Matrimonial Crimes in Hindu Law Vis-À-Vis Muslim Law

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VOLUME 2 : ISSUE 1 || June 2020 ||

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Research Paper MATRIMONIAL CRIMES IN HINDU LAW VIS-À-VIS MUSLIM LAW

Submitted By : Ishan Parashar

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am sincerely thankful to Amity Law School, Noida for providing me with the opportunity to write the research paper on the topic “Matrimonial Crimes in Hindu Law”. I am also thankful to my parent and my friends for helping me gather information useful for this paper. Through this research paper I have learnt a lot about the crimes a woman used to and is still facing as a wife. It has helped me to analyze how a woman is portrayed as a goddess in the religion and is supposed to be left at her own when she needs to support her in difficult times. This research assisted me in getting to know hoe rigorously our Judiciary and Legislature has worked to provide equality to the women. I hope this paper help everyone who is looking to get knowledge over status of women in matrimonial ties.

LIST OF CASES :

1. Kanwal Ram & Ors. V. H.P. Administration AIR (1966) SC 614 2. Muhammad Ibrahim V. Aktia Begum & Anr. 16 Ind Cas 597 3. Nasra Begum V. Rizwan Ali AIR 1980 All 198 4. Hamira Bibi V. Zubaida Bibi 1910 SCC Online All 102 : ILR (1911) 33 All 182 : (1910) 7 All LJ 1025 (FB) 5. Emperor V. Ram Dayal & Ors. (1914) ILR 36 All 26 on 1 November 1913 6. Amit Kumar & Another V. State of Punjab (2010) 12 SCC 285: (2011) 1 SCC (Cri) 359 7. Shanti V. State of Haryana (1991) 1 SCC 371 8. Kashmir Kaur V. State of Punjab AIR 2013 SC 1039 9. Pawan Kumar V. State of Haryana (1998) 3 SCC 309 10. Mustafa Shahdal Shaikh V. State of Maharashtra AIR 2013 SC 851 11. State of Rajasthan V. Kesa &Ors. 2002 CriLJ 432, 2002 (1) WLN 423 12. P. Bikshapathi & Ors. V. State of Andhra Pradesh (1989) 1 AP Lj 2 (SN) 13. Yogesh Kumar Pandey V. Smt. Swati Pandey 2017 SCC Online Chh 84: AIR 2017 (NOC 613) 205: (2017) 1 HLR 14. Govt. of Bombay V. Ganga ILR (1880) 4 Bom 330

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15. Sabah Adnan Sami Khan V. Adnan Sami Khan (2010) SCC Online Bom 446: (2010) 4 Mah Lj 116 16. Indra Sharma V/s V.K.V Sharma (2013) 15 SCC 755: (2014) 5 SCC (Cri) 440: (2014) 6 SCC (Cri) 593: 2013 SCC Online Sc 1042 17. Ali Abbas Daruwala v. Shehnaz Daruwala 2018 SCC Online Bom 1195: (2018) 6 Mah Lj 546: (2018) 4 AIR Bom R 207: (2018) 3 HLR 693: (2019) 195 AIC 517 18. Smt. Helima Khatoon V. Sh. Guljar Ahmed on 24 December, 2011 19. Adnan Chara V. Farhat Adnan 2018 SCC online Bom 1956: (2018) 5 Bom CR 400: (2018) 5 AIR Bom R 713: AIR 2018 Bom 282: (2018) 3 HLR 265 20. Shobha Rani V. Madhukar Reddi (1988) 1 SCC 105: 1988 SCC (Cri) 60: (1988) 1 HLR 169: (1988) 36 BJLR 138: AIR 1988 SC 121

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements List of Cases Abstract Chapter -I  Introduction

Chapter – II  Marriage in Hindu Law

Chapter – III  Marriage in Muslim Law

Chapter – IV  Matrimonial. Crimes in Hindu Law  Sati Pratha  Dowry

Chapter – V  Matrimonial Crimes in Muslim Law  Nikah Istibdaa  Combined Marriage  Nikah Halala  Nikah Shighar

