Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
A GUIDE TO FIGHT SECTION 498A IPC
AUTHORS: OPEN SOURCE / COPY LEFT
DATE: 23 / NOVEMBER / 2020
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
Table Of Contents Description Page No 1.Introduction 3 2.Some Basic Terms: 6 The Doctrine Of Binding Precedent: 8 The Right To Due Process: 9 The Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus And The Powers Of The Police To Arrest A Citizen: 10 Procedures To Be Followed Upon The Arrest Of A Person: 14 What Is Anticipatory Bail?, Bail And The Right To Bail, A Direction On Granting Bail: 15 17 The Definition O f An Arrest, The Right Against Self Incrimination: 18 The Right To Be Treated With Dignity By The police, The Police Cannot Torture You Or Resort To 19 The Definition Of Torture And Compensation For Illegal Detention: 19 When to File For Compensation Fo r Illegal Detention: 20 22 Inordinate Delay In Police Investigation May Lead To A Quashed FIR 22 23 The Police Do Not Have The Right To Handcuff You, Arrest And Custody Of Women: 23 The Police Cannot Detain A Citizen For The Purpose Of An Inquiry/Interr ogation: 24 The Police Must Register A Cognizable Offence, An FIR Is A Public Document: 24 25 The Right To A Speedy Trial,The Right To Information, The Right To Be Given A Reason: 26 DV Act Can Only Be Filed Against An Adult Male Person ,Compliance With The DP Act: 26 27 Delhi HC Directive To IT Dept To Supply Information Under RTI Act: 27 28 CAW Cell Proceedings Are Voluntary: Compounding A Non Compoundable Case: 28 29 Understanding HC Quash Petitions, Section 482 Of IPC: 29 31 Issues Of Jurisdict ion: Jurisdiction In NRI Cases: 31 33 A Case Lost In A Foreign Court Cannot Be Fought Again In India: 33 35 The Police Or Courts Cannot Impound Passports: 35 36 NBWs And Arrest Warrants: The Definition Of Mental Cruelty: 36 37 An Explanation Of Writ Ma ndamus: 37 38 Officers With Authority To Investigate 498A Cases: 38 Relevant Sections Of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Process Of Indian Criminal Justice: 38 41 Code Of Conduct For The Police In India, A Compilation Of Police Interrogation Tactics: 41 46 3. “SPARE A THOUGHT FOR DOWRY LAW ABUSE” CURRENT STATE 46 51 4. What do Indian Courts Say about Section 498a IPC ? 52 56 5. What about other side of the 498a reality? 56 60 6. Typical traits of Complainant and accused 60 61 7. Thought provoking q uestions about 498a 61 62 8. Gender Biased Laws Engender injustice 62 66 9. Steps and suggestions to Government 66 67 10. Media Reports 68 72 11. Domestic violence law A shield or a sword? 72 76 12. A few True Stories of 498a victims 76 84 13. 498A Counter Cases To Fight Back With 84 88 14. Judgment References. 88 94
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
1. Introduction
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 65,000 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 threating the foundation of the Indian Family system.
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
The quality of a nation's civilization can be largely measured by the methods it uses in the enforcement of criminal law. The Supreme Court Of India, Joginder Kumar Vs State Of U.P., 1994
The National Police Commission in its Third Report referring to the quality of arrests by the police in India mentioned power of arrest as one of the chief sources of corruption in the police. The Supreme Court Of India, Joginder Kumar Vs State Of U.P., 1994
No arrest can be made because it is lawful for the police officer to do so. The existence of the power to arrest is one thing. The justification for the exercise of it is quite another. The police officer must be able to justify the arrest apart from his power to do so. Arrest and detention in police lock up of a person can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self esteem of a person. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for a police officer in the interest of protection of the constitutional rights of a citizen and perhaps in his own interest that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person's complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest. Denying a person of his liberty is a serious matter. The Supreme Court Of India, Joginder Kumar Vs State Of U.P., 1994
The accused in these cases might have been on bail but the injustice of pendency of trial for long periods is the uncertainty and the concomitant anxiety suffered by the under trial. The under trial is inhibited in making future plans for his life or executing present ones due to the uncertainty which pendency of trial brings. His confidence starts to erode and at the end of the trial, even if he is honorably acquitted, the scars of the long trial remain. He feels condemned despite the acquittal. The Supreme Court On The Right To A Speedy Trial
Once a complaint is lodged under Sections 498A/406 IPC whether there are vague, unspecific or exaggerate allegations or there is no evidence of any physical or mental harm or injury inflicted upon woman that is likely to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health, it comes as an easy tool in the hands of Police and agencies like Crime Against Women Cell to hound them with the threat of arrest making them run here and there and force them to hide at their friends or relatives houses till they get anticipatory bail as the offence has been made cognizable and non bailable. Thousands of such complaints and cases are pending and are being lodged day in and day out. Justice JD Kapoor, Delhi High Court
Torture is not merely physical, there may be mental torture and psychological torture calculated to create fright and submission to the demands or commands. When the threats
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony proceed from a person in Authority and that too by a police officer the mental torture caused by it is even more grave. The Supreme Court Of India, Arvinder Singh Bagga v. State of U.P,
1994 Torture and police brutality are endemic in India. Supreme Court Lawyer And Architect Of The Indian DV Act, Indira Jaising, In A London Court,
1999 I object to this exploitation of the law. It is wrong to misuse the law. The law is for those who need it. Union Minister For WCD, Renuka Chaudhary, on the Arjun Singh 498A
Episode The idea should be to see how the police system works, the concerned official out there should not lodge an FIR and arrest the groom and his side before investigating. These kind of shortcuts are mainly tainting the image of the prevailing law. The way uncles, aunts are also humiliated is not fair, we agree that they should not be booked until a full proof investigation is carried out . Instead of amending the law we should try to improve our police system and investigating procedure. Spokesperson Of The NCW, 14 /Jan /2007, TOI Article: “NRIs cry foul over IPC 498A, dowry law”
Some Basic Terms:
These are some of the terms you will hear all the time. You need to understand these terms.
FIR : is the First Information Report. It is the information recorded by the police officer on duty, given either by the aggrieved person or any other person about the commission of an alleged cognizable offence. It is a public document. On the basis of the F.I.R. the police commences its investigation. If the officer in charge refuses to record the information, the information may be sent in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself or direct an investigation to be made by any police officer subordinate to him. The police are required to register every cognizable offence, such as 498A, by law.
Investigation : An “investigation” means search for material and facts in order to find out whether or not an offence has been committed. In criminal proceedings, once a Police Officer receives information about the commission of a cognizable offence, he is entitled to start investigation of the matter. Investigation includes all the proceedings of collection of evidence conducted by a
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony police officer or by any person who is authorized by the Magistrate in his behalf. The following information is from the website of the AP CID .
• No male under the age of fifteen years or woman shall be required to attend at any place other than where they reside. • The police officer shall orally examine the person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case. • A person is not bound to answer those questions, which would have a tendency to expose him to a criminal charge or to a penalty or forfeiture ( Right Against Self Incrimination ). • No statement made by any person to a police officer in the course of investigation in writing shall be signed by the person making it. • No police officer shall prevent any person from making in the course of any investigation any statement, which he may be disposed to make of his own freewill. • Any police officer making an investigation may, by order in writing ask any person being within the local limits of his own or adjoining police station to come to the police station for questioning and it is the duty of the person called to report on the specified time and place. • Such person is bound to answer truly all questions relating to the case put to him by the officer.
• No police officer or other person shall offer or make any such inducement, threat or promise to the person being questioned.
Charge sheet: When a Police officer gives a Police report under section 173 Cr.P.C. recommending prosecution, it is called a charge sheet. After questioning the accused and hearing the arguments, the magistrate frames charges on the accused for which he is tried.
Arrest: A person is considered to be under arrest if he or she is confined or kept in a police station or his movements are restricted to within the precincts of the police station.
Anticipatory Bail: Anticipatory bail is a direction by a court of law to release a person on bail, issued even before the person is arrested.
Bail: Bail is money that is put up for the suspect to allow him or her to remain free until the completion of the case. Bail basically creates a financial incentive for a suspect to appear in court. Failure to do so results in the loss of your bail money; you’ll also get a warrant for your arrest, and you can add bail jumping to your criminal charge too.
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
Read on to understand the laws, judgments and your rights that will help you in fighting this extortion racket. CHAPTER I
The Police, The Laws And Your Rights:
Until your case ends up in the trial court, the police will be your primary adversary. This is what the SSP of Haridwar, Abhinav Kumar IPS, has to say about the Indian Police force:
“ Let me start with the police. They remain primarily an instrument of asserting state authority against whosoever is perceived by the Leviathan to be the most immediate threat. In return for servility and acceptance of the beast’s priorities, they are permitted to prey on the weakest and most helpless sections of society. A police station in India is a sordid monument to the worst in human nature. The squalor, the pressures, the often thankless nature of police work would all be bearable if one felt that the police were genuinely enabled to enforce the law and protect the weak and helpless.”
He uses the term leviathan; I would have used the phrase, “reigning political establishment”.
This should give you an understanding about the nature of the Indian police force.
You will be able to deal with them if you know your fundamental rights, the laws and judgments governing the Indian police and if you inform yourself about the process of Indian criminal justice.
Legal systems all over the world have been based upon the common maxim of “ignorantia juris non excusat”, which means that ignorance of the law is no excuse. This principle, had first originated in the Code of Justinian the great centuries ago. By the time you are done reading this section, you will know more about your rights and the limitations on the powers of the police than the police themselves. When the police feign ignorance of the laws, you should be telling the police, “ignorantia juris non excusat”.
The Supreme Court Of India is the final arbiter over and interpreter, of all laws. The interpretation of laws is done through judgments. Here are some Supreme Court judgments that detail your Fundamental Rights and some other laws that will be useful in fighting your 498A.
The Doctrine Of Binding Precedent:
The Supreme Court of India (UNION OF INDIA & ANR.Vs RAGHUBIR SINGH (DEAD) BY LRS.DATE OF JUDGMENT 16/05/1989) says that Article 142 of the Constitution declares that
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony any order of the SupremeCourt is enforceable throughout the territory of India and article 144 mandates that all civil and judicial authorities shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.
