What is Section 498-A IPC? First, the legal definition: 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.
Let us simplify this for you. A married woman in India can file a criminal case of cruelty against her husband, in-laws and every single relative of the husband, even if they have never co-habited in the same household for a single day. Many a times, the unmarried and even married siblings of the husbands along with their spouses who are living in different cities or even different country, are served with this FIR, only to ‘teach a lesson’ to the entire family.
Introduction of 498-A & Objective
Section 498-A IPC was introduced in 1983 by the Congress Government as an amendment to the IPC to address the growing concern of domestic violence and harassment faced by married women in India. Section 498-A was enacted with the objective to prevent torture against married women by their husbands and families in connection with the demand for dowry.
In order to deal with the menace of cruelty to married women, the Parliament brought three levels of legislative changes in the year 1983 Criminal Law:
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Chapter XXA was Inserted by The Indian Penal Code of 1860 through the provision of Section 498-A, with an object to penalize the husband or the in-laws who torture or harass the wife or daughter-in-law with the aim of coercing or forcing her to meet any unlawful demands or to drive her to take away her own life.
Along with this,
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Section 304-B defining the dowry death of a married woman was also inserted in The Indian Penal Code of 1860
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Section 113-B was inserted in The Indian Evidence Act regarding the presumption of the death of a married woman
- Section 174 of The Criminal Procedure Code was also amended, and it mandated the inquests by the Executive Magistrate in cases of death or suicide of married women within seven years of their marriage
The offence of 498-A IPC is both Cognizable, Non-bailable, and also Non-Compoundable, which means these are serious crimes that cannot be settled mutually between parties and require complete trial for justice.
Rampant Misuse of 498-A
Over the years, a law that was meant to protect married women who were victims of domestic violence, had been turned into a tool to settle scores and unleash vengeance against husbands and their families.
As times passed, our society had evolved, women were educated, aware of their rights and laws and thus, our courts started witnessing multiple false matrimonial cases by women only to harass husbands.
In the year 2005, the Supreme Court in Sushil Kumar Sharma Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors. observed:
The object is to strike at the roots of dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision, a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used as 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.
Original 1983 Law V. 2014 Landmark Judgment (Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014)
The way this law had been originally designed was completely lopsided and fully empowered a married woman to get her husband and in-laws arrested on a mere criminal complaint. Often the modus operandi followed in such cases was husbands would be picked up by police from their organisations on Friday evening, thrown into custody for two days until they could approach Court on following Monday for bail.
After years and decades of such inhumane practice to protect only one gender, the Supreme Court of India laid down certain guidelines for arrest under Section 498-A through the Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar judgment. Click Here to read full judgment and guidelines.
With these new guidelines, the Supreme Court hoped to put an end on the arbitrary power of arrest rested with the police. The apex court then quoted:
We believe that no arrest should be made only because the offense is non-bailable and cognizable and therefore, lawful for the police officers to do so.
To curb the absolute power of arrest given to police, Section 41A of CrPC notice was made mandatory. Now, whenever an FIR is lodged by a wife against husband and in-laws, a 41A CrPC notice must be served on the accused within two weeks from the date of institution of the case, where the opposite parties are required to appear and co-operate in the investigation. This effectively meant a stop on all automatic arrests on word of the wife.
2017: Supreme Court Issues New Guidelines To Prevent Misuse Of Section 498-A IPC
To curb misuse of this one-sided law, a two Judge Bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit laid down certain specific guidelines which mainly called for:
- Constituting of one or more Family Welfare Committee comprising of three members in every district
- Every complaint under Section 498A received by the police or the Magistrate be referred to and looked into by such committee
- Such committee may have interaction with the parties personally or by means of telephone or any other mode of communication including electronic communication
While setting these new guidelines, the Supreme Court bench once again remarked:
It is a matter of serious concern that large number of cases continue to be filed under Section 498A alleging harassment of married women.
To remedy the situation, we are of the view that involvement of civil society in the aid of administration of justice can be one of the steps, apart from the investigating officers and the concerned trial courts being sensitized.
It is also necessary to facilitate closure of proceedings where a genuine settlement has been reached instead of parties being required to move High Court only for that purpose”.
2018: Supreme Court Reverses 2017 Guidelines
After years of efforts trying to make laws balanced, a three judge bench led by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice A. M. Khanwilkar withdrew the 2017 direction of setting up Family Welfare Committees.
Though this three judge bench acknowledged that there was misuse of the provision leading to social unrest, it said that Court could not fill in legislative gaps.
Pan India Courts On Misuse of Section 498-A IPC
In recent times, one can just do a basic google search on Misuse of Section 498-A IPC, and you will come across multiple observations and judgments from Courts across India, calling out the ill-intent of wives who file such cases. Let us give you few examples citing Court orders:
1) In May 2020, the Punjab & Haryana High Court said: Section 498-A IPC is a weapon rather than shield for disgruntled wives. Click Here to read in full.
