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Augustine George Masih ordered the murder trial of Ved Pal,who was lynched by a mob when he went to fetch his wife from her village,expedited. The petitioner in the public interest plea,the NGO Lawyers for Human Rights International (LFHRI),has sought strict action against khap panchayats allegedly running a parallel justice system,ordering the honour killings of couples who marry without the approval of the community. The court asked advocate Navkiran Singh,counsel for LFHRI,to place on record incidents other than the murder of Ved Pal,so that necessary directions could be passed.