Here is an excerpt from this judgment:
“The doctrine of binding precedent has the merit promoting a certainty and consistency in judicial decisions, and enables an organic development of the law, besides providing assurance to the individual as to the consequence of transaction forming part of his daily affairs. And, therefore, the need for a clear and consistent enunciation of legal principle in the decisions of a Court.”
This implies that all judgments, except for those marked for exception, passed by the Supreme Court, are considered to be the law of the land and all branches of the government need to abide by them.
The Right To Due Process:
The Constitution Of India has given its citizens certain Fundamental Rights. A combination of these basic rights constitutes the right to due process. Due process is the idea that laws and legal proceedings must be fair and in accordance with the established lawful procedure. The Constitution guarantees that no government agency can violate these basic rights of a citizen.
The Supreme Court (E.g.: Citizen for Democracy through its, president Vs. State of Assam & Others: 1996 Cr.L.J. 3247) has warned that:
Any violation of any of the directions issued by us by any rank of police in the country or member of the jail establishment shall be summarily punishable under the Contempt of Courts Act apart from other penal consequences under law (emphasis supplied)”.
Some of these constitutionally bestowed basic rights are:
Article 14. Equality before law: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the law within the territory of India. Article 20. Protection in respect of conviction for offenses : 1. No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, not be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. 2. No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. 3. No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
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Article 21. Protection of life and personal liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Article 22. Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases: No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.
Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
Article 32. Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this Part:
The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred by this part is guaranteed. The Supreme Court shall have power to issue directions or orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari , whichever may be appropriate, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this Part.
Among all these rights, the police violate the right to life and liberty consistently.
If your fundamental rights are violated, you have the right to:
• Go straight to the High Court or even the Supreme Court of India.
• The Right to approach the Supreme Court in case of a violation is a fundamental right.
The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee provides free legal service, though conditions apply.
The Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus And The Powers Of The Police To Arrest A Citizen:
In order to truly understand this judgment and the meaning of Habeas Corpus, a short history lesson is needed. Habeas Corpus (Latin:”We command that you have the body”) is the name of a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention of any person including himself.
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The Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215 and was written because of disagreements among Pope Innocent III, King John and the English barons, about the rights of the King. Magna Carta required the king to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the king's subjects, whether free or fettered most notably the right of Habeas Corpus, meaning that they had rights against unlawful imprisonment. Since then, in every civilized nation, the writ of Habeas Corpus has been an important instrument for the safeguarding the freedom of an individual against arbitrary govt action.
On 7/Jan/1994, a young man of 28 years from UP, with an LLB degree, Joginder Kumar, was detained by the Ghaziabad police for a period of 5 days. Upon repeated inquiries over a period of 4 days not producing any answers from the police, the frantic relatives, fearing his custodial murder, filed a writ of Habeas Corpus to the Supreme Court under article 32 of the Constitution. By the 5 th day, the SSP (4 th respondent) appeared before the honorable court and submitted that Joginder Kumar was released. Not satisfied with a wishy washy explanation to the question of why a person was detained for 5 days, the court continued with the case and this landmark judgment is the result.
The former Chief Justice Of India, M.N. Venkatachalliah , in this landmark judgment (JOGINDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF U.P, 25/04/1994), defined the powers of the police to arrest a person. This judgment especially applies in the case of a cognizable offence such as 498A. He stated that:
“ No arrest can be made because it is lawful for the police officer to do so. The existence of the power to arrest is one thing. The justification for the exercise of it is quite another. The police officer must be able to justify the arrest apart from his power to do so. Arrest and detention in police lock up of a person cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self–esteem of a person. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for a police officer in the interest of protection of the constitutional rights of a citizen and perhaps in his own interest that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person’s complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest. Denying a person of his liberty is a serious matter.”
There are significant other requirements that need to be fulfilled for an arrest. These are:
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1. The case involves a grave offence like murder, dacoity, robbery, rape etc., and it is necessary to arrest the accused and bring his movements under restraint to infuse confidence among the terror stricken victims.
2. The accused is likely to abscond and evade the processes of law.
3. The accused is given to violent behavior and is likely to commit further offences unless his movements are brought under restraint. 4. The accused is a habitual offender and unless kept in custody he is likely to commit similar offences again. It would be desirable to insist through departmental instructions that a police officer making an arrest should also record in the case diary the reasons for making the arrest, thereby clarifying his conformity to the specified guidelines.
In yet another judgment dated 22.8.2004 (Criminal Misc.Writ Petition No.4861 of 2000, Ajeet Singh alias Muraha Vs. State of U.P. and others), Supreme Court Justice Markandeya Katju, while serving as a judge on the Allahabad High Court, had the following to say:
"157. Procedure for investigation –
1.If, from information received or otherwise, an officer in charge of a police station has reason to suspect the commission of an offence which he is empowered under section 156 to investigate, he shall forthwith send a report of the same to a Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of such offence upon a police report and shall proceed in person, or shall depute one of his subordinate officer not being below such rank as the State Government may, by general or special order, prescribe in this behalf to proceed, to the spot to investigate the facts and circumstances of the case and if necessary to take measures for the discovery and arrest of the offender."
The above provision clearly shows that it is not necessary to arrest in every case wherever a FIR of cognizable offence has been registered. No doubt investigation has to be made in every case where a cognizable offence is disclosed but in our opinion investigation does not necessarily include arrest. Often the investigation can be done without arresting a person, and this legal position becomes clear from section 157(1) of the Cr.P.C. because that provision states that the Police Officer has to investigate the case, and, if necessary, to take measures for the arrest of the offender. The use of words ' if necessary' clearly indicates that the Police Officer does not have to arrest in every case wherever FIR has been lodged and this position has been clarified in Joginder Kumar's case (supra).
In our country unfortunately whenever an FIR of a cognizable offence is lodged the police immediately goes to arrest the accused. This practice in our opinion is illegal as it is against the
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony decision of the Supreme Court in Joginder Kumar's case, and it is also in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution as well as section 157 (1) Cr.P.C. No doubt section 157(1) Cr.P.C. gives a police officer discretion to arrest or not, but this discretion cannot be exercised arbitrarily and it must be exercised in accordance with the principles laid down in Joginder Kumar's case (supra).”
I have asserted, from the moment that I came across Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP, that the police have been arresting people in 498A cases in contravention of Supreme Court orders. My stand has been vindicated by the recent unearthing of a memo from the Police Commissioner of Hyderabad, prohibiting any arrests in 498A cases without the prior written permission of the DCP. This is a standing order, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment.
The police may say that 498A is a cognizable offence. By cognizable, it means they have to REGISTER an FIR and INVESTIGATE, not arrest the accused immediately. Think about it. If a king has been stripped of his power to arrest without cause 800 years ago, how can the police in a democracy claim to have that power?
Keeping this judgment in mind, I am interested in seeing how a grandmother or a grandfather, young nieces and nephews, married and unmarried sisters and parents, without a prior criminal record, can fall into any of the categories described by Justice M.N. Venkatachalliah.
To summarize, the police have discretionary powers to arrest, but they need to justify the arrest and Supreme Court and High Courts judgments have established that an investigation must be done before an arrest is made and even then, only if necessary.
The Late Justice AN Mulla (A former Judge of the Allahabad HC and author of the Mulla Committee on prison reform) said:
“I say it with all sense of responsibility that there is not a single lawless group in the whole country whose record of crime is anywhere near the record of that organized unit which is known as the Indian Police Force.”
Keeping the words of Justice AN Mulla in mind, and knowing that the police have been granted wide discretionary powers to arrest, be prepared for an arrest by the police.
If they do arrest you, they need to respect your rights and treat you professionally and with courtesy. Later on, you may seek redress in the form of contempt of court, writ mandamus, Habeas Corpus, compensation for illegal detention, etc.
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Read on to understand what other safeguards the hon’ble courts of the country have set in place to protect you from the excesses of the police.
Procedures To Be Followed Upon The Arrest Of A Person:
The Supreme Court (D.K. Basu Vs State of W.B: (1997) 1 SCC 426 ) directed all state agencies to follow these procedures upon arresting a person. This judgment is a landmark judgment and is sometimes referred to as the Miranda Rights Of India. It defines the rights of detainees and the procedures the police need to follow upon affecting an arrest. This judgment came into being due to the custodial deaths happening all over the country This judgment holds any officer at any rank to be in contempt of court if these directions are disobeyed. Here are the directions from the Supreme Court:
“It is, therefore appropriate to issue the following requirements to be followed in all cases of arrest or detention till legal provisions are made in that behalf as preventive measures:
1. The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register. 2. That the police officer carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may either be a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made it shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest. 3. A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the arrestee.
4. The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through the Legal Aid Organization in the District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest. The person arrested must be made aware as soon as he is out under arrest or is detained.
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5. An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclose the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names and particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.
6. The arrestee should, where he so requests, to be also examined at the time of his arrest and major and minor injuries, if any present on his/her body, must be recorded at that time. The “inspection Memo” must be signed both by the arrestee and the police officer effecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.
7. The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services of the State or Union Territory concerned. Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all tehsils and districts as well.
8. Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above should be sent to the Illaqa Magistrate for his record. 9. The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation. 10. A police control room should be provided at all district and State head quarters, where information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated by the officer causing the arrest, within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and at the police control room it should be displayed on a conspicuous notice board.
Failure to comply with the requirements herein above mentioned shall apart from rendering the official concerned liable for departmental action, also render him liable to be punished for contempt of court and the proceedings for contempt of court may be instituted in any High Court of the country, having territorial jurisdiction over the matter.”
What Is Anticipatory Bail ?
Anticipatory bail is a direction to release a person on bail, issued even before the person is arrested.
When any person apprehends that there is a move to get him arrested on false or trump up charges, or due to enmity with someone, or he fears that a false case is likely to be built up against him. He has the right to move the Court of Session or the High Court under section 438 of the code of Criminal Procedure for grant of bail in the event of his arrest, and the court may,
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony if it thinks fit, direct that in the event of such arrest, he shall be released on bail. Here is an explanation of Anticipatory bail given by the Supreme Court (Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v The State of Punjab AIR 1980 SUPREME COURT 1632). A person can apply for AB even after the FIR is filed, but not if the person has been arrested. Read the excerpts to get an understanding of AB:
“35. Section 438 (1) of the Code lays down a condition, which has to be satisfied before anticipatory bail can be granted. The applicant must show that he has “reason to believe’ that he may be arrested for a non bailable offence. The use of the expression “reason to believe” shows that the belief that the applicant may be so arrested must be founded on reasonable grounds.
