SC: Bar Memers Should not Ruin the Society by False 498A

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1512 OF 2010

(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No.4684 of 2009)

Preeti Gupta & Another …Appellants

Versus

State of Jharkhand & Another ….Respondents

J U D G M E N T

Dalveer Bhandari, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal has been filed by Preeti Gupta the married sister-in-law and a permanent resident of Navasari, Surat, Gujarat with her husband and Gaurav Poddar, a permanent esident of Goregaon, Maharashtra, who is the unmarried brother-in-law of the complainant, Manisha Poddar, against

the impugned judgment of the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi Jharkhand dated 27.4.2009 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Petition Nos.304 of 2009.

3. Brief facts which are necessary to dispose of this appeal are recapitulated as under: The Complainant Manisha was married to Kamal Poddar at Kanpur on 10.12.2006. Immediately after the marriage, the complainant who is respondent no.2 in this appeal left for Mumbai along with her husband Kamal Poddar who was working with the Tata Consultancy Services (for short “TCS”) and was permanently residing at Mumbai. The complainant also joined the TCS at Mumbai on 23.12.2006. Respondent no.2 visited Ranchi to participate in “Gangaur” festival (an important Hindu festival widely celebrated in Northern India) on 16.3.2007. After staying there for a week, she returned to Mumbai on 24.03.2007.

4. Respondent no.2, Manisha Poddar filed a complaint on 08.07.2007 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi under sections 498-A, 406, 341, 323 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code read with sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against all immediate relations of her husband, namely, Pyarelal Poddar (father-in-law), Kamal Poddar (husband), Sushila Devi (mother-in-law), Gaurav Poddar (unmarried brother-in-law) and Preeti Gupta @ Preeti Agrawal (married sister-in-law). The complaint was transferred to the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi. Statements of Respondent no.2 and other witnesses were recorded and on 10.10.2008

the Judicial Magistrate took cognizance and passed the summoning order of the appellants. The appellants are aggrieved by the said summoning order.

5. In the criminal complaint, it was alleged that a luxury car was demanded by all the accused named in the complaint. It was also alleged that respondent no.2 was physically assaulted at Mumbai. According to the said allegations of the complainant, it appears that the alleged incidents had taken place either at Kanpur or Mumbai. According to the averments of the complaint, except for the demand of the luxury car no incident of harassment took place at Ranchi.

6. According to the appellants, there was no specific allegation against both the appellants in the complaint. Appellant no.1 had been permanently residing with her husband at Navasari, Surat (Gujarat) for the last more than seven years. She had never visited Mumbai during the year 2007 and never stayed with respondent no.2 or her husband. Similarly, appellant no.2, unmarried brother-in-law of thecomplainant has also been permanently residing at Goregaon,Maharashtra.

7. It was asserted that there is no specific allegation in the entire complaint against both the appellants. The statements of prosecution witnesses PW1 to PW4 were also recorded along with the statement of the complainant. None of the prosecution witnesses had stated anything against the appellants. These appellants had very clearly stated in this appeal that they had never visited Ranchi. The appellants also stated that they had never interfered with the internal affairs of the complainant and her husband. According to them, there was no question of any interference because the Appellants had been living in different cities for a number of years.

8. It was clearly alleged by the appellants that they had been falsely implicated in this case. It was further stated that the complaint against the appellants was totally without any basis or foundation. The appellants also asserted that even if all the allegations incorporated in the complaint were taken to be true, even then no offence could be made out against them.

9. The appellants had submitted that the High Court ought to have quashed this complaint as far as both the appellants are concerned because there were no specific allegations against the appellants and they ought not have been summoned. In the impugned judgment, while declining to exercise its inherent powers, the High Court observed as under:

“In this context, I may again reiterate that the acts relating to demand or subjecting to cruelty, as per the complaint petition, have been committed at the place where the complainant was living with her husband. However, the complainant in her statement made under solemn affirmation has stated that when she came to Ranchi on the occasion of Holi, all the accused persons came and passed sarcastic remarks which in absence of actual wordings, according to the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner could never be presumed to be an act constituting offence under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.”

10. In this appeal, both the appellants specifically asserted that they had never visited Ranchi, therefore, the allegations that they made any sarcastic remarks to the complainant had no basis or foundation as far as the appellants are concerned.

11. The complainant could not dispute that appellant no.1 was a permanent resident living with her husband at Navasari, Surat, Gujarat for the last more than seven years and the appellant no.2 was permanent resident of Goregaon, Maharashtra. They had never spent any time with respondent no.2.

12. According to the appellants, they are not the residents of Ranchi and if they are compelled to attend the Ranchi Court repeatedly then that would lead to insurmountable harassment and inconvenience to the appellants as well as to the complainant.

13. The complaint in this case under section 498-A IPC has led to several other cases. It is mentioned that a divorce petition has been filed by the husband of respondent no.2. Both respondent no.2 and her husband are highly qualified and are working with reputed organization like Tata Consultancy Service. If because of temperamental incompatibility they cannot live with each other then it is proper that they should jointly get a decree of divorce by mutual consent. Both respondent no.2 and her husband are in such age group that if proper efforts are made, their resettlement may not be impossible.

14. The main question which falls for consideration in this case is whether the High Court was justified in not exercising its inherent powers under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the facts and circumstances of this case?

15. This court in a number of cases has laid down the scope and ambit of courts’ powers under section 482 Cr.P.C. Every High Court has inherent power to act ex debito justitiae to do real and substantial justice, for the administration of which alone it exists, or to prevent abuse of the process of the court. Inherent power under section 482 Cr.P.C. can be exercised:

(i) to give effect to an order under the Code;

(ii) to prevent abuse of the process of court, and

(iii) to otherwise secure the ends of justice.

16. Reference to the following cases would reveal that the courts have consistently taken the view that they must use this extraordinary power to prevent injustice and secure the ends of justice. The English courts have also used inherent power to achieve the same objective. It is generally agreed that the Crown Court has inherent power to protect its process from abuse. In Connelly v. Director of Public Prosecutions [1964] AC 1254, Lord Devlin stated that where particular criminal proceedings constitute an abuse of process, the court is empowered to refuse to allow the indictment to proceed to trial. Lord Salmon in Director of Public Prosecutions v.Humphrys [1977] AC 1 stressed the importance of the inherent power when he observed that it is only if the prosecution amounts to an abuse of the process of the court and is oppressive and vexatious that the judge has the power to intervene. He further mentioned that the court’s power to prevent such abuse is of great constitutional importance and should be jealously preserved.

17. The powers possessed by the High Court under section 482 of the Code are very wide and the very plenitude of the power requires great caution in its exercise. The court must be careful to see that its decision in exercise of this power is based on sound principles. The inherent power should not be exercised to stifle a legitimate prosecution but court’s failing to use the power for advancement of justice can also lead to grave injustice. The High Court should normally refrain from giving a prima facie decision in a case where all the facts are incomplete and hazy; more so, when the evidence has not been collected and produced before the court and the issues involved, whether factual or legal, are of such magnitude that they cannot be seen in their true perspective without sufficient material. Of course, no hard and fast rule can be laid down in regard to cases in which the High Court will exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction of quashing the proceedings at any stage.

18. This court had occasion to examine the legal position in a large number of cases. In R.P. Kapur v. State of Punjab AIR 1960 SC 866, this court summarized some categories of cases where inherent power can and should be exercised to quash the proceedings:

(i) Where it manifestly appears that there is a legal bar against the institution or continuance of the proceedings;

(ii) Where the allegations in the first information report or complaint taken at Their face value and accepted in their entirety do not constitute the offence Alleged;

(iii) Where the allegations constitute an offence, but there is no legal evidence adduced or the evidence adduced clearly or manifestly fails to prove the charge.