Chapter – VI  Matrimonial Crimes common in Hindu and Muslim Law  Domestic Violence  Cruelty against Married Woman

Chapter – VII  Conclusion  BIBLIORGRAPHY

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ABSTRACT Women have proved themselves as a vital as well as leading part of our society. India is a country where women are worshipped as the Goddess. Yet, gender inequality has always been a prominent problem. We can definitely blame some of our customs for this bias against women because people used to view having daughter as a liability because they had to bear the expenses of her education, marriage as well as dowry. Major factor misleading the people was the concept of dowry. Thankfully dowry has now been prohibited under Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and under Sections -304B and 498a of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. However, dowry is still practiced. There were 8,331 dowry death case were registered in 2011, which is sad. Nevertheless, we have successfully made people aware that dowry is a punishable offence which is praiseworthy. In the year 2020 women are still exploited and suffer from male domination in our society even though people are well aware of the importance a woman hold in one’s life e.g. as a mother, sister, soldier and similarly in other races of life. They are considered as the economically and politically weaker section of our society by many people, which is dreadful. Indian constitution not only provides numerous laws to protect women but also enables states to take appropriate measure to ensure safety of women and encourage a positive discrimination towards them in fields where it is required. Despite such activist approach of constitution and judiciary these laws are left worthless because of their imprudent implementation and women are left to suffer the discrimination in various walks of life each and every day. Nevertheless, same situation of women can be found in the Muslim Society. This paper will critically analyze the status of Matrimonial Crimes against women vis-a-vis Hindu Law and Muslim Law.

Keywords: Dowry, Domination, Matrimonial, Constitution, Discrimination, Crime.

9 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – I INTRODUCTION Marriage in all religions and in every person’s, life plays an imminent role. It is regarded as the connection of two souls and is believed to bring stability and prosperity in life. In various part of modern world women are considered as the lady luck in man’s life. This concept of lady luck is well appreciated by people of all religion. In Hindu society a proximate concept of lady luck is found i.e. women are personified as the Goddess. Ancient Hindu literature has always given woman a prominent position in the society by representing women as a warrior like the Goddess Kali, a source of knowledge like the Goddess Saraswathi, a quintessential wife like the Goddess Parvati, Laxmi and many other. Similar guidance is given by the holy book Quran i.e. to respect the women. Muslim law protects the interest of women through various practices like Mehr, which secures the future of a married women. But a big difference that will be dealt in very categorical way here is the concept of marriage under Hindu Law and Muslim Law. A difference that can be very well noticed in the definition of marriage in these two is that Hindu Law regards marriage as a sanctum while in Muslim law marriage is given the status of a legal contract between parties. So, the doubt arises as to where it all went wrong and how did the status of women in our society got so deteriorated. The beginning of issues in marriage can be traced back to the time when a woman is not married and lives at her paternal home. Be it Muslim Law or Hindu law there have been certain practices which have allegedly implied that women don’t hold the same position in society as that of a man. Practices like, not allowed to attend the prayer in temples when women have periods and similarly covering the face of women through Burkha (a special attire worn by Muslim women) so as to protect them from bad eyes of society. For a long time, Justifications given for these practices were blindly accepted by the people but women in modern world are capable enough to defend themselves and therefore a question is asked by a modern-day woman as to why does women need protection at all? Why can’t they live in the society with same security as any other person?

These practices gradually lead to the discriminatory behavior towards women. At the time when a woman required special care from their family and spouses they were neglected and treated as a bad element for the purity of their household. Women have throughout their lifetime suffered from racism, sexism and gender biased violence, but were forced by the male dominated society to keep quiet and suffer and consider male figures as their masters rather than a supportive and caring life partner. Hindu Law on one hand recognizes women as the

10 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 Goddess but on the other hand consider them as an impure vessel when they are menstruating similarly in Muslim law contrary to the intentions of the Prophet status of women is reduced to an object of contractual liability.