• Thirdly, the filing of a First Information Report is not a condition precedent to the exercise of the power under S. 438. The imminence of a likely arrest founded on a reasonable belief can be shown to exist even if an FIR is not yet filed.
• Fourthly, anticipatory bail can be granted even after in FIR is filed, so long as the applicant has not been arrested.
• After arrest, the accused must seek his remedy under S. 437 or Section 439 of the Code, if he wants to be released on bail in respect of the offence or offenses for which he is arrested.
The four factors, which are relevant for considering the application for grant of anticipatory bail, are :
1. The nature and gravity or seriousness of accusation as apprehended by the applicant. 2. The antecedents of the applicant including the fact as to whether he has, on conviction by a Court, previously undergone imprisonment for a term in respect of any cognizable offence. 3. The likely object of the accusation to humiliate or malign the reputation of the applicant by having him so arrested. 4. The possibility of the appellant, if granted anticipatory bail, fleeing from justice. Anticipatory bail not available in Uttar Pradesh.
The Right To Bail:
In the context of 498A, I am quoting Sushil Kumar Singh in providing an explanation of bail:
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“Section 437 of the Code provides for release on bail in cases of non bailable offences (498A). In such cases, bail is not a matter of right. Court has sufficient discretion to deny or to grant bail. First Schedule to the Code provides the list of bailable and non bailable offences.”
Here is an excerpt of a Supreme Court judgment (Krishna Iyer, J. in Narasimhulu and Others v Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., AIR 1978 SUPREME COURT 429.) that provides guidelines for releasing a person on bail:
“Personal liberty, deprived when bail is refused, is too precious a value of our constitutional system recognized under Article 21 that the crucial power to negate it is a great trust exercisable, not casually but judicially, with lively concern for the cost to the individual and the community. To glamorize impressionistic orders as discretionary may, on occasions, make a litigative gamble decisive of a fundamental right. After all, personal liberty of an accused or convict is fundamental, suffering lawful eclipse only in terms of ‘procedure established by law’. The last four words of Article 21 are the life of that human right."
The Supreme Court also said that (Moti Ram and Others v State of M.P. (AIR 1978 SC 1594)):
“Fixing an excessively high amount of bond, keeping in consideration the facts and circumstances of the case and economic condition of the accused, violates the constitutional norms.”
A Direction On Granting Bail:
The following direction was given by Chief Justice of Jharkhand Mr V. K. Gupta on 11.07.2001 against a case "Birendra Jha v/s The State of Jharkhand , A.B.A No. 4654 of 2001".
“On the question of grant of bail to accused I may also observe that there is another category of offences where normally bail should be granted and refusal should be an exception. I’m talking of offences under Section 498A I.P.C. and Section 4 of the Dowry Provision Act, 1961. In those cases where it is manifestly clear, on a plain reading of the police report or the contents of the private complaint that neither any grievous injury has been inflicted upon the alleged victim nor is there any other clear proof of the alleged victim having physically suffered and that there is also no serious allegation supported with positive proof of dowry having been demanded in the immediate proximity of the marriage or thereabout, the bail should be granted. It happens quite often that in ordinary matrimonial disputes or where there is some discordant note in a matrimonial relationship, the woman as an alleged victim sets in motion 498A.”
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NOTE: I have been unable to find the complete judgment. If anyone has it, please inform a SIF volunteer.
The Definition Of An Arrest:
The Supreme Court (Kultej Singh Vs. Circle Inspector of Police & others: 1992 Cr.L.J 1173 (Karnataka)) has defined an arrest as:
“From a reading of sub section (1) of Section 46 of the Cr.P.C. If a person is confined or kept in the police station or his movements are restricted within the precincts of a police station, it would undoubtedly be a case of arrest. In the instant case, the FIR specifically states that Hardeep Singh was kept in the police station from the morning of 27.09.1990. Section 57 of the Cr.P.C provides that no police officer shall detain in custody a person arrested without warrant for a longer period than under all the circumstances of the case is reasonable and such period shall not in the absence of a special order of a Magistrate under Section 167, exceed twenty four hours exclusive of the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Magistrate’s court. Thus respondents 1 and 2 were required to produce Hardeep Singh within 24 hrs from the time he was kept in the police station as Savanur.”
The Right Against Self Incrimination:
This right is conferred by article 20 of The Constitution and this right was upheld by the Supreme Court (Nandini Satpathy V P.L Dani Air 1978 Sc 1025). The background of this story is that Nandini Satpathy former Chief Minister of Orissa against whom a case had been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, was asked to appear before the Deputy Superintendent of Police [Vigilance] for questioning. The police wanted to interrogate her by giving her a string of questions in writing. She refused to answer the questionnaire, on the grounds that it was a violation of her fundamental right against self incrimination. The police insisted that she must answer their questions and booked her under Section 179 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which prescribes punishment for refusing to answer any question asked by a public servant authorized to ask that question.
The issue before the Supreme Court was whether Nandini Satpathy had a right to silence and whether people can refuse to answer questions during investigation that would point towards their guilt. The Supreme Court issued the following directives in the resulting judgments:
1. An accused person cannot be coerced or influenced into giving a statement pointing to her/his guilt.
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2. The accused person must be informed of her/his right to remain silent and also of the right against self incrimination. 3. The person being interrogated has the right to have a lawyer by her/his side if she/he so wishes. 4. An accused person must be informed of the right to consult a lawyer at the time of questioning, irrespective of the fact whether s/he is under arrest or in detention. 5. Women should not be summoned to the police station for questioning in breach of Section 160 (1) CrPC.
Children below 15 and women should not be summoned to the police station or to any other place by an investigating officer. They should only be questioned at their place of residence.
An essential element of a fair trial is that the accused cannot be forced to give evidence against her/himself. Forcing suspects to sign statements admitting their guilt violates the constitutional guarantee against self incrimination and breaches provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [CrPC]. It is also inadmissible as evidence in a court of law. In addition, causing hurt to get a confession is punishable by imprisonment up to seven years.
The Right To Be Treated With Dignity By The police:
The Supreme Court (Ravikant Patil Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Others: 1991 :
“A Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay having exonerated the Superintendent of Police and other respondents, held that respondent 4 Shri Prakash Chavan, Inspector of Police, who is one of the appellants before us, has subjected the under trial prisoner to an unwarranted humiliation and indignity which cannot be done to any citizen of Indian and accordingly directed him to pay the compensation and he was also censured as mentioned above”.
It is implicit in this judgment that the police do not have the right to subject any citizen to indignities or humiliation such as unwarranted handcuffing, verbal or physical abuse, or indulge in intimidation as life, liberty of a citizen quarantined under article 2, includes life with dignity and liberty with dignity. Liberty must mean freedom from humiliation and indignities at the lands of the authorities to whom the custody of a person may pass temporarily or otherwise under the law of the land.
The Police Cannot Torture You Or Resort To 3 rd Degree Methods:
The Supreme Court (Bhagwan Singh vs State of Punjab: 1999 Cr.L.J. 2201( Bombay ) has held that:
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“It may be a legitimate right of any Officer to interrogate or arrest any suspect on some credible material but such an arrest must be in accordance with the law and the interrogation does not mean inflicting injuries. It should be in its true sense purposeful, namely, to make the investigation effective. Torturing a person and using third degree methods are of medieval nature and they are barbaric and contrary to law. The Police would be accomplishing behind their closed doors precisely what the demands of our legal order forbid. They must adopt some scientific methods than resorting to physical torture. If the custodians of law themselves indulge in committing crimes then no member of the society is safe and secure. If Police Officers who have to provide security and protection to the citizens indulge in such methods they are creating a sense of insecurity in the minds of the citizens. It is more heinous than a game keeper becoming a poacher.”
The Definition Of Torture And Compensation For Illegal Detention:
How does the Supreme Court define torture? Is it limited to physical violence only? What if a citizen was detained illegally to extract a confession by torture? Is there no provision to compensate the person for the illegal detention?
The answers to these questions lie in several judgments of the Supreme Court, a couple of which are sufficient to answer these questions.
Here is a definition of torture by the Supreme Court (D.K. BASU,ASHOK K. JOHRI Vs.STATE OF WEST BENGAL,STATE OF U.P: DATE:18/12/1996 BENCH: KULDIP SINGH, A.S. ANAND):
“Torture” has not been defined in Constitution or in other penal laws. ‘Torture’ of a human being by another human being is essentially an instrument to impose the will of the ‘strong’ over the ‘weak’ by suffering. The word torture today has become synonymous with the darker side of human civilization. Torture is a wound in the soul so painful that sometimes you can almost touch it, but it is also so intangible that there is not way to heal it. Torture is anguish squeezing in your chest, cold as ice and heavy as a stone paralyzing as sleep and dark as the abyss. Torture is despair and fear and rage and hate. It is a desire to kill and destroy including yourself.” Adriana P. Bartow “No violation of any one of the human rights has been the subject of so many Conventions and Declarations as ‘torture’ all aiming at total banning of it in all forms, but inspite of the commitments made to eliminate torture, the fact remains that torture is more widespread not that ever before, “Custodial torture” is a naked violation of human dignity and degradation with destroys, to a very large extent, the individual personality.”
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In yet another judgment, the Supreme Court (Arvinder Singh Bagga v. State of U.P, 1994) expanded the definition of torture to include mental torture and also provided a provision for compensation in the event of illegal detention and torture. This judgment takes on greater relevance in light of the murder of Rizwanur Rehman as this case involved the elopement of a young woman, Nidhi. The police detained Nidhi and applied the usual formula of attempting to get Nidhi to implicate her husband in a case of abduction and forcible marriage. In a response to a writ of Habeas Corpus, the Supreme Court passed this judgment, even after Nidhi was released and brought this sorry episode to a logical conclusion.