19. This court in State of Karnataka v. L. Muniswamy & Others (1977) 2 SCC 699 observed that the wholesome power under section 482 Cr.P.C. entitles the High Court to quash a proceeding when it comes to the conclusion that allowing the proceeding to continue would be an abuse of the process of the court or that the ends of justice require that the proceeding ought to be quashed. The High Courts have been invested with inherent powers, both in civil and criminal matters, to achieve a salutary public purpose. A court proceeding ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment or persecution. In this case, the court observed that ends of justice are higher than the ends of mere law though justice must be administered according to laws made by the legislature. This case has been followed in a large number of subsequent cases of this court and other courts.

20. In Madhu Limaye v. The State of Maharashtra (1977) 4 SCC 551, a three-Judge Bench of this court held as under:- “…..In case the impugned order clearly brings out a situation which is an abuse of the process of the court, or for the purpose of securing the ends of justice interference by the High Court is absolutely necessary, then nothing contained in Section 397(2) can limit or affect the exercise of the inherent power by the High Court. Such cases would necessarily be few and far between. One such case would be the desirability of the quashing of a criminal proceeding initiated illegally, vexatiously or as being without jurisdiction. The present case would undoubtedly fall for exercise of the power of the High Court in accordance with Section 482 of the 1973 Code, even assuming,that the invoking of the revisional power of the High Court is impermissible.”

21. This court in Madhavrao Jiwajirao Scindia & Others v. Sambhajirao Chandrojirao Angre & Others (1988) 1 SCC 692 observed in para 7 as under:

“7. The legal position is well settled that when a prosecution at the initial stage is asked to be quashed, the test to be applied by the court is as to whether the uncontroverted allegations as made prima facie establish the offence. It is also for the court to take into consideration any special features which appear in a particular case to consider whether it is expedient and in the interest of justice to permit a prosecution to continue. This is so on the basis that the court cannot be utilized for any oblique purpose and where in the opinion of the court chances of an ultimate conviction is bleak and, therefore, no useful purpose is likely to be served by allowing a criminal prosecution to continue, the court may while taking into consideration the special facts of a case also quash the proceeding even though it may be at a preliminary stage.”

22. In State of Haryana & Others v. Bhajan Lal & Others 1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335, this court in the backdrop of interpretation of various relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short, Cr.P.C.) under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or the inherent powers under section 482 Cr.P.C. gave the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of the court o otherwise to secure the ends of justice. Thus, this court made it clear that it may not be possible to lay down any precise,

clearly defined and sufficiently channelised and inflexible guidelines or rigid formulae and to give an exhaustive list to myriad kinds of cases wherein such power should be exercised:

“(1) Where the allegations made in the first information report or the complaint, even if they are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the accused.

(2) Where the allegations in the first informationreport and other materials, if any, accompanying the FIR do not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation by police officers under Section 156(1) of the

Code except under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section 155(2) of the Code.
(3) Where the uncontroverted allegations made in the FIR or complaint and the evidence collected in support of the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and make out a case against the accused

(4) Where, the allegations in the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code

(5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused.

(6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party.

(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge.”

23. In G. Sagar Suri & Another v. State of UP & Others (2000) 2 SCC 636, this court observed that it is the duty and obligation of the criminal court to exercise a great deal of caution in issuing the process particularly when matters are essentially of civil nature.

24. This court in Zandu Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. & Others v. Mohd. Sharaful Haque & Another (2005) 1 SCC 122 observed thus:-

“It would be an abuse of process of the court to allow any action which would result in injustice and prevent promotion of justice. In exercise of the powers, court would be justified to quash any proceeding if it finds that initiation/continuance of it amounts to abuse of the process of court or Quashing of these proceedings would otherwise serve the ends of justice. When no offence is disclosed by the complaint, the court may examine the question of fact. When a complaint is sought to be quashed, it is permissible to look into the materials to assess what the complainant has alleged and whether any offence is made out even if the allegations are accepted in toto.”

25. A three-Judge Bench (of which one of us, Bhandari, J. was the author of the judgment) of this Court in Inder Mohan Goswami and Another v. State of Uttaranchal & Others (2007) 12 SCC 1 comprehensively examined the legal position. The court came to a definite conclusion and the relevant observations of the court are reproduced in para 24 of the said

judgment as under:-

“Inherent powers under section 482 Cr.P.C. though wide have to be exercised sparingly, carefully and with great caution and only when such exercise is justified by the tests specifically laid down in this section itself. Authority of the court exists for the advancement of justice. If any abuse of the process leading to injustice is brought to the notice of the court, then the Court would be justified in preventing injustice by invoking inherent powers in absence of specific provisions in the Statute.”

26. We have very carefully considered the averments of the complaint and the statements of all the witnesses recorded at the time of the filing of the complaint. There are no specific allegations against the appellants in the complaint and none of the witnesses have alleged any role of both the appellants.

27. Admittedly, appellant no.1 is a permanent resident of Navasari, Surat, Gujarat and has been living with her husband for more than seven years. Similarly, appellant no.2 is a permanent resident of Goregaon, Maharasthra. They have never visited the place where the alleged incident had taken place. They had never lived with respondent no.2 and her husband. Their implication in the complaint is meant to harass and humiliate the husband’s relatives. This seems to be the only basis to file this complaint against the appellants. Permitting the complainant to pursue this complaint would be an abuse of the process of law.

28. It is a matter of common knowledge that unfortunately matrimonial litigation is rapidly increasing in our country. All the courts in our country including this court are flooded with matrimonial cases. This clearly demonstrates discontent and unrest in the family life of a large number of people of the society.

29. The courts are receiving a large number of cases emanating from section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code which reads as under:-

“498-A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.—Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,

‘cruelty’ means:-

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.”

30. It is a matter of common experience that most of these complaints under section 498-A IPC are filed in the heat of the moment over trivial issues without proper deliberations. We come across a large number of such complaints which are not even bona fide and are filed with oblique motive. At the same time, rapid increases in the number of genuine cases of dowry harassment are also a matter of serious concern.

31. The learned members of the Bar have enormous social responsibility and obligation to ensure that the social fiber of family life is not ruined or demolished. They must ensure that exaggerated versions of small incidents should not be reflected in the criminal complaints. Majority of the complaints are filed either on their advice or with their concurrence. The learned members of the Bar who belong to a noble profession must maintain its noble traditions and should treat every complaint under section 498-A as a basic human problem and must make serious endeavour to help the parties in arriving at an amicable resolution of that human problem. They must discharge their duties to the best of their abilities to ensure that social fiber, peace and tranquility of the society remains intact. The members of the Bar should also ensure that one complaint should not lead to multiple cases.

32. Unfortunately, at the time of filing of the complaint the implications and consequences are not properly visualized by the complainant that such complaint can lead to insurmountable harassment, agony and pain to the complainant, accused and his close relations.

33. The ultimate object of justice is to find out the truth and punish the guilty and protect the innocent. To find out the truth is a herculean task in majority of these complaints. The tendency of implicating husband and all his immediate relations is also not uncommon. At times, even after the conclusion of criminal trial, it is difficult to ascertain the real truth. The courts have to be extremely careful and cautious in dealing with these complaints and must take pragmatic realities into consideration while dealing with matrimonial cases. The allegations of harassment of husband’s close relations who had been living in different cities and never

 visited or rarely visited the place where the complainant resided would have an entirely different complexion. The allegations of the complaint are required to be scrutinized with great care and circumspection. Experience reveals that long and protracted criminal trials lead to rancour, acrimony and bitterness in the relationship amongst the parties. It is also a matter of common knowledge that in cases filed by the complainant if the husband or the husband’s relations had to remain in jail even for a few days, it would ruin the chances of amicable settlement altogether. The process of suffering is extremely long and painful.

34. Before parting with this case, we would like to observe that a serious relook of the entire provision is warranted by the legislation. It is also a matter of common knowledge that exaggerated versions of the incident are reflected in a large number of complaints. The tendency of over implication is also reflected in a very large number of cases.