11 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – II MARRIAGE IN HINDU LAW When it comes to marriage, Hindu Law was a wider scope and more ideal provisions for marrying. Marriage under Hindu Law is considered as a sacrament bond. It is unification of two soul. Marriage is provided with the cosmic importance. There are various ceremonies in a Hindu marriage which have their own relevance. For the reference of law, the essential of a valid marriage are provided in the section-5 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. According to Section-5, following are the essentials of a valid marriage1:

 Parties must be Hindu  Spouse of the either party should not be living at the time of marriage  Either party should not be of unsound mind i.e. should be capable of giving consent  Parties should not be Sapindas (blood relation) of each other  Both must be major i.e. Groom to be of 21 years of age and Bride to be of 18 years of age

Ceremonies and rites are very important part of a sacred marriage in Hindu religion and there are many ceremonies in a Hindu marriage. But, Datta Homa and Saptpadi are the only ceremonies that are of most importance and performance of these renders a marriage valid under law and irrevocable. Importance of these ceremonies can be drawn from the fact that even in case of Bigamy, a Hindu person can’t be held guilty by just his/her acceptance of the second marriage. There must be proof of performance of Saptpadi while marrying second time. Court held that mere admission by the accused is not sufficient.2 Therefore, inference can be drawn that ceremonies, especially Saptpadi forms a vital part of Hindu Marriage. Wedding is one of the most celebrated events in Hindu family and has a great importance in a person’s life as well. It is not just the bond of two people but coalescence of two families. People take vows to support each other on bad days and together enjoy their life till the death parts them. Now, a question arises as to what makes this sacrament tie into the worst decision of one’s life? Before answering it lets look into marriage in Muslim Law.

1 https://highcourtchd.gov.in/hclscc/subpages/pdf_files/4.pdf 2 Kanwal Ram & Ors. V. H.P. Administration AIR (1966) SC 614

12 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – III MARRIAGE IN MUSLIM LAW Any person who is not familiar with Islamic cultures tend to have some negative apprehensions regarding the concept of marriage in Islam. As unlike in Hinduism where marriage is a sacred bond, marriage in Islam is a legal contract between two parties and various obligations and duties are mentioned in this contract. There have been contrary views of legal experts reading this concept of contract. Some people consider it as a major cause for the lack of empathy in Muslim marriage while some look this contract system as a clear and facilitating method of marriage which helps in avoiding future contingencies. Essentials of a valid Muslim marriage resembles the essential of a legal contract stated in section-10 of Indian Contract Act, 1882. Like a contract for a valid marriage in Islam following elements are required:  Proposal (Ijab) and Acceptance (Qubul)  Parties must be Muslim  Parties must be of sound mind  Dower (Mehr)  Parties must be competent i.e. the must be major

Majority is determined in Islam in a different prospect than other religion. According to Hedaya majority is attained at the age of puberty and the age of puberty for male is twelve years and for female is nine years. But after the decision of privy council, Age of majority or the puberty in Muslim is considered to be fifteen years for both boy and girl3. However, it is worth noting that minors can be allowed to marry if their guardian give consent to such marriage. Mehr or dower is of utmost importance in a Muslim Marriage. Mehr is the security in amount or thing given to the wife from the groom which belongs to solely to the wife. Allahabad High Court in its judgment held the right to dower is something which is to be given before cohabitation and in case of wife being a minor any failure in payment of dower gives wife an option to go back to her parental house.4 Rank of Dower as a debt is considered to be the bigger than any other unsecured credits. A wife is entitled to get unpaid dower from the estate of her deceased husband like any other creditor5.

3 Muhammad Ibrahim V. Aktia Begum & Anr. 16 Ind Cas 597 4 Nasra Begum V. Rizwan Ali AIR 1980 All 198 5 Hamira Bibi V. Zubaida Bibi 1910 SCC Online All 102 : ILR (1911) 33 All 182 : (1910) 7 All LJ 1025 (FB)

13 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 Just like Hindu law in Muslim law also a person cannot marry someone in his/her blood relation. Now let’s look on to the Matrimonial crimes in Hindu Law and Muslim Law.