The Supreme Court described the way the police treated Nidhi, the victim, in the following manner:
“On a careful consideration of all the evidence on record in the light of the surrounding circumstances I accept the claim of Nidhi that she was tortured by the police officers on 24th, 25th and 26th July, 1993. On 24.7.93 she was pressurised by J.C. Upadhyaya S.H.O., Sukhpal Singh, S.S.I, and Narendrapal Singh S.I. and threatened and commanded to implicate her husband and his family in a case of abduction and forcible marriage thereafter. She was threatened with physical violence to her husband and to herself in case of her default and when she refused her family members were brought in to pressurise her into implicating them. On 25th July 1993 she was jolted out of sleep by Sukhpal Singh S.S.I. and made to remain standing for a long time. She was abused and jostled and threatened by J.C. Upadhyay, Sukhpal Singh and Narendrapal Singh with injury to her body if she did not write down the dictated note. Sukhpal Singh SSI even assaulted her on her leg with Danda and poked it in her stomach. She did not yield to the pressure.”
The Ho’nble judge then went on to define torture in the following manner:
“Torture is not merely physical, there may be mental torture and psychological torture calculated to create fright and submission to the demands or commands. When the threats proceed from a person in Authority and that too by a police officer the mental torture caused by it is even more grave”
From this judgment, it is very clear that each time our families are threatened by the police with the old threat of “Pay up, or else...”, or “confess or else...” they are subjecting them to torture. The court then went on to pass the following orders:
• The State of Uttar Pradesh will take immediate steps to launch prosecution against all the police officers involved in this sordid affair.
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• The State shall pay a compensation of Rs. 10,000 to Nidhi, Rs. 10,000 to Charanjit Singh Bagga and Rs. 5,000 to each of the other persons who were illegally detained and humiliated for no fault of theirs. Time for making payment will be three months from the date of this judgment. Upon such payment it will be open to the State to recover personally the amount of compensation from the concerned police officers.
This judgment makes it clear that a citizen can claim compensation for illegal detention and torture by the police.
The icing on the cake will be if the state recovers the compensation amount from the salary of the guilty officers.
When to File For Compensation For Illegal Detention:
Justice Shiv Narain Dhingra (Delhi HC, WP (Crl.) No. 988/2007, 10.10.2007) says:
“When a criminal case is registered against somebody, the Court cannot jump to conclusion, merely on the basis of FIR, whether the case was a false case or a truthful case and whether the petitioner has been malafidely arrested or has been rightly arrested. FIR is merely first information given to the police so as to bring machinery of criminal law in motion. FIR is not considered as an encyclopedia of facts. It is only after challan is filed, the Court can form an opinion, at the time of framing of charge, whether a case was made out against the accused worth trial or not. If the evidence collected by the prosecution does not disclose commission of any offence, by the accused even prima facie, the Court has to discharge the accused. The accused at that stage can lay a claim that the case was got registered against him malafidely and police also acted malafidely. Even after charge is framed, on conclusion of trial if a Court finds that no case was made out against the accused and he was falsely implicated, the Court is bound to acquit the accused and that will be the second stage whether accused gets a right to claim that he was falsely implicated. The present Writ Petition filed by the petitioner has not been filed after discharge of the petitioner or after acquittal of the petitioner. In a Writ Petition this Court cannot declare if the arrest of the petitioner in a criminal case was illegal, unless on the face of it, it appears that it was a case where no arrest could have been made.”
Inordinate Delay In Police Investigation May Lead To A Quashed FIR:
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If you are amongst those against whom an FIR has be en filed but no further action has been taken, then you may be able to get the FIR quashed as per this judgment. Here is the ruling by the SC (State of Andhra Pradesh vs P.V. Pavithran, 1990), which held that:
“A lethargic and lackadaisical manner of investigation over a prolonged period makes an accused in a criminal proceeding to live every moment under extreme emotional and mental stress and strain and to remain always under a fear psychosis. Therefore, it is imperative that if investigation of a criminal proceeding staggers on with tardy pace due to the indolence and inefficiency of the investigating agency causing unreasonable and substantial delay resulting in grave prejudice or disadvantage to the accused, the Court as the protector of the right and personal liberty of the citizen will step in and resort to the drastic remedy of quashing further proceedings in such investigation. However, there are offences of grave magnitude, which would necessarily involve considerable time for unearthing the crimes and bringing the culprits to book. Therefore, it is not possible to formulate inflexible guidelines or rigid principles of uniform application for speedy investigation or to stipulate any arbitrary period of limitation within which investigation in a criminal case should be completed.”
The Police Do Not Have The Right To Handcuff You:
The Supreme Court (Citizen for Democracy through its, president Vs. State of Assam & Others: 1996 Cr.L.J. 3247) has held that:
“As a rule it shall be the rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be forced on a prisoner – convicted or under –trial – while transporting or in transit form one jail to another or from jail to Court and back. The police and the jail authorities on their own, shall have no authority without obtaining order from Magistrate to direct the handcuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another or from jail to court and track. The relevant considerations for putting a prisoner in fetters are the character antecedents and propensities of the prisoner. The peculiar and special characteristics of each individual prisoner have to be taken into consideration. The nature or length of sentence or the number of convictions or the gruesome character of the crime the prisoner is alleged to have committed are not by themselves relevant considerations.”
Arrest And Custody Of Women:
The Supreme Court (Christian Community Welfare Council of India and another Vs. Government of Maharashtra & another: 1995 Cr.L.J. 4223 (Bombay)) has laid out procedure for the arrest and detention of women. Here is an excerpt:
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“The State Government should issue instructions immediately in unequivocal and unambiguous terms to all concerned that no female person shall be detained or arrested without the presence of lady constable and in no case, after sun set and before sun rise”
The Police Cannot Detain A Citizen For The Purpose Of An Inquiry/Interrogation:
The Bombay High Court (Ashak Hussain Allah Detha, alias Siddique and another Vs. Assistant Collector of Customs (P) Bombay and another: 1999 Cr.L.J. 2201(Bombay)) has held that:
“The investigating Officers may lawfully detain a suspect for an offence. But detention in custody for interrogation is not authorized by law. The investigating Officers may detain for an offence only. Any restrain on a person’s liberty except for an offence is illegal. There is no authority in the investigating Officers to detain a person for the purpose of interrogation or helping them in the enquiry.”
The Police Must Register A Cognizable Offence:
The Supreme Court (Lallan Chaudhary & Ors Vs State of Bihar & Anr. DATE: 12/10/2006. BENCH: H.K.SEMA & P.K.BALASUBRAMANYAN) has held that the police must register a cognizable complaint. If you wondered why the case was registered, though the complaint was flimsy, this is the reason. But the law also says that upon investigation, if the complaint was proved to be false, then the officer can recommend criminal proceedings under section 182. Here is the excerpt:
“Section 154 of the Code thus casts a statutory duty upon police officer to register the case, as disclosed in the complaint, and then to proceed with the investigation. The mandate of Section 154 is manifestly clear that if any information disclosing a cognizable offence is laid before an officer in charge of a police station, such police officer has no other option except to register the case on the basis of such information.”
The Delhi HC (Priya Gupta Vs The State. Date Of Decision: 20.04.2007. Hon'ble Justice Reva Khetrapal) has held that:
“It is, therefore, manifestly clear that if any information disclosing a cognizable offence is laid before an officer in charge of a police station satisfying the requirements of Section 154(1) of the Code, the said police officer has no other option except to enter the substance thereof in the prescribed form, that is to say, to register a case on the basis of such information.
The Hon'ble judge also goes on to say that:
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"Indisputably, if as a result of the investigation, if it was subsequently found that the allegations made in the complaint could not be substantiated or were false, the investigating agency would have been at liberty to recommend initiation of criminal proceedings against the complainant in terms of Section 182 I.P.C."
An FIR Is A Public Document:
In quite a few cases, the police do not provide a copy of the FIR to the accused. The reality is that an FIR is a public document. Here is an excerpt from a judgment from the Gujarat High Court (JAYANTIBHAI LALUBHAI PATEL VS THE STATE OF GUJARAT, JUDGE: B C PATEL, DATE: 13/03/19):
“Whenever FIR is registered against the accused, a copy of it is forwarded to the Court under provisions of the Code; thus it becomes a public document. Considering (1) the provisions of Art. 21 of the Constitution of India, (2) First Information Report is a public document in view of S. 74 of the Evidence Act; (3) Accused gets right as allegations are made against him under provisions of S. 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, and (4) FIR is a document to which S. 162 of the Code does not apply and is of considerable value as on that basis investigation commenced and that is the first version of the prosecution, as and when application is made by accused for a certified copy of the complaint, the Court to which it is forwarded should give certified copy of the FIR, if the application and legal fees thereof have been tendered for the same in the Court of law.”
The Right To A Speedy Trial:
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Right to a speedy trial is a Fundamental Right. Here are two cases where they have done so:
• Hussainara Khatoon & Ors.Vs.Home Secretary, State Of Bihar Date Of Judgment12/02/1979.
• Raj Deo Sharma Vs.The State Of Bihar Date Of Judgment: 08/10/1998
The Supreme Court has held that:
“The accused in these cases might have been on bail but the injustice of pendency of trial for long periods is the uncertainty and the concomitant anxiety suffered by the under trial. The under trial is inhibited in making future plans for his life or executing present ones due to the uncertainty which pendency of trial brings. His confidence starts to erode and at the end of the
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The Right To Information:
The Supreme Court has held that the right to information is a fundamental right. In its judgment (People’s Union for Civil Liberties and another Vs Union of India and others. Justice S. B. Sinha. Date:06 Jan 2004) the Supreme Court has said that:
“Right of information is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The State under Clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution, however, is entitled to impose reasonable restrictions inter alia in the interest of the State.”
The govt authority needs to provide information within 48Hrs if rights under life and liberty are affected. An RTI is a useful weapon if the police are holding members of your family.