35. The criminal trials lead to immense sufferings for all concerned. Even ultimate acquittal in the trial may also not be able to wipe out the deep scars of suffering of ignominy. Unfortunately a large number of these complaints have not only flooded the courts but also have led to enormous social unrest affecting peace, harmony and happiness of the society. It is high time that the legislature must take into consideration the pragmatic realities and make suitable changes in the existing law. It is imperative for the legislature to take into consideration the informed public opinion and the pragmatic realities in consideration and make necessary changes in the relevant provisions of law. We direct the Registry to send a copy of this judgment to the Law Commission and to the Union Law Secretary, Government of India who may place it before the Hon’ble Minister for Law & Justice to take appropriate steps in the larger interest of the society.

36. When the facts and circumstances of the case are considered in the background of legal principles set out in preceding paragraphs, then it would be unfair to compel the appellants to undergo the rigmarole of a criminal trial. In the interest of justice, we deem it appropriate to quash the complaint against the appellants. As a result, the impugned judgment of the High Court is set aside. Consequently, this appeal is allowed.

…….……………………..J.(Dalveer Bhandari)

…….……………………..J.(K.S. Radhakrishnan)

New Delhi;

August 13, 2010

Bengali Film Actress Swastika Mukherjee confessed false dowry allegations

Kolkata, Sept 23 (Calcutta Tube/IBNS): Tollywood actress Swastika Mukherjee has confessed in a media conference that the dowry harassment allegations she made against her estranged husband were false, apparently bringing a closure to an episode that has been playing out amidst full media glare for ten years.
.
“I was young, I did not have enough sense back then and I did what my family, friends and peers advised me to do,” is how Swastika on Wednesday chose to explain why she falsely accused her husband singer Promit Sen of “subjecting her to cruelty” and “criminal breach of trust”.

Swastika’s shocking but predictable confession comes a day after she apparently submitted an affidavit at a city court admitting that the charges she made against her husband and her in-laws under Indian Penal Code 498A and 406 were “unfounded, false, baseless and speculative”.

Swastika and Promit, the youngest son of renowned Rabindrasangeet exponent Sagar Sen, were married in June 1998, when the actress was just 18.

“Things started to go wrong around two years later when like a bolt from the blue my brother, our family and even me, who all lived in different places, were charged by her for dowry related crimes,” said Pritam Sen, Promit’s elder brother, who also attended the press conference.

“We went through hell for the past ten years. So many arrest warrants, all the expenses and the defamation aside, my brother is never going to get back the last ten years. He’s totally mentally devastated,” he added.
Though divorce was reportedly filed by Swastika in 2001, the cases are still under legal red tape.

Pritam said recently Swastika had issued a press release which after being published in the media made it seem as if the two parties had reached a compromise and were heading for divorce which was definitely not the case.

Hence Wednesday’s press conference was called by the actress “to come clean”.

“I am deeply sorry for all that Promit and his family has had to go through. I hope he can move on,” said Swastika.

“As far as the custody of our daughter Anwesha is concerned, lets see what plays out. She’s a ten-year-old girl and she too has a say in this,” she said.

When asked what drove her to suddenly make such an effort, she replied that it was not out of any pressure but just a “realisation”.

Sources, however, say this might be just a coup to get the divorce the 30-year-old actress, who is known for her ‘who cares’ attitude and has not exactly had the smoothest relationships over past few years, has been after for quite some time.

Pritam, however, said he and his family were pleased at Swastika’s confession.
He said, “I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Let’s see what this leads to. But we’ll not accept anything but a genuine apology.”

The Sen family is apparently not mulling pressing charges on the actress since they are “not vindictive people”, said Pritam.

The confession, apart from sending gossip mills in overdrive, also sheds light on the Indian Penal Code which leaves the door for such a heavy-handed charge wide open for misuse.

best way to fight for a child custody

Here are some tips to win a child custody battle in the court

 

With the current gender baised laws  male(husbands) considered as just a sperm donors of the kids when it comes to the legal battle for the custody unless you fight it out in a deligent manner and the unscrupulous women( aka wifes) will the child as blank cheque for extoriton in the name of education of child and they may extorrt you emotionally by not following visitation rights as per the court . The country slowly moving towards a fatherless society.

 

here are the tips to be followed when the child custody battle going in the court if the child is in temporary custody of the court.

 

1. You have to convince the judge by showing how much effeciton you have towards your kids by goign to their school regular ,checking attendance , meeting with teachers and submitt the meeting minutes to the court
2.  Apply for the special visitation on birthday of the child , parents day , fathers day and buy bunch of gifts
3. Take them to the musiems ,parks ,childrenshows and movies also save a documents of all these
4. Must take a video of how happy your kid is when he is with father during the each visitation
5. Take lots of picures of each visitation

 

The above may not sufficient unless you have a very good legal point to aruge in the court in addition to the above tips.

The right way to fight custody is demand for shared parenting and create new precedents, and approach it form children's point of view and implementation of UN CRC to which India is signatory already. Else the court will trap fathers and link child custody with your maintenance to child etc. Say tocourt that just as housewife does not lose custody of child just because she does not earn, a father cannot lose shared custody (like Sat/Sun, not just 2hours) just by linking it to earning or maintenance. It is nothing but trap, even if you earn a 1 crore per year, court will not give custody on that ground so what's the point of approaching from that point of view.

 

 

Citations to be used :

1.. IN Raj Kumar Gupta v Barbara Gupta, AIR 1989 Cal 165

 

The Welfare of the minor child is of paramount consideration in teh appointment of a guardian and Guardians and Wards Act 1890, does not provided what a custody of child of any age should be with the mother only, unlie section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 which providdes that the custody of child below five years of age should be with the mother only, becuase in some cases mother may be unfit to provide all the love, care, confort for a child of such tender age.

 

The aim is to show the court that mother is unfit.

 

2. In Nirmal Jain V The State, AIR 1983 Del 120.

  

According to Hindu Law father is the natural guardian of a minor and in the next place mother is the natural guafdian and mother thoo can be deprived of the guardianship if it can be shown that she is unfit to act as guardian.

  

3. In Master Zubeen v Principal Judge, Family Court, Lucknow, AIR 1984 All 147

Mother was seeking maintenance from the father. Held that azs mother was unable to maintain herself, the custody of children should be given to father.

It's official: Women use their gender like a weapon!

"Because I'm a woman." That's the standard refrain when women want to avoid doing something they don't like! Illustration:

Scientists have proven that women frequently use their sex as a get-out clause for everything from crying to their failure to take the bins out.

A survey found that 88 per cent of respondents had used their sex as an excuse at some point, while more than half admitted they did so regularly.

Driving was the most common scenario, with 67 per cent blaming their poor parking on being a woman, reports the Daily Mail. More than half of women blamed their gender on their inability to catch spiders in the bath -- while slightly fewer than half used it to avoid carrying heavy items.

The news follows Katie Price's admission in court last week that she had swerved while driving her pink horsebox because she was a 'typical woman driver'.

The top ten situations in which women are likely to use their gender as an excuse:

Parking the car (67 per cent of women polled)
Catching insects (56 per cent)
Carrying heavy items (48 per cent)
Opening Jars (40 per cent)
Avoiding confrontation (35 per cent)
DIY (28 per cent)
Taking the rubbish out (19 per cent)
Sporting performance (15 per cent)
Navigation (11 per cent)
Crying (6 per cent)

Sarah Heath, of MyCelebrityFashion.co.uk, said, "Whilst it was surprising to find just how many women do use the excuse, it's important to bear in mind that the majority admitted to doing so in a 'jokey' manner."

Why supreme court calls 498a as "Legal Terrorism"?

25  reasons "Why IPC 498A is Anti-Social?"