14 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – IV MATRIMONIAL CRIMES IN HINDU LAW Crimes related to marriage are recognized by the Indian Penal Code,1860 and Section- 493 to 498 deals with matrimonial crimes. Being a religion concentric society, Hindu people strictly follow the customs and guidance of religious scriptures. It is pertinent to note that even after marriage being an event of extreme purity there have been many instances which pose a doubt on the purity and sanctity of marriage. Some of these practices are:

1) SATI PRATHA When a woman immolates herself over the Pyre of her husband is referred to as Sati. This act of woman is considered to be the optimum devotion of her towards her husband. Sati can also be interpreted as “Chaste Woman” or “a good and devoted wife”6. When we analyze the history of sati, we come to a conclusion that this practice used to be voluntary practice of wife to show her devotion. But, over the time widows were forced to do this practice and the reason stated for this purpose was that, a widow is of no use in this world hence for protection of her dignity and honor she must immolate herself on the pyre of her husband. This explanation is obscene and absurd with regard to humanity. Taking a dig into the connection of this practice and religious scriptures it can be found that Sati was the wife of Lord Shiva and she burnt herself because her father did not respect her husband Lord Shiva. This act of her showed who much she loved and respected her husband. People misinterpreted this practice and made Sati a compulsory practice. Sati had been practiced since the Gupta Empire and the first mentioning of sati as wrong act can be found in the time when Akbar was ruler. He stated sati to be cruelty against women and cleverly made in mandatory for every woman to take permission from his administrative head in order to perform the act of sati and Akbar gave strict instruction to his administrative heads to delay this permission for as long as possible. Hence, it can be said that even Akbar being a Muslim understood how barbaric this practice was. First regulation declaring Sati a prohibited practice came as Bengal Regulation Sati Regulation or Regulation XVII in the year 1829 and credit for this enormous step goes to then Governor General Lord William Bentinck. Even before passing of this regulation government tried to put a check over these practices by giving various orders and regulation which made practice of Sati permissible only this practice is performed according to Shastras and in the prescribed manner. Regulation of 1829 had an exemplary effect over the practice of Sati

6 https://en.dharmapedia.net/wiki/Sati_(practice)

15 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 and turned out to be most effective solution of it. Efficiency of this regulation can be drawn from the fact that there were only three reported cases of Sati in the Bengal and nearby provinces.7 However, today Sati is still been practiced in various province of India and to scum this practice Indian Law has brought the Sati practice under the Ambit of section – 306 i.e. Abetment of Suicide. In the case where a woman wished to commit Sati upon death of her husband and was assisted by the relatives to setup pyre and pouring ghee were held to be sufficient evidence to make relatives liable and sentenced them a rigorous imprisonment of four years. Here it is worth noting that conviction was granted even after the convicted repeatedly confronted the woman over performing the act and this also shows how wide scope the Judiciary has applied in deciding the matter of Sati8. In a recent case the Supreme Court gave an eminent judgement by convicting a husband under Section – 302 of Indian Penal code i.e. Murder. This case law further widened the scope of Sati and highlighted the increased degree of this offence in the eyes of law. Facts of this case were that a woman was set ablaze by her mother in law and husband for not giving a refrigerator and television. Hence, another focal point of this case is the how it highlighted the connection of Sati and Dowry9.

There is no confusion that the major contribution towards the abolition of this cruel practice in pre- independence India goes to the Lord William Bentinck while in the post- independence India the credit for prohibiting this practice goes to the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan became the first state to pass the law Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 which later on was enacted by the parliament as The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 in 1988. Today we to a great extent have controlled the practice of widow burning but we have still a long way to go in order to eradicate it. Eradication of it is only possible by basic education and awareness of law relating to crime against women.