The Right To Be Given A Reason:
The Supreme Court (Daya Ram Vs Raghunath & Ors DATE: 15/06/2007) has stated that the failure to give reasons is denial of justice. This is a recent judgment and is very useful if the magistrate is denying your bail application and no reason is given. Here is an excerpt:
“Failure to give reasons amounts to denial of justice. Reasons are live links between the mind of the decision taker to the controversy in question and the decision or conclusion arrived at. Reasons substitute subjectivity by objectivity. The emphasis on recording reasons is that if the decision reveals the "inscrutable face of the sphinx", it can, by its silence, render it virtually impossible for the Courts to perform their appellate function or exercise the power of judicial review in adjudging the validity of the decision. Right to reasons is an indispensable part of a sound judicial system, reasons at least sufficient to indicate an application of mind to the matter before Court. Another rationale is that the affected party can know why the decision has gone against him. One of the salutary requirements of natural justice is spelling out reasons for the order made, in other words, a speaking out. The "inscrutable face of a sphinx" is ordinarily incongruous with a judicial or quasi judicial performance.”
DV Act Can Only Be Filed Against An Adult Male Person:
In yet another blessing in the form of a High Court judgment, the MP High Court (Miscellaneous Criminal Case No.1266/07), ruled that:
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“Thus, it is clear by the definition of respondent that for obtaining any relief under this Act an application can be filed or a proceeding can be initiated against only adult male person and on such application or under such proceeding, aforementioned protection order can be passed. Obviously those orders will also be passed only against the adult male person.”
I am thankful that the tyranny of the DV Act will be limited to the adult male members of the family and the women will be spared.
Compliance With The Dowry Prohibition Act:
If you find that the 498A wife has charged that you had huge sums of money at the time of marriage in the FIR, and you are wondering how to prove your innocence, then thank god for the judgments of Justice Shiv Narain Dhingra. Justice Dhingra, (Smt Neera Singh Vs State Of Delhi, Delhi HC, Feb 2007) had given a landmark judgment that deals with this issue:
“Now a days, exorbitant claims are made about the amount spent on marriage and other ceremonies and on dowry and gifts. In some cases claim is made of spending crores of rupees on dowry without disclosing the source of income and how funds flowed. I consider time has come that courts should insist upon disclosing source of such funds and verification of income from tax returns and police should insist upon the compliance of the Rules under Dowry Prohibition Act and should not entertain any complaint, if the rules have not been complied with.
If huge cash amounts are alleged to be given at the time of marriage which are not accounted anywhere, such cash transactions should be brought to the notice of the Income Tax Department by the Court so that source of income is verified and the person is brought to law. It is only because the Courts are not insisting upon compliance with the relevant provisions of law while entertaining such complaints and action is taken merely on the statement of the complainant, without any verification that a large number of false complaints are pouring in.”
Justice Dhingra also ruled in this judgment that taunting, though a despicable act by itself does not fall under the purview of mental cruelty under 498A.
Delhi HC Directive To IT Dept To Supply Information Under RTI Act:
Following the Smt Neera Singh judgment of Justice Dhingra, many individuals filed for information about the income tax details of their persecutors under the RTI Act. As expected, the babus of the IT dept refused to furnish this information under some pretext or another. Finally
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Information sought for by the respondent No.1 relates to fate of his complaint made in September, 2003, action taken thereon after recording of statement of Ms.Saroj Nirmal and whether Ms.Saroj Nirmal has any other source of income, other than teaching in a private school. This information can be supplied as necessary investigation on these aspects has been undertaken during last four years by the Director of Income Tax (Investigation). In fact proceedings before the said Director have drawn to a close and the matter is now with the ITO i.e. the Assessing Officer. .. Nature of information is not such which interferes with the investigation or helps the assessee. Information may help the respondent No.1 from absolving himself in the criminal trial. It appears that the appellant has held back information and delaying the proceedings for which the respondent No.1 felt aggrieved and filed the aforesaid writ petition in this Court. We also find no reason as to why the aforesaid information should not be supplied to the respondent No.1. In the grounds of appeal, it is stated that the appellant is ready and willing to disclose all the records once the same is summoned by the criminal court where proceedings under Section 498Aof the Indian Penal Code are pending. If that is the stand of the appellant, we find no reason as to why the aforesaid information cannot be furnished at this stage as the investigation process is not going to be hampered in any manner and particularly in view of the fact that such information is being furnished only after the investigation process is complete as far as Director of Income Tax(Investigation) is concerned. It has not been explained in what manner and how information asked for and directed will hamper the assessment proceedings.
Since the time for furnishing the information is expiring during the course of the day, we extend time for furnishing of the information by one week, during which the information shall be furnished in terms of the order of the learned Single Judge.”
CAW Cell Proceedings Are Voluntary:
The Delhi HC in two consecutive ruling has held that the proceedings of the CAW cells are voluntary. They have no power to enforce an appearance. I quote:
“It is made clear that CAW Cell has no authority to secure the presence of any person either by coercion or by threat. CAW Cell is only a conciliatory body where efforts are made for conciliation with the free will of the parties. If any person is not willing to go to CAW Cell, he cannot be compelled. It is also directed that CAW Cell, in future, instead of issuing summons to the parties
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Compounding A Non Compoundable Case:
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is a non compoundable offence, except in the state of AP and maybe a few other states. This means that once a case is lodged, a case cannot be withdrawn and must go on to end in either an acquittal or a conviction. Regardless, the courts are allowing 498A to be compounded. Here is an explanation by Justice Dhingra (Crl.M.C. 1216 17 of 2006) on the reasons for this:
“The Courts have been allowing quashing of proceedings under Section 498A /406 Indian Penal Code, 1860 because in such cases the FIRs are result of matrimonial discord and more often the effort of the Court is that either the parties should settle for a compromise for living together or they should part their company peacefully, so that, there is peace and amity in the society. In cases resulting from matrimonial discord, thecourt is not dealing with criminal but dealing with broken marriages and broken homes where resort is more often made to Sections 498A/406 Indian Penal Code, 1860 to teach lessons to the family of husband or to take revenge”
Unfortunately, this attitude of the courts is allowing this extortion racket to grow. These days, most 498A cases are filed to extort money. If the extortion attempt is successful, the HC is approached to quash it, stating that a compromise was reached. Those who choose to fight back and stand up against this extortion face years of litigation and running around the trial courts. This is the reason that 498A must never be made compoundable and this is the reason that the NCW is pushing so hard to make it so.
Understanding HC Quash Petitions, Section 482 Of IPC:
For most victims of 498A, a quash petition sounds like the perfect solution to their problem. The FIRs in most cases are a pack of lies and people think, that by approaching the High Court with a quash petition, the HC will run through the petition and a quash order will follow. Lawyers often guide the victims of 498A along this path, sometimes due to ignorance, and at other times, for motives, which are less than noble. The definitive judgment for a quash petition is the State of Haryana Vs. Bhajan Lal, 1992. In this judgment, the Supreme Court laid out certain category of cases by way of illustrations wherein the inherent power under Section 482 of the Code can be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise
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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 information report 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 office 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 malafide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a iew to spite him due to private and personal grudge.
Finally, to truly understand the view of the courts, I turn to a judgment of Justice Dhingra in a non 498A case. In this judgment (CRL. MISC. (C) No. 301/2007, Jan.31.2007), he clearly explains what a quash petition is all about:
“While exercising powers under Section 482 of the Cr. P.C. the Court has to keep in mind that it should not ordinarily embark upon an enquiry whether the evidence in question is reliable or not or whether on a reasonable appreciation of it accusation would not be sustained. This is a
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Issues Of Jurisdiction:
Lately, the 498A Wives have been filing cases against their hubbies and in laws in a city different from their normal place of residence, to harass them to the fullest extent. This brings in the issue of jurisdiction in a criminal case.
The Supreme Court, (Y.Abraham Ajith and Ors. Vs. Inspector of Police, Chennai 2004), ruling on the issue of jurisdiction in a 498A case, stated that:
“The crucial question is whether any part of the cause of action arose within the jurisdiction of the concerned Court. In terms of Section 177 of the Code it is the place where the offence was committed. In essence it is the cause of action for initiation of the proceedings against the accused.”
Justice Dhingra (W.P (Crl.) No.1266 of 2007) explained jurisdiction in the following manner:
“ In (1999) 8 SCC 728 Satvinder Kaur vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) and another, the question of registration and investigation of an FIR lodged at the place of residence was dealt with and considered by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court made the following observations:
In our view, the submission made by the learned counsel for the appellant requires to be accepted. The limited question is whether the High Court was justified in quashing the FIR on the ground that Delhi Police Station did not have territorial jurisdiction to investigate the offence. From the discussion made by the learned Judge, it appears that learned Judge has considered the provisions applicable for criminal trial. The High Court arrived at the conclusion by appreciating the allegations made by the parties that the SHO, Police Station Paschim Vihar, New Delhi was not having territorial jurisdiction to entertain and investigate the FIR lodged by the appellant because the alleged dowry items were entrusted to the respondent at Patiala and that the alleged cause of action for the offence punishable under Section 498 A IPC arose at
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Patiala. In our view, the findings given by the High Court are, on the face of it, illegal and erroneous because:
1. The SHO has statutory authority under Section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate any cognizable case for which an FIR is lodged. 2. At the stage of investigation, there is no question of interference under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the ground that the investigating officer has no territorial jurisdiction.
3. After investigation is over, if the investigating officer arrives at the conclusion that the cause of action for lodging the FIR has not arisen within his territorial jurisdiction, then he is required to submit a report accordingly under section 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code and to forward the case to the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence.
This would be clear from the following discussion. Section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code empowers the police officer to investigate any cognizable offence. It reads as under: “156 Police officer's power to investigate cognizable case :
(1) Any officer in charge of a police station may, without the order of a Magistrate, investigate any cognizable case which a court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of such station would have power to enquire into or try under the provisions of Chapter XIII.
(2) No proceedings of a police officer in any such case shall at any stage be called in question on the ground that the case was one, which such officer was not empowered under this section to investigate. (3) Any Magistrate empowered under Section 190 may order such an investigation as above mentioned.