  

1. It is handled under the Criminal law for marriage related matters and not under Civil Laws.
2. Non-bailable warrant does not require proof before arrest. No investigation necessary. This exposes the  vulnerability of the accused taking away their basic human rights.
3. Even those who were not part of the 'day-to-day' family life could be named and arrested on one complaint, which can also include pregnant women and children.
4. Accused is presumed guilty until proven innocent. Violates the basic principles of natural justice as laid down by Amnesty International.
5. Gifts are sometimes misunderstood as dowry. Who decides that the gift exchanged were 'gifts or dowry'?
6. It is non-compoundable which means that the complaint can’t be taken back once registered. This hinders any scope of reconciliation between the couple.
7. After a man is accused of 498A, he will be not be in a position to take her back as the accused and petitioner cannot influence each other in a criminal case. Moreover it will lead to severe breach of trust and chances of reconciliation becomes extremely weak.
8. Old parents who lived with dignity and respect have to live with the stigma of the allegation of harassing their daughter-in-law for the rest of their lives.
9. Groom’s relatives don’t find a suitable bride after they are accused under 498A
10. Most of the cases are filed because the husband refuses to throw his parents out of the house at the wife’s demands.
11. Husband’s job is at risk when he is accused under 498A who could even be the only breadwinner of the family.
12. The health of the old parents dangerously deteriorates after they are arrested in a 498A case.
13. Some even commit suicide for not able to withstand the depression and frustration of been falsely accused.
14. Faith in marriage dwindles to such an extent for the accused family that they refrain from tying the knot again.
15. In most of the cases the family ends up paying a very high price to settle the case, the money that was saved for the parent's health.
16. Most often the lawyers tend to take the family for a ride to extract as much money as possible.
17. The possibility of a woman over-reacting on a trivial matter in the family is never considered as a reason of complaint.
18. A woman tries to get divorce proceedings faster by filing a 498a case even if no dowry was demanded.
19. The witnesses (neighbors) tend to support the woman for not getting into a police case. They even fear of been accused by the woman if they don’t support the woman.
20. Some women marries an NRI and slaps a 498A case only to extort large sum of money
21. Even after knowing that the complaint can be false, police tend to support the woman and asks the man to settle the case with a financial compensation.
22. The case can easily linger in the court for years and only the groom’s family has to pay the price.
23. 498A case can be filed even after the divorce, which only means that the accuser wants to demand money legally apart from maintenance.
24. There is no prohibition clause in the 498A law that would stop women to misuse it.
25. It is nearly impossible to file a case of defamation on the accuser because the police will not register the case and it would be hard to prove it.

 

 

 

Note :The existence of dowry deaths in the rural areas is not the reason for lenient laws as understood by women organizations. The law is already unfair, biased and inapplicable. The true reason for dowry deaths in rural areas is poverty and under-developed civilization. Dowry deaths still flourishing in the rural areas and misuse of 498a law is flourishing in the urban areas. Unwillingness of the women’s organization to alter the law so that misuse of law can be stopped is evident. On the contrary, women organizations are planning to strengthen and increase the severity of the 498a law to curb dowry death, which is absolutely preposterous. One must not forget that the chunk of the GDP comes from the urban cities where these laws are prevalently misused. If the misuse of laws still continues then the social infrastructure will collapse which will have a direct unfavorable impact on the country’s economy. If the law can’t curb dowry deaths, can’t even stop misuse, then what is the use of such a law that causes millions of people to suffer?

498a – Law for Sitas but used by Suparnakhas

498a is a law framed for Sitas but is used by the suparnakhas of our society – this is the crux of this draconian law.

In words of a senior advocate “These laws were made to protect real women facing ill-treatment and torture. But this has become a tool for extortion for upwardly mobile women, specially in the elite class. Average settlement of Rs 50-60 lakh is commonplace. And nobody is spared. I have cases of IAS, IPS officers, corporate managers and executives, commissioners. These laws were made for protection of Sitas but being potently misused by Surpnakhas.”

This is so true. Some minority of women who are actually facing ill treatment but they never come out to use these laws but instead educated, mobile, greedy, unscrupulous women of today have been using these laws for years (unbelievable) to wreak havoc on their husbands and their family or in some cases extort huge sums of money (notable example is Shoaib Malik who had to cuff our 15 crores to escape 498a slapped on him by another unscrupulous women Ayesha ). WIPRO chiarman Azim premji got roped into DV case by one of his employee's bitter half and he ended up paying settlement cost. These surpanaka will be definitley sometime punished by Lord Rama sometime or other.Any In my case my mindless out-laws(not in-laws anymore) are demanding the settlement money by including my bitter half's expenses from LKG to her recent second masters ,may be they might be thinking she will have same issue in next birth and wanted also use this money for then.

Shameful part is that our government is a mere spectator and just looks on as lakhs of innocent women (husband’s mothers and sisters) go to jail, families break, husbands commit suicide, children are orpaned. Down with this government !!!

498a & DV Act : Letter to terrorist from an Indian man

Dear Terrorists,

 

I know that you will be surprised to receive this letter from an Indian against the fact that India is dead against terrorism and we do not believe in interacting with such groups. Mass of Indian Army at International borders and in Jammu & Kashmir fighting against your terror is an esteem. At the same time we all do understand and appreciate the hardship you go through in your training camps, including your survival on dry fruits, which makes you a hard-core killer. Though I'm not able to understand your motto behind attacks & killings worldwide, your battle appears to be at International level. My this letter is mainly to help you utilize your manpower in a better way against the countries which are less affected by terrorism and also to enlighten you with the strategies & weapons widely & freely available in India.

 

India has two lethal weapons called as 498A and Domestic Violence Act which were specially designed for misuse only by Indian wives against the husbands & their family. 498A is the deadliest which is backed up by the DV act. Indian wives are self-trained on the misuse of these weapons, and the shortfalls, if any, are fine-tuned by their parents / siblings, NCW, judiciary, police and the government. Thus, there are no costs involved in the procurement of weapons which you face and there are no training camps required. Any happy family can be destroyed just with one FIR and few drops of crocodile tears shed by the married woman. Do you have such innovative ideas for mass destruction?

 

One married man in India commits suicide every 9 minutes because of false 498A & DV act. Which means 58,400 men die every year (courtesy Indian wives); and if we consider they have at least parents & two siblings then their suicidal death results in 2,33,600 social deaths in a year. Do you have the guts, abilities, infrastructure, manpower and strength to beat those figures? No, you don't. You plan for months & years together to make your one stupid mission successful and at times you fail !! Shame on you !!! You do not deserve any publicity and you pose no threat. If you cannot kill more than 1440 men per day and create a chain reaction for further complete destruction of families & society then you all need to close your shop and become monk !!! What pride do you take in your intensive trainings and sophisticated modern weapons when you cannot beat the damages caused by simple paper weapons like 498A & DV act with no ammo except women's lip service !!!?

As your well-wisher, I strongly recommend you to comply with the following:

 

1. Stop boasting your underachievements and learn something from India, Indian wives, 498A, DV act, NCW, police, judiciary and the government.
2. Force all the countries to implement 498A & DV act, as "Legal Terrorism" to make your job easier & quicker.
3. Stop targeting India and demobilize all your militants & agents from my country as the ones mentioned in point 1 above are succeeding in their mission at enormous speed, and your assistance & presence is neither solicited nor required.
4. Recruit the as may as 498a gang's to your camps and so make your life easier, each of this gang has well scripted Compliant and FIR ( so you dont need to proive arms and ammuna..) .
5. By slapping 498a,this gang can weakens the economy of the county..read below how

• Husband looses the job as so he wont pay any taxes to government  and his capacity drastically goes down.
• Government has engage I0 , PP ,judge and other clerks to trail these false allegations ..shame on you..what a waste tax payers money.
• While police nd courts are busy trailing these false cases, you ctively execute your plans as no survivalance activity by police

498a motives and solutions

The key motives identified behind 498a are

1. Extortion
2. Harassment
3. Spoiling Career
4. Making life miserable a.k.a not letting you marry again




Extortion - Make a strong decision not to pay off no matter what ever happens. Convey your intention through all open communication channels including your lawyer. Lawyers are the most money hungry gang in this extortion racket.