2) DOWRY It is not wrong to say that dowry is another mis-interpreted practice in Hindu Religion. The ancient principle behind dowry was not to extort money from the family of bride but dowry was an amount which was given to both bride and groom to help them setup their household. It used to be of great help for the couple to start their newly wedded life. Even in some region it is said that the amount of dowry should be returned to the family of bride if she dies after

7 Emperor V. Ram Dayal & Ors. (1914) ILR 36 All T26 8 Emperor V. Ram Dayal & Ors. (1914) ILR 36 All 26 on 1 November 1913 9 Amit Kumar & Another V. State of Punjab (2010) 12 SCC 285: (2011) 1 SCC (Cri) 359

16 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 deducting the cost of her living. But people molded the principle of dowry for their own selfish needs. Woman were forced to bring dowry amount and many cases of cruelty towards a woman due to non-payment of dowry has been reported in India. To put an end to this practice Legislature enacted Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Dowry hasn’t been defined anywhere else except in Section -2 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 196110. This regulation worked wonders in protecting the woman from being exploited under the pressure of dowry. Still in 2015 around 7634 brides where burned in matter related to dowry11. However, today scope of dowry has been increased by the court and to counter this practice legislature inserted section 304B in Indian Penal Code, 1860 which effectively made “Dowry Death” a punishable offence with minimum imprisonment of seven years and maximum punishment of imprisonment for life. Dowry death can be regarded as a modern development in the practice of dowry. Dowry death is defined under section 304B of IPC as death of a married women caused by burns or injury or of any unnatural cause within 7 years of her marriage12. Supreme Court in its recent judgement propounded the essential elements of a case to fall within the ambit of section 304B of IPC. These elements are13:  Woman has been subject to Cruelty regarding dowry  Death of the woman was a result of burns or any unnatural circumstances  Death should have occurred within 7 years of marriage  Husband or his relatives must be directly involved in the act of cruelty  The act of cruelty must have been done soon before death These ingredients were first laid down in the case of Pawan Kumar V. State of Haryana14. It is worth noting that the Supreme Court in another case stated that “Soon Before death” means there shouldn’t be a long interval between the cruelty and the death of the victim15. This principle was also applied by in the case State of Rajasthan V. Kesa &Ors.16, where prosecution was ordered to present conclusive evidence as to the prove the commission of cruelty soon before the death of the victim. In order to examine the evidence in case of dowry death there is no purview to look into the circumstantial evidence, but the court must take a note of the events that happened for seven years and consider them as the evidence17.

10 Shanti V. State of Haryana (1991) 1 SCC 371 11 National Crime Record Bureau India 2015 12 http://legislative.gov.in/actsofparliamentfromtheyear/indian-penal-code 13 Kashmir Kaur V. State of Punjab AIR 2013 SC 1039 14 (1998) 3 SCC 309 15 Mustafa Shahdal Shaikh V. State of Maharashtra AIR 2013 SC 851 16 2002 CriLJ 432, 2002 (1) WLN 423 17 P. Bikshapathi & Ors. V. State of Andhra Pradesh (1989) 1 AP Lj 2 (SN)

17 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 Court must also draw inference from the evidence presented by the prosecution. Since, evidence plays a vital role to prove the case of dowry death the Court has widened the scope of evidence in such cases. These checks were put by the Court in dowry case because there was an apprehension of registration of false case of Dowry demand and in appropriate implication of evidence in the cases of dowry death which would have entirely failed the intentions of legislature behind enacting Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Woman had started to use this law as a weapon for their own purpose. In a case of Yogesh Kumar Pandey V. Smt. Swati Pandey18 where a wife started to live at her maternal home and refused to return with her husband even after persistent request. Husband was threatened by the wife and her family that they would implicate a false case of dowry against him and his family. Ultimately wife filed for divorce. Court after examining the evidence dismissed the appeal of wife for divorce stating that she was the one who deserted her husband without sufficient reason. This case proved that the legislature has enacted the law not for the protection of the ones who comes with clean hands in the court of law. Dowry is not a practice which is religion specific. This practice prevails in every religion and is not promoted in any religious scriptures. There is another not so known part of giving dowry. Dowry is given for the benefit of wife and no other person can utilize it19. If some other person acquires the dowry on behalf of wife, then they are required to hold such grant as trust for the benefit of the wife20. In the landmark judgement of Pawan Kumar & Ors. V. State of Haryana21 apex court propounded that definition of dowry given under section-2 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 doesn’t apply to Mehr or any person governed by Muslim law. But dowry is practiced in Muslim Marriage as well. There have been several cases on record in which Muslim woman has appealed in court against dowry.