It is true that territorial jurisdiction also is prescribed under sub section (1) to the extent that the officer can investigate any cognizable case which a court having jurisdiction over the local area within the limits of such police station would have power to enquire into or try under the provisions of Chapter XIII. However, sub section (2) makes the position clear by providing that no proceedings of the police officer in any such case shall at any stage be called in question on the ground that the case was one which such officer was not empowered to investigate. After investigation is completed, the result of such investigation is required to be submitted as provided under Sections 168, 169 and 170. Section 170 specifically provides that is, upon an
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Jurisdiction In NRI Cases:
Here is another gem from Justice Dhingra of the Delhi HC, involving issues of jurisdiction in an NRI 498A case.
Here is the excerpt (WP(Crl.)No. 415/04, Jan/04/2008) from this judgment:
“Cr.P.C. specifically provides for the jurisdiction of Police Stations regarding registration of FIR and investigation of case. The FIR can be registered even if a part of the crime has taken place within the jurisdiction of that Police Station. If the crime is spread over the various Police Stations, then FIR can be registered at any of the Police Station within which the crime has taken place. Crime cannot be registered on the basis of residence of the complainant or the residence of the father of the complainant or the effect of the crime. If the murder is committed in Delhi and the effect is that the wife of the deceased living at Mumbai has become widow, the crime cannot be registered at Mumbai Neither if the alleged matrimonial atrocities have been committed in Delhi, the crime can be registered in Patna in respect of those atrocities because the parents of the wife were living in Patna. In the present case, the wife had either lived in Delhi or in USA. She had contested her divorce petition in USA and had made allegations of cruelties done on her in USA. Thus, place of crime was either Delhi or USA and FIR could have been registered either in Delhi or in USA.”
A Case Lost In A Foreign Court Cannot Be Fought Again In India:
The issue of validity of the decree from a foreign court is decided by the following (No. 905 of 1989, 25/Oct/1989) factors:
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“ A foreign judgment shall be conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties or between parties under whom they or any of them claim litigating under the same title except –
• Where it has not been pronounced by a Court of competent jurisdiction; • Where it has not been given on the merits of the case • Where it appears on the face of the proceedings to be founded on an incorrect view of international law or a refusal to recognise the law of India in cases in which such law is applicable; • Where the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained are opposed to natural justice; • Where it has been obtained by fraud • Where it sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India.
In yet another landmark judgment (W.P.(Crl.) No. 957/2003, Aug/22/2007), Justice Dhingra put an end to the practice of contesting cases lost in foreign courts in India. Here is the excerpt from this judgment:
Quashing of FIR in exercise of writ jurisdiction is a discretion of the Court. The Court should exercise discretion in rarest of rare case, where the circumstances and the facts reveal that, even if, all the allegations made in the FIR considered as true, no offence is made out. In the present case, the complainant had all along lived in USA. She had left India immediately after her marriage. There are no allegations of cruelty or breach of trust during this period. The allegations are that her father spent money in marriage beyond his capacity. This does not amount to a dowry demand. If her jewellery or other articles were left behind in India with mother in law or brother in law, a court of competent jurisdiction has passed an order in respect of these dowry articles and directed the parties for exchange of those articles. The decree passed by the court of USA has not been challenged by the complainant. She herself submitted to the jurisdiction of the USA Court and contested the case. She was living, at the time of contesting, the case in USA and continued to live in USA even after passing of decree till 2002. She even preferred an appeal, which was dismissed. Thus, it is not a case where decree was obtained by her husband clandestinely or she had not submitted to the jurisdiction of the US Court or the US Court had no jurisdiction. Once a competent Court has passed an order in respect of return or exchange of articles including dowry articles, no offence under Section 406 IPC can be tried for the same articles in India.
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I consider that it is a rarest of rare case, where the Court should exercise its discretion. Criminal law cannot be allowed to be used to settle the personal scores neither the Courts can be allowed to be used as tools. The complainant, who lost her divorce case in USA and was in USA all along from 1997 till 2002 and had not stayed with the petitioners, even for a single day. She lodged this FIR only to settle her personal scores. I, therefore, allow this petition. The FIR No. 277/2003 under Section 498A/406 IPC registered at Police Station New Friends Colony, Delhi is hereby quashed.”
The Police Or Courts Cannot Impound Passports:
The police have been persecuting NRIs by impounding their passports and in the process denying them an ability to effectively defend themselves. NRIs are especially vulnerable to extortion under 498A. The standard sum of money demanded is around a US $100,000. Passport impoundment and Red Corner Notices are the favored method of bringing NRIs to heel. Fortunately, the Supreme Court, in a recent a judgment (Criminal Appeal No.179 Of 2008, Jan/24/2008) has stated that:
Hence, while the police may have power to seize a passport under Section 102 Cr. P.C. if it is permissible within the authority given under Section 1 0 2 of Cr.P .C., it does not have power to retain or impound the same, because that can only be done by the passport authority under Section 1 0( 3) of the P a s sports Act. Hence, if the police seizes a passport (which it has power to do under Section 1 0 2 Cr.P .C.), thereafter the police must send it along with a letter to the passport authority clearly stating that the seized passport deserves to be impounded for one of the reasons mentioned in Section 10(3) of the Act. It is thereafter the passport authority to decide whether to impound the passport or not. Since impounding of a passport has civil consequences, the passport authority must give an opportunity of hearing to the person concerned before impounding his passport. It is well settled that any order which has civil consequences must be passed after giving opportunity of hearing to a party vide State of Orissa Vs. Binap ani Dei[Air 1967 SC 1269 ]”
NBWs And Arrest Warrants :
It is a matter of debate that there has been a decline in the quality of the magistrates in the lower courts. An illustration of this is the instance where Delhi HC sent a magistrate back to the Judicial Academy for an act of stupidity. The Richard Gere Shilpa Shetty kiss is another such example.
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There has also been a tendency to issue Non Bailable Warrants without adequate justification, a practice the Supreme Court (Appeal (crl.) 1392 of 2007, 09/10/2007) decried. Here is an excerpt of that ruling:
“When non bailable warrants should be issued :
Non bailable warrant should be issued to bring a person to court when summons of bailable warrants would be unlikely to have the desired result. This could be when:
• it is reasonable to believe that the person will not voluntarily appear in court; or • the police authorities are unable to find the person to serve him with a summon; or • it is considered that the person could harm someone if not placed into custody immediately.
As far as possible, if the court is of the opinion that a summon will suffice in getting the appearance of the accused in the court, the summon or the bailable warrants should be preferred. The warrants either bailable or non bailable should never be issued without proper scrutiny of facts and complete application of mind, due to the extremely serious consequences and ramifications which ensue on issuance of warrants. The court must very carefully examine whether the Criminal Complaint or FIR has not been filed with an oblique motive.
In complaint cases, at the first instance, the court should direct serving of the summons along with the copy of the complaint. If the accused seem to be avoiding the summons, the court, in the second instance should issue bailable warrant. In the third instance, when the court is fully satisfied that the accused is avoiding the court s proceeding intentionally, the process of issuance of the non bailable warrant should be resorted to. Personal liberty is paramount, therefore, we caution courts at the first and second instance to refrain from issuing non bailable warrants.
The power being discretionary must be exercised judiciously with extreme care and caution. The court should properly balance both personal liberty and societal interest before issuing warrants. There cannot be any straight jacket formula for issuance of warrants but as a general rule, unless an accused is charged with the commission of an offence of a heinous crime and it is feared that he is likely to tamper or destroy the evidence or is likely to evade the process of law, issuance of non bailable warrants should be avoided.
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The Court should try to maintain proper balance between individual liberty and the interest of the public and the State while issuing non bailable warrant.”
The Definition Of Mental Cruelty:
In most cases, a 498A complaint will consist of a few lines alleging a single or maybe a few instances of mental cruelty. That’s all it takes for the police to literally run after the accused to arrest them. The reality is that a stray act does not constitute mental cruelty. There are many judgments dealing with mental cruelty. In the most recent case, while pronouncing a judgment on divorce on the grounds of cruelty, the Supreme Court (Appeal (civil) 151 of 2004 Samar Ghosh Vs Jaya Ghosh DATE OF JUDGMENT: 26/03/2007) has said that the behavior patterns so mentioned must persist over a period of time to warrant the conclusion that the marriage between the parties had irretrievably broken down and qualified to be the ground for divorce.:
“Mental cruelty is a state of mind; the feeling of deep anguish, disappointment, frustration in one spouse caused by the conduct of the other for a long time might constitute mental cruelty. So would a sustained course of abusive and humiliating treatment calculated to torture or render miserable the life of the spouse, and sustained unjustifiable conduct and behavior of one spouse actually affecting physical and mental health of the other”.
In another judgment, the Supreme Court (GVN Kameswara Rao Vs. G. Jabilli (2002) 2 SCC 296) taking note of its earlier decision in the case of (1994) 1 SCC 337, V. Bhagat Vs. D. Bhagat, observed that:
''Mental cruelty in Section 13(1)(i a) can broadly be defined as that conduct which inflicts upon the other party such mental pain and suffering as would make it not possible for that party to live with the other. In other words, mental cruelty must be of such a nature that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together. The situation must be such that the wronged party cannot reasonably be asked to put up with such conduct and continue to live with the other party. It is not necessary trove that the mental cruelty is such as to cause injury to the health of the petitioner. While arriving at such conclusion, regard must be had to the social status, educational level of the parties, the society they move in, the possibility or otherwise of the parties ever living together in case they are already living apart and all other relevant facts and circumstances which it is neither possible nor desirable to set out exhaustively. What is cruelty in one case may not amount to cruelty in another case. It is a matter to be determined in each case having regard to the facts and circumstances of that case. If it is a case of accusations and allegations, regard must also be had to the context in which they were made.''
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The reason I added this judgment here is that the police swing into action based on a complaint detailing a single act of mental cruelty and calling it dowry harassment. People go to the Supreme Court to get divorced on the basis of mental cruelty. It is tough to get divorced, even if there is a sustained pattern of abuse by either spouse. Why do the police act with such haste to arrest people on complaints based on allegations, which are flimsy at best?