Harassment - The more you try to run away from the legal proceedings the more THEY win. 498a is the only drama where the climax comes first. Once everyone gets bailed out then its just a piece of shit. Learn about counter attack and be prepared, then wait for the right time.

Spoiling Career - The intention is to create chaos and make your travel documents messy, getting you fired and bringing you back to India forever. This may happen only when you try to run away from the proceedings. All you need is a bail to overcome this and above all to regain peace of mind. Getting an AB while you are in other country is not a big deal. The only risk is about the conditions of surrendering passport. The sooner you show interest in attending the case the less chances for such strict conditions. In the long run it will help you a lot. There are many NRIs who got AB without any conditions including me. In that case all you need is the time required to travel and one day to present in the court to get AB executed to regular bail.

Making life miserable - If you follow the above mentioned solutions, then you can grin at the 498a gang. Whats left is 'Remarriage'. Learn about Domestic Violence Act, 498a, 304B and various maintenance acts; The thoughts of remarriage FROM India will automagically go away.

My "Dharmayudh" -- against the legal deylay by courts - a letter to HC chief justice

TO Hon'ble Principal Judge
High Court , Andhra Pradesh ,India

Dear Sir:

We beseech you to save the valuable lives of young spouses who approach Family Courts for judicial relief lest the faith we repose in the judiciary is lost.Your personal and valuable intervention in setting right the gross injustice being done in the matters of matrimonial conflict will go a long way in the history of Judiciary and saving the institution of FAMILY.

After the enactment of the Family Courts Act, 1984, Family Courts have been set up with the ostensible object of saving the institution of Marriage and resolving Matrimonial Discord in a speedy manner.We believe that great injustice is being done to litigants by Family Courts and Judicial system in the name of saving marriages leading to Family Destruction and creation of a Fatherless Society.We are constrained to bring to your notice that there is inordinate delay in disposal of matters brought before the Family Courts.For all practical purposes, the inordinate delay in the disposal of Matrimonial cases by the Family Courts is causing a great harassment to the spouses. The litigants, instead of getting relief, are being tortured by the system, rules,procedures and the legal fraternity. They are destined to waste their time and the prime of their youth at the corridors of the Family Courts for years together.

Following are some of the adverse effects of such excessive delays in the disposal of cases by the Family Courts in AP.

 

• The Youth and vigor of Young Women and Men are lost by the time the Family Court renders it decision - be it Just or Unjust.

• The family Court cannot restore the Youth and Vigor of the Young citizens/spouses nor compensate for their loss of youth

• Statutory mandate of law for disposal of cases by 6 months and day to day hearing is not at all followed by the Family Courts

• Fathers are denied custody as a rule rather than an exception. If at all visitation is ordered to the fathers it is limited to 30 min and 1 hour in a month contrary to the requirement of UN resolution that no Child should be denied access to either of the parents

 

The Supreme Court has ordered our Citizens saddled with dead marriages to approach the God and live happily blaming fate & destiny thereby indirectly pronouncing that the institution of marriage itself is DEAD. The Judiciary is more tyrannical than the Rulers are. The President, The Prime Minister, The Chief justice of India, The Law Commission and The Speaker who are the highest constitutional functionaries of our nation are on record acknowledging the existence of corruption,unjustified delay, overreach, incompetency and procrastination in the Judicial System of our Nation. We are part of the “Family Harmony Society” which consists of patriotic litigants before Family Courts in AP. We have been spearheading a movement against the Legal Weapons of Family Destruction and fighting against Misuse, and abuse of family laws and judicial system in all its forms and Manifestations.

Disposal of Cases:

1. The Family Courts shall ensure that all matrimonial cases be disposed within a period of one year.
2. The Family Courts to officially state that no new cases to be taken till the old ones are disposed.
3. All long-pending (one year and above) cases should be transferred to the City Civil Courts to dispose of within a time limit.
4. The Family Courts shall order perjury and contempt proceedings in respect of exaggerated or false allegation in respect of employment, earning and cruelty when such allegations are proved to be false. And spouses making false allegations are to be punished.

Reforms in Mediation Counseling and Pleadings

1. Banning the presence & pleadings by Advocates in the family Court and Mediation.
2. The Family Court shall nominate NGOs’, retired social welfare officers as counselors and mediators.They shall be adequately compensated fixing a rateof at least Rs10, 000/= per case payable by the spouses equally.
3. The Family Courts shall ensure that mediators are given exclusive powers to decide on dates, adjournments and mandate them to dispose mediations &counseling quickly, without holidays.
4. The Family Courts shall ensure when a Husband is arrested at the instance of the wife on 498A case, automatic divorce to be granted on application for divorce by either of the spouse.
5. In case of NRI who applies for annulment of the marriage in AP , courts should grant unconditional anticipatory bail if pleaded by assuring that they will support the judiciary process , so that most of the false 498a complaints will be eliminated on NRI's .

Child Custody matters:

1. The Family Courts shall ensure that equal custody of children are given to both spouses irrespective of allegations of mother be adulterous o father being a drunkard.
2. The practice of child being shown as a TV episode to a father should be discouraged and the Family Courts shall ensure the Shared parenting concept.
3. We strongly deprecate the attitude of the courts which consider the children as the exclusive property of the wife and totally deny access to the Husband and his Family while passing interim and final orders.
4. We strongly deprecate the basic philosophy of the Family Courts that Husband alone is bound to earn and maintain the wife and children, even though the wife is either earning or sufficiently qualified to earn.

We really hope you consider our pleading and provide us the reliefs from gender biased laws.

 

 

Yours sincerely,
Family Harmony Society
Prashanth Reddy

Consequences Of Filing False 498A Cases

There is a lot written about horror faced by families who get entangled in 498A cases, but nothing is said about the consequences faced by women who file these cases, if the plan backfires. 498A is ultimately a gamble. These women file cases at the advice of their lawyers, close relatives with vested interests or just to persecute the hubby and in-laws or to defraud the hubby and his family as they know that this law is actually designed to be more effective as a tool for extortionists and blackmailers than for protecting women facing dowry harassment or domestic violence

1) Divorce after a 498A is guaranteed. 498A is a nuclear weapon. It should never be used for any other purpose than what it was intended for, which was to protect women from dowry harassment. It was not designed to allow it be used to settle scores or as an extortion tool. If the accused fight back, the filers of a false 498A will face the consequences .

2) She won’t get married again. The reason being our very conservative society. Feminism may be a fashionable thing to bandy about, but no family, including the family of the filer of a false 498A, would like to admit one of their own into their homes. This is all about power politics in relationships and once it is known that a woman had filed a false 498A, she will be treated like radioactive material .

3) Siblings :Her sister(s) may eventually run off with the milkman or something along similar lines may happen as they risk remaining spinsters.

4) Any sisters-in-law she may have will turn against her as time goes by. Her brothers may not get married again. Think about this. Would you be willing to send your sister/daughter into a home where there is woman who has quarreled with a decent husband and used the law to terrorize him and his family? How happy would your sister/daughter be in a home like that? How secure would a family feel, if the sister of the woman who filed a false 498A enters the house as a bride? It also says a lot about that family that they did not discourage her from doing so .

5) The filer of a false 498A may face arrest under Section 182. The sentence may range up to 6 months .

6) If kids are involved, their well-being may be threatened as fathers play a crucial role in the up bringing of a child. A 498A almost always results in a divorce.

7) If the 498A is being filed at the instigation of close relatives and for no valid justification, be assured of this, once the relatives get what they want, they will abandon the woman.