It is pertinent to note that, dowry is the bigger reason than Sati Pratha for the violence against women in society and we cannot link dowry specifically to a religion or a particular community.

18 2017 SCC Online Chh 84: AIR 2017 (NOC 613) 205: (2017) 1 HLR 19 Section- 6 of Dowry Prohibtion Act, 1961 20 Section- 6(2) of Dowry Prohibiton Act,1961 21 1998) 3 SCC 309

18 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – V MATRIMONIAL CRIMES IN MUSLIM LAW Crimes related to marriage are not well documented in any Muslim scriptures. However, violence against woman is nowhere accepted in Islam. There are not specific offences like Sati Pratha or Dowry in Islam. However, practice of dowry is prevalent in this religion as well but like every other religion it is prohibited in Islam as well. Practice of dowry has again been started among Muslim people for fulfilling their greed and selfish motives. Dowry puts an extreme pressure over the family of bride and is also becomes cause for future household disputes. This practice was adopted by Muslims to extract something from family of bride in return of the Mehr given by the groom’s family. Such an act in prohibited under Islam. It has been stated by the Prophet Mohammad that, there is no specific amount of Mehr that is to be given. Dower or Mehr must been given according to the capacity of an individual22. Although there are still some practices is Islam which amount to cruelty and exploitation of wife by the Husband in the name of customary act. These are:

1) NIKAH ISTIBDAA This is a kind of marriage where a husband sends his wife to a person belonging to a sacred sect for conceiving and then husband would accept the child. Such practice was done to maintain a noble lineage in the family. Islam has abolished this kind of marriage23.

2) COMBINED Marriage Polyandry has been prohibited in Islam. In this kind of marriage, a woman would have sexual relation with five to six men. If she conceives then all the men used to be called upon and woman would choose a man, she by her choice and the child would belong to that man. The court took a step further in defining polyandry and stated that a wife when converts to other religion and marries other man while her husband is living then she would be held liable for committing polyandry as mere conversion to other religion doesn’t amount to dissolution of previous marriage24. In Islam such a marriage is also known as Nikah Ijtimaa.

22 https://www.zawaj.com/category/islamic-marriage-articles/weddings-in-islam/ 23 Shahi Bukhari 5127 24 Govt. of Bombay V. Ganga ILR (1880) 4 Bom 330

19 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 3) NIKAH HALALA In this marriage a woman in order to re-marry her divorced husband would have to marry another man and solemnize her marriage. This practice is extremely cruel and doesn’t have any religious background. Senior advocate Mr. Jethmalani in a recent case of Sabah Adnan Sami Khan V. Adnan Sami Khan contented that performance of Halala is not mandatory for a wife and a remarriage can happen by a fresh nikah25. These contentions were accepted by the High Court. Therefore, this practice is prohibited by Islam as well as Indian Judiciary.

4) NIKAH SHIGHAR It is another prohibited practice in Islam. We have studied the importance of Dower/ Mahr earlier in this paper. In this kind of marriage two men exchange their daughters or any woman in their close relation for the purpose of marriage in order to fulfill the marriage ceremony without giving dower. As it is clear by now that any marriage without dower is prohibited in Muslim law and so is this practice.

25 (2010) SCC Online Bom 446: (2010) 4 Mah Lj 116

20 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – VI MATRIMONIAL CRIMES COMMON IN HINDU LAW AND MUSLIM LAW 1) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 has extensively defined domestic violence in Section-3 of the act. Any act which harms the health, life or cause coercion towards woman, or her relatives comes under the ambit of Domestic violence. Sexual Abuse, Verbal Abuse and Economic Abuse is also termed as Domestic Violence. Apex Court in case of Indra Sharma V/s V.K.V Sharma26 clarified that for invoking protection under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 a couple need not to be married, any woman living with a man and even couple living in “Live-in Relationship” will be treated as married couple under this act. Similarly, Bombay High Court in its very recent case of Ali Abbas Daruwala V/s Shehnaz Daruwala27 stated that there is no way personal law can cause hindrance for Muslim Woman from getting protection under this Act.