An Explanation Of Writ Mandamus:
This is a judgment from 1970. The case is S.M. Sharma Vs. Bipen Kumar Tiwari. Here is an excerpt:
“It appears to us that, though the Code of Criminal Procedure gives to the police unfettered power to investigate all cases where they suspect that a cognizable offence has been committed, in appropriate cases an aggrieved person can always seek a remedy by invoking the power of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution under which, if the High Court could be convinced that the power of investigation has been exercised by a police officer mala fide, the High Court can always issue a writ of mandamus restraining the police officer from misusing his legal power”
Officers With Authority To Investigate 498A Cases:
It is a myth that officers of the rank of DSP are the only ones empowered to investigate 498A cases. Here is a ruling from the Chennai High Court (Crl.OP.No. 32871 of 2004 And CRL.M.P.NO.10462 OF 2004 AND 544 OF 2005) which states who can investigate a 498A case:
“The further contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the investigation should have been done only by the Deputy Superintendent of Police who is defined as police officer under the Rules and not by the Inspector of Police, cannot be countenanced. The Rule is a subordinate legislation and the provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code give full power on the Inspector of Police to proceed with the matter and apart from that, the definition for Police officer would clearly reveal as submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor that nowhere there is a prohibition that below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police shall not exercise the power to investigate the case and hence the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners in this regard cannot be countenanced.”
Relevant Sections Of the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
An Explanation Of Section 182 IPC (6 Months+ Jail For Filing False Complaints):
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Here is an explanation of Section 182 from the Punjab And Haryana High Court (Harbhajan Singh Bajwa Vs Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala Criminal Misc. No. 9841 M of 2000, dated April 18, 2000):
“Whenever any information is given to the authorities and when the said authority found that the averments made in the complaint were false, it is for the said authority to initiate action under Section 182 I.P.C. The offence under Section 182 I.P.C. is punishable with imprisonment for a period of six months or with fine or with both. When the authorities themselves found in the years 1996 and 1997 after due investigation that the averments made by Ashwani Kumar in his complaint were false, it is for them to initiate proceedings immediately or within the prescribed period as provided under Section 468 Code of Criminal Procedure. The acceptance of the cancellation report by the Court is immaterial. It does not save the limitation under Section 468 Cr.P.C., which prescribes the period of one year for taking cognizance if offence is punishable, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year. Since the offence under Section 182 I.P.C. is punishable with imprisonment for a period of six months only, the authority should file the complaint under Section 182 I.P.C. within one year from the date when that authority found that the allegations made in the complaint were false. Since more than four years lapsed from the date when the authority found the allegations were false, no question of filing any complaint under Section 182 I.P.C. at this belated stage arises.”
Section 182 is the offence of giving false information to a public servant. This section is important as it allows the acquitted to press for criminal charges against the filers of the false 498A. Section 182 is a non cognizable offence. To pursue a case under Section 182, an application under section 155 of CrPC needs to be made to a magistrate, whose consent is required to investigate non cognizable offences. The best example of Section 182 is in the Rahul Mahajan case when the police went after the doctors of Apollo hospital for faking the toxicology report.
There are a couple of other sections of the IPC, sections 211 and 358 of IPC. Section 211 provides punishment for making a wrong complaint and false charges of offence. Similarly Section 358 of Cr. P.C. deals with cases of groundless arrests.
Section 330 Of The IPC (Protection From Extortion Of Confession By The Police):
Section 330 of the IPC is meant to protect you from the police who extract a confession by extra legal means.
This is what the section says:
Voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession, or to compel restoration of property:
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Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or from any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information, which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any property or valuable security or to satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustrations:
A, a police officer, tortures Z in order to induce Z to confess that he committed a crime. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
(a) A, a police officer, tortures B to induce him to point out where certain stolen property is deposited. A is guilty of an offence under this section. (b) A, a revenue officer, tortures Z in order to compel him to pay certain arrears of revenue due from Z. A is guilty of an offence under this section. (c) A, a Zamindar, tortures a raiyat in order to compel him to pay his rent. A is guilty of an offence under this section.
The Process Of Indian Criminal Justice:
This is the outline of the process of criminal justice. I got this from CHRI . It has the following steps:
1. Registration of the First Information Report (FIR). The process of criminal justice is initiated with the registration of the First Information Report. The FIR is a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. You have the right to see the FIR. 2. The police officer proceeds to the scene of crime and investigates the facts of the case. Police investigation mainly includes:
• Examination of the scene of crime. • Examination of witnesses and suspects. • Recording of statements. • Conducting searches. • Seizing property. • Collecting fingerprint, footprint and other scientific evidence.
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• Consulting records and making entries in the prescribed records, like case diary, daily diary, station diary etc. • Making arrests and detentions (Justifications need to be provided). • Interrogation of the accused 3. After completion of investigation, the officer in charge of the police station sends a report to the area magistrate. The report sent by the investigating officer is in the form of a charge sheet, if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused. If sufficient evidence is not available, such a report is called the final r 4. On receiving the charge sheet, the court takes cognizance and initiates the trial of the case. 5. The charges are framed. The procedure requires the prosecution to prove the charges against the accused beyond a shadow of doubt. The accused is given a full opportunity to defend himself. 6. If the trial ends in conviction, the court may award any of the following punishments:
• Fine. • Forfeiture of property. • Simple imprisonment. • Rigorous imprisonment. • Imprisonment for life. • Death Sentence. • The Death Penalty
Code Of Conduct For The Police In India:
The guidelines for the code of conduct for the police were issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and communicated to Chief Secretaries of all States/ Union Territories and Heads of Central Police Organizations on July 4, 1985. I sourced this from CHRI. A guideline is a statement or other indication of policy or procedure by which to determine a course of action, in other words, this is binding policy.
1. The police must bear faithful allegiance to the Constitution of India and respect and uphold the rights of the citizens as guaranteed by it. 2. The police should not question the propriety or necessity of any law duly enacted. They should enforce the law firmly and impartially, without fear or favor, malice or vindictiveness. 3. The police should recognize and respect the limitations of their powers and functions. They should not usurp or even seem to usurp the functions of the judiciary and sit in judgment on cases to avenge individuals and punish the guilty.
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4. In securing the observance of law or in maintaining order, the police should as far as practicable, use the methods of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force becomes inevitable, only the irreducible minimum of force required in the circumstances should be used. 5. The prime duty of the police is to prevent crime and disorder and the police must recognize that the test of their efficiency is the absence of both and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. 6. The police must recognize that they are members of the public, with the only difference that in the interest of the society and on its behalf they are employed to give full time attention to duties, which are normally incumbent on every citizen to perform. 7. The police should realize that the efficient performance of their duties would be dependent on the extent of ready cooperation that they receive from the public. This, in turn, will depend on their ability to secure public approval of their conduct and actions and to earn and retain public respect and confidence. 8. The police should always keep the welfare of the people in mind and be sympathetic and considerate towards them. They should always be ready to offer individual service and friendship and render necessary assistance to all without regard to their wealth and / or social standing. 9. The police should always place duty before self, should maintain calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule and should be ready to sacrifice their lives in protecting those of others. 10 The police should always be courteous and well mannered; they should be dependable and impartial; they should possess dignity and courage; and should cultivate character and the trust of the people. * Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and communicated to Chief Secretaries of all States/ Union Territories and Heads of Central Police Organizations on July 4, 1985 48 11. Integrity of the highest order is the fundamental basis of the prestige of the police. Recognizing this, the police must keep their private lives scrupulously clean, develop self restraint and be truthful and honest in thought and deed, in both personal and official life, so that the public may regard them as exemplary citizens. 12. The police should recognize that their full utility to the State is best ensured only by maintaining a high standard of discipline, faithful performance of duties in accordance with law and implicit obedience to the lawful directions of commanding ranks and absolute loyalty to the force and by keeping themselves in the state of constant training and preparedness. 13. As members of a secular, democratic state, the police should strive continually to rise above personal prejudices and promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic or sectional diversities
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and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women and disadvantaged sections of society.
A Compilation Of Police Interrogation Tactics:
I compiled this list from various sites on the net. The most common tactic of interrogation, used by the Indian police, is to beat a confession out of a suspect or to intimidate the suspect into confessing a crime. Here is a list of the other common interrogation techniques:
• Exaggerating the strength of their case : They will tell you that they have recordings, documents, eyewitnesses, etc. All of this may true or all may be false but you simply don’t know because you are isolated. They try and get to you as soon as possible to play on your fears and work that confused state of mind to their advantage. • Good cop, bad cop: this is an age old tactic. The police will work in teams of good cop and bad cop. The bad cop will shout at you and attempt to intimidate you, and may even rough you up. The good cop walks in and will apply the healing touch. He may even yell at the bad cop. Apart from exchanging pleasantries, speak to him about all other things at your own risk. • Small talk/chit chatting: What is critical to getting the ultimate admission is to get you talking in the first place about anything usually in a “friendly” manner. They will try and find something that you have in common and just have a regular conversation. Then, when you feel comfortable just talking, they will move into the area of the crime. It’s the old story about the frog try and place him in the boiling pot and he will jump out immediately. But put him in a cold pot and then slowly turn up the heat, he will die before he knows what happened to him. • Separation : if the accused, like in most 498A cases, belong to a family, then the family members may be separated and each will be told that the other confessed. Watch out for this. This is the most pernicious tactic in my opinion. • Threats and intimidation : This is the standard operating procedure. The police may threaten to book you under more charges. Wish them the best. These charges need to be proven in court and lies don’t stand up to impartial, intelligent scrutiny. There will threats of physical violence, direct or suggested. Just stand up to it. • Promises: They will cut a “deal” with you or “put a good word in” for you. Don’t be fooled. They have no power whatsoever to make deals only prosecutors can do that and, even then, the judge is never bound by any bargain. CHRI has brought out a flier about your rights when being subjected to police interrogation.
Have your lawyer with you at all times and maintain your silence. The right against self incrimination is a fundamental right.
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The police cannot torture you or extract a confession out of you. This is illegal and if they do so, they are in contempt of the many judgments of the Supreme Court in this regard.