8 ) The woman may get fined by the court for filing false charges as men are getting aware

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070426/haryana.htm#5

Benefactors of 498a

The benefit of the anti dowry law section 498A.

It is not true that the Anti Dowry law does not benefit anyone, it sure does. Below are the benefactors of the Anti Dowry law. These below agencies benefit from the misery and suffering of others while the Ministry for Women and Child Development Ministry meets and meets and meets to understand if the law is misused at all.

Benefactors

1) Unscrupulous aka "Empowered" wives: - These people are primary benefactors of the draconian Anti Dowry law section 498A law. The level of misuse has reached epic proportions in the last 4 years and if it has made someone rich it is these folks. These people being the primary accusers in these cases go great lengths to file these false cases. False medical certificates are made the cases are planned and filed meticulously. The compromise money demanded to withdraw the false 498A cases has now reached anywhere between 10 Lakhs to 40 Crore (A recent southern film star was threatened with a false 498A unless he forked out Rs 40 Crore as "compromise" money). These women then have a cut in the share of the booty that they manage to extort, get a favorable divorce and resume the hunt for their next prey.

2) The Lawyers of India: - The lawyers have a field day when the falsely accused families run to the lawyers for getting advice when their entire families have been put behind bars .The increase in the number of false cases in India has increased astronomically and so have the revenues of these lawyers. The people also sometimes provide false advice and collude with the members of the girl's families to sell out their clients in turn paving the way for more extortion. These people are also currently benefiting from the thousands of false domestic violence cases that are flooding the Indian Judiciary system.

3) Police: - One of the most corrupt government agencies of India these people are another major benefactor of the false 498A cases. These people are the wife's henchmen in uniform in false 498A cases. They try to arrest, terrorize the husbands family having total disregard for senior citizens, women and children. These people break the rules of Indian constitution on every count and have scant disregard for all judgments that have set down guidelines for arresting citizens of India. We have cases where these knights in

shining armor have dragged 90-year-old women to the court under the dowry harassment cases. They look for opportunities to make money from first from the girls side to unleash legal terrorism on the Husband's family and then after the husband and his family is arrested extort money from the Husband and his family for releasing them and giving them any leverage in the police station. Not only that they try to negotiate the compromise amount and have a fixed cut in the `compromise' amount that is extorted from the husband.

4) Crime against women cells (CAW cell): - The so called cells which were created with the intention of being counselors to investigate and resolve differences in sensitive matrimonial issues, now has turned into a "Mafia Den" for extortion in false 498A cases.Here is where Husbands families are humiliated, terrorized into payment of compromise money to `resolve' differences. The women in these cells are no less than henchwomen who do not think twice before using brutal physical force to make their victims succumb to pressure and extortion demands. Once the payment has been made the CAW cell women have a good cut in the booty.

5) Radical NGO's: - If police and CAW cells are henchmen then the NGO's are the bloodhound. These organizations at the slightest smell of a marital discord between a women and "well to do" husband start counseling the wife instead of helping resolving the maritaldiscord urge her to file false 498A and DV cases. Rarely will you find a NGO helping the wife of a Bus Conductor or a Sweeper. These NGO always work with wives of rich individuals where money is there to be made.

6) The National Commission of Women:- Lovingly called as the National Commission of Wives ,this agency although does not directly benefit from extortion amount in these false 498A they are a great indirect benefactor .This agency is an expert in fudging numbers and always pushing for laws to falsely increase the count the women that have fallen prey to dowry harassment and other similar cases.Recently the agency came up with the historical recommendation to convert any unnatural death of women to be categorized as a "Dowry Death" They are also an epitome of unaccountability and have done nothing for the 120,000 women who have been arrested in the past 4 years under the Anti Dowry law. The leadership of this agency is ordinary and totally unaccountable. The chairperson of this agency quotes numbers, which have no basis for support. This organization now says that the false cases are because of "ignorance" on the part of the woman. Is using a criminal law under ignorance tantamount to its misuse ? The agency tries to sensationalize the condition of women in India and provide staggering false numbers to the press and agencies like the UNIFEM to gain funds for itself and its sister NGO's.

498A Methodology:A weapon in the hands of vamps

I went throguh the extensive and robust doctrinal method of legal research for writing up this report , and out of aggrievance and sarrow I made up this report so thoroughly and sticked to the factors surroing to the 498a. Thus it required an extensive study of the provision along with the relevant act of the Evidence Act and the Criminal Procedure Code.

My findings are as follows .

The Supreme Court of India says, “But by misuse of the provision (IPC 498a – Dowry and Cruelty Law) a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used a shield and not an assassin’s weapon”. Laws originally meant to protect from the dowry menace are being misused by urban ill-intentioned, unscrupulous women and their families as “an assassin’s weapon” . There is a rapidly escalating social evil in Indian families, namely the misuse of the Dowry and Cruelty laws (Criminal Laws), which were originally meant to act “as a shield” for the protection of harassed women. Nowadays, the educated urban Indian women have turned the tables. They have discovered several loopholes in the existing Indian judicial system and are using the dowry laws to harass all or most of the husband’s family that includes mothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, elderly grandparents, disabled individuals and even very young children.


We are not talking about the dowry deaths or physical injury cases but about dowry harassment cases that require no evidence and can be filed just based on a single-sentence complaint by the wife. With an approximately 60,000 such accusations per year, about 200,000 people are directly affected by these false accusations. The number of such cases has increased by about 100% in the last 10 years and by more than 15% in just the last two years. This poorly formulated law is inviting unscrupulous people to file false cases, and causing the imprisonment of innocent people without investigation. These innocent people undergo stigmatization and hardship even before a trial in the court of law which leads to immense emotional, physical and financial trauma. Unable to bear the harassment, the loss of reputation and the social consequences of being implicated in a false criminal case, some of these falsely accused husbands and their elderly parents are committing suicide. Despite the recommendations of the Supreme Court of India and Justice Malimath Committee that the legislative arm should modify the laws such that the innocent are protected, the suggested amendments to the law have been largely ignored. Unconstrained, this social evil is threatening the foundation of the Indian Family system. For every complaint filed by a woman, there are generally twice as many or more women are accused although the married couple may have never lived with any of the people mentioned in the criminal complaint.

Let us look into the general text of the section it reads 498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.–Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” means-

(a) any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or (b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.

IPC-498a is:

Cognizable – The accused can be arrested and jailed without warrant or investigation
Non-Compoundable – The complaint cannot be withdrawn by the petitioner
Non-Bailable – The accused must appear in the court to request bail


We must look into why people misuse the provisions of Sec 498A of the IPC.

Legal Extortion – Get-rich-quick-scheme to extort large amounts of money
Prior Relationship – Wife has a prior relationship, and cannot get out of it. She marries to satisfy her parents, and then misuses the 498a law in order to obtain a divorce.
Adultery – Women who indulge in adultery use 498a as a bargaining tool
Domination – Wife wants the husband to abandon his parents and siblings, and have total control over his finances and social behaviour
Custody – Deny the father and his family access to their child(ren).
Fraudulent Marriages – in which the bride (and her family) hides her education level or mental health; and when is justifiably asked to release the person who has gone into marriage without knowing the full facts; she files a false 498a case.



