Supreme Court refuses to take note of killing of Ankit Saxena

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court, hearing a plea on honour killings, today refused to take note of the recent killing of a photographer by the family members of his girlfriend in Delhi. Twenty-three-year-old Ankit Saxena was stabbed to death by the family members of his girlfriend in west Delhi's Khyala area on February 1. "Madam, please. This matter has not travelled to this court," a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said when activist and author Madhu Kishwar raised the matter during the hearing. Kishwar said that such types of offences were "hate crimes" and needed to be dealt with sternly. The court was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Shakti Vahini in 2010, seeking that the central and state governments be directed to take measures for preventing and controlling honour crimes. The court today asked khap panchayats not to behave like the conscience keeper of society, pointing out that a marriage between two adults was governed by the law. The Supreme Court bench said it would set up a high-level committee consisting of senior police officers to deal with issues relating to intervention in marriages by bodies such as khap panchayats.