2) CRUELTY AGAINST MARRIED WOMAN Cruelty is recognized in personal laws. A woman can on context of cruelty seek for divorce under Section- 2(viii) of Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939. In judgement of Smt. Helima Khatoon V. Sh. Guljar Ahmed28 on 24 December 2011 court dissolved the marriage of a Muslim couple on the ground of cruelty and stated that Muslim woman can apply for divorce under cruelty if husband is not giving equal treatment to all his wife as provided in the Holy Book Quran. Moreover, In Adnan Chara V. Farhat Adnan it was held that Muslim woman is entitled for her Mehr amount and additional maintenance for her children and children can claim share in jointly owned property thereby protecting the interest of woman after grant of divorce under section- 2 of the Act29. Court has further increased the ambit of cruelty by stating that when a husband comes home drunk even after persistent protest by wife it will amount to cruelty under Section- 498A of IPC30. Some points to note about

26 (2013) 15 SCC 755: (2014) 5 SCC (Cri) 440: (2014) 6 SCC (Cri) 593: 2013 SCC Online Sc 1042 27 2018 SCC Online Bom 1195: (2018) 6 Mah Lj 546: (2018) 4 AIR Bom R 207: (2018) 3 HLR 693: (2019) 195 AIC 517

28 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/195057769/ 29 2018 SCC online Bom 1956: (2018) 5 Bom CR 400: (2018) 5 AIR Bom R 713: AIR 2018 Bom 282: (2018) 3 HLR 265 30 P. Bikshapathi & Ors. V. State of Andhra Pradesh (1989) 1 AP Lj 2 (SN)

21 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 Cruelty highlighted in the case of Shobha Rani V. Madhukar Reddi are that, harassment against wife must be proved in order to institute a case of cruelty, there is no relevance of intention in matter of cruelty and court must not look into the life standards at the time of examining the case of cruelty31.

31 (1988) 1 SCC 105: 1988 SCC (Cri) 60: (1988) 1 HLR 169: (1988) 36 BJLR 138: AIR 1988 SC 121

22 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 CHAPTER – VII CONCLUSION Matrimonial Crimes have a long history and can be found in every religion. From above mentioned cases and points one thing can is undisputable about that crimes against married women cannot be attributed to any specific religion. Woman of every religion suffers from these barbarous acts by husband or her relatives. However, one thing that is eminent in eradicating these practices is to change the ideology of people towards women at the fundamental level i.e. women as their daughters. One must be proud of having a daughter instead of thinking her as a liability. Moreover, education and legal awareness in rural India would turn the tables in controlling the exploitation of women. Another thing that can be concluded from above is that matrimonial crimes in Muslim Law are more regulated than in Hindu Law, but it is must be noticed that women are not granted maintenance under any Muslim law on the context of Mahr given at the time of marriage but the thing always contented against Mahr or Dower system is that amount given ten years ago doesn’t hold the same value as of today as the purchasing power of money decreases with time. So, how can you imagine that a woman should survive her whole life by utilizing that amount. However, now court is working proactively to protect the interest and dignity of married woman. Court in its various judgements has been persistently broadened the scope of crimes against woman. For long time ill treatment towards woman has led to degradation in status of woman to the level of an object of negotiations. We all need to stand against any cruelty against women be it married or un-married because every woman deserves equal respect. Nevertheless, government must take some initiatives towards spreading awareness in the village through NGO and panchayats by proposing attractive schemes for financial support for them as the rural part on India is where these practices are prevalent than in the urban society. Lastly, it is also duty of every mother to teach her daughters that there is no scope of tolerating any kind of ill-treatment and every woman should become strong and counter any kind of misbehave with her as the law is always there in support of her.

23 www.whiteblacklegal.co.in ISSN: 2581-8503 BIBLIOGRAPHY  PRIMARY SOURCE 1. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 2. Indian Contract Act, 1882 3. Indian Penal Code,1860 4. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 5. Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829 6. The Rajasthan Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 7. Sati Prevention Act, 1987 8. Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 9. Domestic Violence Act, 2005 10. National Crime Record Bureau India 2015

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