The kind of women who are likely to file false 498A cases have certain typical traits :

Who is suffering from pre-existing mental problems such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc.,
Whose family is nouveau riche and likes ostentatious display of wealth, possessions as well as social and political connections
Who is used to living beyond her means
Whose father is hen-pecked and whose mother dominates all family situations
Who listens to and acts in accordance with her parents’ wishes at all times, exhibiting a lack of individuality and discretion in dealing with her married life
Who pushes for quick involvement during the establishment of a marriage alliance, pressing the man and his family for an instantaneous commitment
Who is excessively possessive and suspicious
Who is self-centred and feels the need to dominate the relationship and every aspect of decision making
Who tries to alienate her husband from his family and friends
Who is hypersensitive and therefore easily insulted
Who indulges in verbal abuse and constant criticism of her husband and in-laws
Who uses blackmail (emotional or otherwise) and threats to get her unreasonable demands fulfilled by her husband and in-laws
Who walks out on her husband following an argument and stays away from her husband indefinitely without any effort towards reconciliation

Today every husband is labelled a torturer and the mother-in-law a demon. A fair amount of blame for this rests on the media which, with a view to sensationalize the ‘story’ blows the news of ‘harassment’ or ‘torture’ of married women out of proportions, without properly investigating the veracity of the story. The news of alleged ‘torture, harassment, and misappropriation of stridhan’ of wife by ‘A’ was published prominently by a leading city newspaper, accusing several members of his family torturing her. The concerned reporter never bothered to verify the allegations with the husband of ‘A’. As the news carried his full name and those of his relatives, designation and the organization where he was working, it caused irreparable damage to the entire family’s image and hard-earned reputation in almost every circle they moved. Queries started pouring in following this news. Depressed as he was, ‘A’ immediately registered his protest with the editor. The newspaper did publish his rejoinder, but after a long time gap and without any apology for publishing an unverified report. One wonders where this growing tendency of misusing the useful laws by unscrupulous parties is leading the society. Harassing and victimizing women for dowry is condemnable. We all have sisters, and daughters, and undoubtedly they require legal protection from all forms of harassment and cruelty but what if the legal loopholes of this very law are misused by women to harass their husbands and in-laws?

The Apex Court has also commented on the possible misuse of this provision in a number of cases. Right to life and liberty of every citizen is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. But this life and liberty can be curtailed if they hinder others’ life and liberty. For that due process of law is necessary. While civil law determines what is right and what is wrong, the criminal law imposes penalty to deter.

Section 498A was inserted in the Indian Penal Code in 1984 with a view to protect women against dowry harassment. From the very beginning of this law there has been reaction from the society including legal luminaries that this law could be misused and its effects on the society would be deleterious. In their judicial observations and remarks, the courts have expressed deep anguish over this law. Here are some recent judicial observations.

Way back in 1990 Punjab and Haryana High court observed in Jasbir Kaur vs. State of Haryana, (1990)2 Rec Cri R 243 case as:

“It is known that an estranged wife will go to any extent to rope in as many relatives of the husband as possible in a desperate effort to salvage whatever remains of an estranged marriage.”

In Kanaraj vs. State of Punjab, 2000 CriLJ 2993 the apex court observed as:

“for the fault of the husband the in-laws or other relatives cannot in all cases be held to be involved. The acts attributed to such persons have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and they cannot be held responsible by mere conjectures and implications. The tendency to rope in relatives of the husband as accused has to be curbed”

Karnataka High Court, in the case of State Vs. Srikanth, 2002 CriLJ 3605 observed as:

“Roping in of the whole of the family including brothers and sisters-in-law has to be depreciated unless there is a specific material against these persons, it is down right on the part of the police to include the whole of the family as accused”

Supreme Court, In Mohd. Hoshan vs. State of A.P. 2002 CriLJ 4124 case, observed as:

“Whether one spouse has been guilt of cruelty to the other is essentially a question of fact. The impact of complaints, accusation or taunts on a person amounting to cruelty depends on various factors like the sensitivity of the victim concerned, the social background, the environment, education etc. Further, mental cruelty varies from person to person depending on the intensity of the sensitivity, degree of courage and endurance to withstand such cruelty. Each case has to be decided on its own facts whether mental cruelty is made out”

Delhi high Court, in Savitri Devi vs. Ramesh Chand, 2003 CriLJ 2759 case observed as:

“These provisions were though made with good intentions but the implementation has left a very bad taste and the move has been counter productive. There is a growing tendency amongst the women which is further perpetuated by their parents and relatives to rope in each and every relative including minors and even school going kids nearer or distant relatives and in some cases against every person of the family of the husband whether living away or in other town or abroad and married, unmarried sisters, sisters-in-law, unmarried brothers, married uncles and in some cases grand parents or as many as 10 o 15 or even more relatives of the husband.”

Punjab and Haryana High Court, in Bhupinder Kaur and others vs. State of Punjab and others, 2003 CriLJ 3394 case observed as:

“From the reading of the FIR, it is evident that there is no specific allegation of any act against petitioners Nos.2 and 3, which constitute offence under s.498-A I.P.C. I am satisfied that these two persons have been falsely implicated in the present case, who were minors at the time of marriage and even at the time of lodging the present FIR. Neither of these two persons was alleged to have been entrusted with any dowry article nor they alleged to have ever demanded any dowry article. No specific allegation of demand of dowry, harassment and beating given to the complainant by the two accused has been made. The allegations made are vague and general. Moreover, it cannot be ignored that every member of the family of the husband has been implicated in the case. The initiation of criminal proceedings against them in the present case is clearly an abuse of the process of law”

Jharkhand High Court in Arjun Ram Vs. State of Jharkhand and another, 2004 CriLJ 2989 case observed as:

“In the instant case, it appears that that the criminal case has been filed, which is manifestly intended with mala fide and ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge.

In this connection reliance may be placed upon AIR 1992 SC 604: (1992CriLJ 527)”

Supreme Court, in a relatively recent case, Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India and others, JT 2005(6) 266 observed as:

“The object of the provision is prevention of the dowry menace. But as has been rightly contented by the petitioner that many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with oblique motive. In such cases acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Sometimes adverse media coverage adds to the misery. The question, therefore, is what remedial measures can be taken to prevent abuse of the well-intentioned provision. Merely because the provision is constitutional and intra vires, does not give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreck personal vendetta or unleash harassment. It may, therefore, become necessary for the legislature to find out ways how the makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with. Till then the Courts have to take care of the situation within the existing frame work.

But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used a shield and not an assassin’s weapon. If cry of “wolf” is made too often as a prank assistance and protection may not be available when the actual “wolf” appears. There is no question of investigating agency and Courts casually dealing with the allegations. They cannot follow any straitjacket formula in the matters relating to dowry tortures, deaths and cruelty. It cannot be lost sight of that ultimate objective of every legal system is to arrive at truth, punish the guilty and protect the innocent. There is no scope for any pre-conceived notion or view. It is strenuously argued by the petitioner that the investigating agencies and the courts start with the presumptions that the accused persons are guilty and that the complainant is speaking the truth. This is too wide available and generalized statement. Certain statutory presumptions are drawn which again are rebuttable. It is to be noted that the role of the investigating agencies and the courts is that of watch dog and not of a bloodhound. It should be their effort to see that an innocent person is not made to suffer on account of unfounded, baseless and malicious allegations. It is equally undisputable that in many cases no direct evidence is available and the courts have to act on circumstantial evidence. While dealing with such cases, the law laid down relating to circumstantial evidence has to be kept in view.”

Justice Malimath Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003 observed the following and gave the recommendation to amend the law immediately:

“16.4.4 In less tolerant impulsive woman may lodge an FIR even on a trivial act. The result is that the husband and his family may be immediately arrested and there may be a suspension or loss of job. The offence alleged being non-bailable, innocent persons languish in custody. There may be a claim for maintenance adding fuel to fire, if the husband cannot pay. She may change her mind and get into the mood to forget and forgive. The husband may realize the mistakes committed and come forward to turn a new leaf for a loving and cordial relationship. The woman may like to seek reconciliation. But this may not be possible due to the legal obstacles. Even if she wishes to make amends by withdrawing the complaint, she can not do so as the offence is non compoundable. The doors for returning to family life stand closed. She is thus left at the mercy of her natal family.

16.4.5 This section, therefore, helps neither the wife nor the husband. The offence being non-bailable and non compoundable makes an innocent person undergo stigmatization and hardship. Heartless provisions that make the offence non-bailable and non-compoundable operate against reconciliations. It is therefore necessary to make this offence (a) bailable and (b) compoundable to give a chance to the spouses to come together.