2) In July 2022, the Chhattisgarh High Court granted divorce to a husband after 22-years of separation observing: “Section 498-A IPC cannot be used as a weapon to teach lesson to in-laws.” Click Here to read in full.
3) In August 2022, the Bombay High Court Aurangabad Bench quoted: “It is a fashion to rope in all poor relatives of Husband under Section 498-A IPC even if they never lived together.” Click Here to read in full.
4) In January 2023, the same Bombay High Court Aurangabad Bench quashed a False 498-A Case against Husband’s married sister stating: Classic Example Of Roping In Family Members to Settle Score. Click Here to read in full.
5) In August 2023, the Madhya Pradesh High Court made a strong remark against a wife, stating “Women Nowadays File ‘Package Of 5’ Cases Against Husband, In-laws.” Click Here to read in full.
6) In the same month, the Calcutta High Court too, made a bold statement quoting: “Legal Terrorism Unleashed By Women Misusing Section 498-A IPC.” Click Here to read in full.
MAY 2024 | “Amend 498-A”: Supreme Court to Modi Government
While hearing a matter of Section 498-A, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has once again echoed the gross misuse of Anti-Dowry law. The Apex Court via its May 3, 2024 Judgment (read at the end of this article) said:
In all cases, where wife complains of harassment or ill-treatment, Section 498A of the IPC cannot be applied mechanically.
Every matrimonial conduct, which may cause annoyance to the other, may not amount to cruelty.
Mere trivial irritations, quarrels between spouses, which happen in day-to-day married life, may also not amount to cruelty.
Using very strong words against the utilization of police machinery, the Supreme Court stated:
..(this is nothing but) Holding the husband at ransom so that he could be squeezed by the wife at the instigation of her parents or relatives or friends.
Adding further, the top court remaked:
Many times, the parents including the close relatives of the wife make a mountain out of a mole.
Instead of salvaging the situation and making all possible endeavours to save the marriage, their action either due to ignorance or on account of sheer hatred towards the husband and his family members, brings about complete destruction of marriage on trivial issues.
The bench also said that the wife and her family members would approach police station at the very first instance and this could actually destroy the fair chance of conciliation between the spouses.
Supreme Court on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
The Supreme Court bench then looked into Sections 85 and 86 respectively of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which is set to come into force with effect from July 1, 2024 – so as to ascertain whether the Legislature has seriously looked into the suggestions of this Court as made in Preeti Gupta (supra).
The bench observed that the new BNS is nothing but verbatim reproduction of Section 498-A of the IPC. The only difference is that the Explanation to Section 498-A of the IPC, is now introduced by way of a separate provision, i.e., Section 86 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court has requested the Legislature to look into the issue taking into consideration the pragmatic realities and consider making necessary changes in Sections 85 and 86 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, respectively before both the new provisions come into force.
Voice For Men India Take:
- A law that was introduced 41-years ago, needs to be reviewed, particularly with the evolving fabric of our society
- 1983 was a period where Indians largely lived in joint families and married women could have been subjected to domestic abuse at the hands of multiple family members of the husband
- However, in 2024, when many couples live in a nuclear family, can the same law be applied embroiling every possible relative of a husband?
- There have been numerous cases, where the husband’s parents have visited their married son’s home only for lunch/dinner, and when the marriage goes bad, the old parents who have never lived with daughter-in-law are also made to run around courts for years
- We have witnessed several cases of husband suicide or suicide of family members of a married man who have been falsely accused by disgruntled wives
- Section 498-A IPC is not even gender neutral, which means a husband and his family cannot charge the wife/daughter-in-law for cruelty or domestic violence
- While we have the strictest law in place for Dowry Prohibition, we do not have any law to prosecute wives who pressurise and threaten husbands for huge sum of Alimony
- Most of these false cases are settled with monetary compromise or transfer of properties to wives, post which the FIRs are mutually dropped and the cases are closed by Courts
- The Modi government had a classic opportunity to fix this law during its tenure, however, they have failed miserably in not bringing any amendments in the past decade. Once the new law comes into force in July 2024, it may take another century for succeeding government to review the same
- As a society, every single citizen needs to voice their angst against such legal extortion of husbands and their families
- All laws are misused, but this is the only law which empowers a married woman to legally trap her spouse and in-laws for life, until they do not converge on the negotiating table
MUST WATCH VIDEO:
Supreme Court Requests Parliament To Amend Section 498-A In Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita | Misuse of 498A
DO WATCH:
Interview | Husband’s Married Sister Charged Under Section 498A Shares Her Story
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:
If Modi Govt Returns In June 2024, Will They Make Amendments To Section #498A IPC?
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) May 6, 2024
▪️If the law comes into force (with just changed numbering, but copy paste verbatim), Indian men & their families will have to wait for another century until Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is… pic.twitter.com/yYdI32yjh9
READ RELATED ARTICLE:
Harming Woman’s Mental Health Defined As Cruelty | How Will This One-Sided Law Impact Men? | Voice For Men India
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