(118) The Code may be suitably amended to make the offence under Section 498 A of the I.P.Code, bailable and compoundable.”

These are only a few observations of their lordships from scores which conclusively prove that:

A woman (not necessarily every woman) can be much more cruel than a man (not necessarily every man).
While intending to protect the life of a person, s.498A of IPC jeopardizes around a dozen innocent persons whether they are children or old. Hence, the provision is discriminatory and in violation to the Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Instead of restoring equilibrium, the provision aggravates disequilibria. Hence, it is not only imbalanced but also there is a failure of guarantee of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
For the reasons stated under conclusions 3 and 4 above the provision is not only imbalanced but also ultravires. Because of these maladies the provision needs to be amended at the earliest to protect the life and liberty of millions of innocent people including children and old. Prior to that the learned and honourable courts may consider imposition of heavy penalty as done in case of vexatious PILs. Such PILs are only vexatious but in the matter of the cases may be false, mala fide, malicious and revengeful.
What could be the possible alterations in the present system and the law?

Role of Women NGOs: These organizations should investigate complaint properly without any bias towards the woman keeping in mind that the law is being misused largely to harass more women in husband’s family. They should not encourage any woman to file a criminal case against her in-laws for trivial matters. Foreign Women Organizations should also take responsibility of not allowing false complaint to be registered against NRI’s just to harass and extort huge amount of money from them. These organizations should also conduct survey/research on the misuse of the act and should educate people about its consequences. If these organizations are found to be assisting in filing false complaints, then they should be made liable for prosecution in the country where they are functioning.
Family Counselling Centres: Numerous cases of men being harassed by wife or/and in-laws have come to light from different parts of the country. As of now there is no organization, which can really help these harassed men and his family members, to listen their side of the story and put their point of view in front of the government. Need of the hour is to create family counselling centres across the country to help those aggrieved families.
Time bound Investigation and Trial: A speedy trial of 498(a) cases will not only ensure justice for the innocents that have been implicated in false charges, it will also lead to prompt redressal of the grievances of real dowry victims .The reduction in false cases will also reduce the burden on judiciary and expedite the processing of real cases.
Definition of Mental Cruelty: Mental cruelty has been vaguely defined in the act, which leaves scope of misuse. This should be clearly elaborated to remove loopholes in the law. There should be provision for men also to file a case for mental cruelty by his wife.
Investigation by Civil authorities: The investigation into these offences be carried out by civil authorities and only after his/her finding as to the commission of the offence, cognizance should be taken. The government should create awareness among officers about its misuse.
Bailable: The main reason of 498a being misused to harass innocent is its non-bailable nature. This section should be made bailable to prevent innocent old parents, pregnant sisters, and school going children from languishing in custody for weeks without any fault of them.
Compoundable: Once FIR has been registered it becomes impossible to withdraw the case even if wife realizes that she has done a blunder and wants to come back to her matrimonial home. To save institution of marriage this should be made compoundable. Moreover, in the scenario where the couple decides to end the marriage by mutual divorce, continuation of criminal proceedings hamper their life.
Arrest Warrants: Arrest warrant should be issued only against the main accused and only after cognizance has been taken. Husband family members should not be arrested.
Penalty for making false accusation: Whenever any court comes to the conclusion that the allegations made regarding commission of offence under section 498a IPC are unfound, stringent action should be taken against persons making the allegations. This would discourage persons from coming to courts with unclean hands and ulterior motives. Criminal charges should be brought against all authorities that are collaborating with falsely accusing women and their parental families.
Court Proceedings: Physical appearance of the accused on hearing should be waved or kept low to avoid hassles in appearing to the court, especially for NRIs. The court should not ask to surrender passport of the husband and his family which could cost job of the husband and his family members.
Registration of Marriage and Gifts Exchanged: The registration of marriages should be made compulsory along with the requirement that the couple make a joint declaration regarding the gifts exchanged during marriage.
Punish Dowry Givers: If the complainant admits giving dowry in the complaint, the courts should take cognizance of the same and initiate proceedings against them under the relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act
Penalize corrupt Investigation Officers: If it is apparent to the court that a fair investigation has not been conducted by the investigation officer, and that the husbandand his family have been charge-sheeted without proper verification of the complaint, the investigation officer should be penalized for gross negligence of duty.
NRI Issues: Unless they are proven to be guilty after the due judicial process, NRIs should be a given a fair chance to justice by assuring them of the following -a) Permission to return to country of employment b) No impoundment/revocation of passport and no Interpol Red Corner Notices. c) No unnecessary arrests d) Expeditious investigation and trial
Gender Neutral: Everyone should have equal rights and responsibilities, irrespective of gender. In the current social context, there should be similar laws to protect harassed husband and his family members from an unscrupulous wife.
CONCLUSION

IPC section 498a was originally designed to protect married women from being harassed or subjected to cruelty by husbands and/or their relatives. This law was mainly aimed at curbing dowry harassment. Unfortunately, this law has been misused to harass men and their families rather than protect genuine female victims of harassment. The Supreme Court of India itself has labelled the misuse of section 498a as “legal terrorism” and stated that “many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bona fide and have been filed with an oblique motive. In such cases, acquittal of the accused does not wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to the trial. Sometimes adverse media coverage adds to the misery.“ In agreement with the above statement, the findings of a study conducted by The Centre for Social Research indicated that 98 percent of the cases filed under IPC section 498a are false. Nevertheless, the law has been always justified based on its intention of protecting women. At this point it would be worthwhile to think about how IPC section 498a has really affected women.

It has been argued by Government officials favouring the law that despite the establishment of legal measures to counter harassment of married women, there is an increase in the number of cases of harassment. The first part of the statement suggests that women who are harassed should be utilizing this law as a means of protection. If harassed women indeed used the law then we should see a decrease in the number of cases of harassment over time. Considering the stringent consequences imposed by the law and the inordinate delays inherent in the legal system, no ordinary citizen, male or female, would be impudent enough to risk being implicated under this law for the sake of satisfying their monetary or even sadistic desires for that matter. The fact is that many women who are actually beaten up and harassed by their husbands and in-laws rarely file 498a or resort to other dowry related laws. A lot of them live in rural areas, unaware of the law or lack the necessary economic and moral support from their natal families. Going by the conviction rate the proportion of women who have genuine cases is 2%. Most women who file 498a are from urban backgrounds and are either capable of fending for themselves or have enough family support to fall back on. The proportion of women who belong to this category is 98%. In the 98% of false cases, in every instance that 1 daughter-in-law files a false complaint at least 2 women (an innocent mother-in-law and sister-in-law) are arrested and undergo stress, humiliation and harassment in the hands of the exploitative police, lawyers, staff and officials in Indian courts before being acquitted several years later. So, in every 100 cases 2 women genuinely benefit, 98 women get away with perjury and extortion, and at least 196 women suffer needlessly.

The number of cases that are filed in police stations or courts are the basis for the official statistics of dowry harassment. So, given that the law allows women unlimited scope to fabricate lies (with no penalty of perjury) and given that women are encouraged to keep filing false cases the statistics of “dowry harassment” are bound to rise while the problem of genuine harassment is left unchecked. So, the government has, in the name of protection of women, done grave injustice to two groups of women. The first group constitutes the genuine victims of dowry harassment whose misery remains unresolved but is constantly alluded to in order to justify the law. The second group consists of innocent mothers and sisters of husbands who are criminalized and harassed by the police and the legal system without any regard to their age, health or marital status. Pregnant women, unmarried sisters, ailing mothers and even aged grandmothers have been sent behind the bars under false allegations but their pain and suffering has not even been acknowledged leave alone addressed by the Government. Through IPC section 498a, the Government is actually protecting those women that indulge in perjury, blackmail, extortion and harassment of their husbands and inlaws.


Thanks
Prashanth