What is Section 498a of the IPC (Indian Penal Code)? Section 498a of the IPC is a criminal law in which the wife and her family can charge any or all of the husband’s family of physical or mental cruelity. This law is unique to India as it not only discriminates based on gender (man Vs. woman), but also discriminates against women based on their relationship with the husband. Typically, the charged family members in these cases include:
• Mostly women of all ages (unmarried, married and pregnant sisters of the husband, his mother and sisters in law, elderly grandmothers and aunts) • Other maternal and paternal relatives and even young children in the family. • “For every complaint filed by a woman, there are generally twice as many or more women who are accused al though the married couple may have never lived with any of the people mentioned in the criminal complaint”
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
The accused are presumed guilty, and for all practical pursposes, the burden is on the accused to prove innocencein the courts. The FIR is typically an imaginary story, running into many pages, with absolutely no supporting evidence. It typically takes about 7 to 8 years for the accused to prove their innocence in the courts. Due to the overwhelmingly large number of false cases, the conviction rate in these cases is close to zero. The delay in the provision of justice amounts to the denial of justice.
There is no penalty for the misuse of IPC 498a, and after acquittal of the accused, the courts are reluctant to entertain defamation and perjury cases against the falsely testifying witnesses.
Why do people misuse IPC 498a ?
• 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
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• 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 behavior • Custody Deny the father and his family access to their children. • Fraudulent Marriages in which the bride (and her family) hides her education level or mental health; and when is justifiabily asked to release the person who has gone into marriage without knowing the full facts; she files a false 498a case
What do the courts, governments and Non Government Organizations (NGO) say?
• The Supreme Court and High Courts have acknowledged this ‘misuse’ as a growing menace in the society and have recommended the legislature to amend the law • Justice Malimath committee recommended that IPC 498a be made bailable and compoundable. • The US State Department has issued a travel warning regarding the misuse of dowry laws in India, and highlighted the fact that Indian courts require large sums of money to settle such cases • The Canadian Government has issued a similar warning. • The WHO has explicity mentioned that 498A is one of biggest reasons for elder abuse in India. • Many women’s organizations, including several State Commissions for Women, have acknowledged the misuse of these laws and have recommended similar protection for men.
What does 498a do to society?
• Abuse of the Criminal Judicial System • Elder Abuse – Most senior citizens who have never been to the police stations or courts in their lifetime are dragged into jail without investigation and then into court cases that span several years. • Women Abuse – Many women in the husband’s family are abused by the process. • Abuse of entire extented family – Many in the husband’s family lose their jobs/earnings. • Cruelty towards Children – Separation of parents from children, including infants results in trauma. • Unequal rights (not only women vs. men but also women vs. women) – The wife/daughter in law can file charges against all the women in the husband’s family even if they are innocent but the female relatives of a husband do not have similar legal
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provisions for protection from a daughter in law or sister in law even in cases where she is abusive • Disintegration of families – Due to fear of being implicated in a false 498A case, parents have now started to legally disown their sons before or immediately after marriage. The terror of this law has resulted in the break up of numerous families. • Suicides of innocent people – Unable to bear the harassment and the humiliation they suffer after being charged in a false criminal case, many people, including aged senior citizens, have been committing suicides.
3. “SPARE A THOUGHT FOR DOWRY LAW ABUSE” CURRENT STATE
Please take a moment to read through what a lot of newspapers, judiciary and media are saying about IPC 498a (commonly known as Indian dowry law).
“Nowadays lots of men are experiencing pre wedding jitters. The reason: They are terrified of misuse of the anti owry law.” Vijay Times, Bangalore, Thursday 07 April, 2005
“The police should realize that it is not a matter between two individuals, not even between two families, but several families, such as in laws” The Hindu, September 17th, 2004
“Its time that the law is changed and punishment for these false accusations be made the same as that meted out to those who are really guilty of such acts.” “The anti dowry law has number of loopholes and it is high time that our society wakes up and takes a strong note to amend these one sided laws which are eventually breaking p our Indian marriage system” www.hindustan.net, July 27th, 2005
“The abuse of anti dowry laws has become serious enough that the United States Department of state has published a travel warning about “Dowry/Visa Demands” for travelers to India” – Lisa Tsering, India West, December 30th, 2004. “In urban area, marital problems are sometimes compounded by the confrontationist advice given to distressed women by aggressive NGOs”.
“I also feel that the addition of “emotional” to verbal and physical abuse as a ground for seeking legal protection.
‘‘Nowadays lots of men are experiencing pre wedding jitters. The reason: They are terrified of misuse of the anti dowry law”.
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The judicial authorities of India, in number of landmark judgments, have taken a serious view of the growing tendency to falsely implicate innocent members of the husband’s family in dowry cases. Describing misuse of IPC 498a law as “legal terrorism”, the Supreme Court said no one could be allowed to unleash frivolous proceedings on this count as the provisions of Section 498a “is intended to be used a shield not as an assassin’s weapon.”
Ajaib Singh, head of the Women and Child Support Unit, says 70 percent of the 1,000 odd cases that they receive every year pertain to dowry, but only 20 percent of these are genuine. ‘‘It is unfortunate that more and more people are misusing the stringent provisions of the law out of sheer spite.’’
‘‘People generally use this law to facilitate a divorce. And often, it’s the lawyers who advise the women to implicate their in laws under the provisions of this Act,’’ says Shantosh Singh, chairperson of Women Welfare Counseling Cell. Often, the number of items given in dowry is inflated to claim a high settlement amount.
“There are only 10 per cent cases based on truth, and people usually come to us and ask specifically to mention the element of dowry in their divorce petitions,” says Amrikh Singh Kalra, advocate at Punjab and Haryana High Court
Mahila Thana Station (Lucknow) Officer Vijay Laxmi Pandey says, ‘‘in most cases, it begins with an ego problem which finally leads to a threat of dowry complaint. We try our best to solve these cases by providing a non police station like atmosphere to counsel the couples.’’ ‘‘Cases of dowry harassment in love marriages are also on the rise. Growing differences between couples after few years of marriage is the reason in most cases and evidences provided against the husband are often found to be very flimsy during investigation,” says Pandey. The Lucknow Mahila Thana gets at least three cases every week and those filing the complaints are the harassed husbands of women who threaten to use the Dowry Protection Act to their convenience. However, there is no provision under the law to convert such a complaint, made by a husband, into FIR and book the wife. According to lawyer Rohit Kant, ‘‘The Section 498a (3/4) Dowry Protection Act and 406 of Indian Penal Code are the two Sections which come handy in filing complaints against husbands. The vice a versa doesn’t work.’’ (Reference: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory. php?newsid=169738).
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While dowry death and dowry related harassment cases have been widely discussed, debated and analyzed, often becoming the headlines of the leading dailies, the gross and growing misuse of anti dowry laws has been ignored by the media and the government.
The number of innocent families victimized by the misuse of 498a is increasing alarmingly. These innocent families are looked upon as culprits by the neighbours, the society and the law enforcement authorities when police visit their home and arrest them. Some of them, have committed suicide because of the ignominy they had to suffer. “There have been instances where mother or father have died of shock or committed suicide because the humiliation of a false criminal case was too much to bear,’’ writes Kusum, a prolific writer on gender issue, in her thought provoking book “Harassed Husband”. ‘’If this trend continues it is not unlikely that women themselves might suffer as they would lose credibility and sympathy of the society. Innocent, simple girls are more likely to suffer because of malicious complaints by clever and unscrupulous women’’, Kusum warns. Many men have also committed suicide rather than face humiliation.
A bank employee hanged himself in his flat in Maya Puri, Delhi. The wife often used to stay with her parents. His efforts to persuade his wife to return to his home only resulted in his wife filing a false dowry complaint against him. Another man immolated himself in New Delhi.
The reason being complaint of ‘dowry demand’ by his estranged wife which led him to jail twice. A 40 year old ex Airforce officer, committed suicide in Ahmedabad, Gujrat, after being implicated in a false 498A case during which he was jailed for 10 days. Unable to cope with the “mental torture” inflicted by his wife, a 30 year old man committed suicide in Krishnagar, West Bengal, on Jan 3, 2007. He had been dragged to the police station, on at least a dozen occassions in the past five years, by his wife, complaining of torture, which were confirmed to be false by the additional suprintendent of police. Another man committed suicide in Ahmedabad on Nov 19, 2006 after being harassed in a false 498A case. He was the only son of his aged parents. A 30 year old man from Kolkata committed suicide on Sept 1, 2006, after being implicated and arrested in a 498A case in 1999. Even after 7 years, his case was subjudice when he died.
Numerous senior citizens are also commiting suicide due to harassment faced due to false 498A cases. A 64 year old man, a retired employee of a multi national company, committed suicide in Kolkata, explicity mentioning about 498A in his suidice note stating further that “I am ending my life unable to bear the torture meted out to me by my daughter in law”. Another
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony senior citizen from Ludhiana, Punjab, killed himself by throwing himself before a running train and left behind a suicide note that read “I am ending my life because the parents in law of my son have filed false cases against me and my family”.
An old couple from Faridkot, Punjab, killed themselves by consuming persticides on Jun 20, 2006. It was revealed that the deceased were feeling harassed and terrorised after their daughter in law got a criminal case registered against them for bringing insufficient dowry. Humiliated and on the run, they committed suicide clarifying in the suicide note that they never harassed their daughter in law for dowry.
“There have been sporadic cases where the woman left her matrimonial house within few days of marriage and filed a long list of ‘dowry’ in the complaint filed against the husband”
The terror of this law has completely destroyed and annihilated several innocent families. An entire family consumed poison on Feb 3, 2007 in Alwar, Rajasthan. The husband, an engineer, and his father died, while his mother was admitted to Hospital. Right from the starting of marriage, the bride’s family used to harass the husband by threatening to implicate him and his entire family in the false cases related to Dowry. Another instance of mass suicide involving three members of a family was reported a few years ago in Ballabgarh, Haryana. In this case, the husband himself, his young sister and their hapless mother consumed poison and ended their lives because of the growing unreasonable demand of the daughter in law and the continuous harassment inflicted by her family.
These few instances illustrate the terror that has been created by anti dowry laws in the minds of a large number of husbands who feel captive in the hands of their own wives. While some hapless men, unable to live a harassed and humiliated married life, prefer to die, many others live their married lives under constant fear of being falsely implicated under section 498a. They are forced to meet unreasonable demands, tolerating unruly behavior of their wives only for family’s Izzat .
The Dowry Prohibition Act passed in 1961 proscribed giving or taking of any valuable security or property in ‘’consideration of marriage’’. To plug the loopholes in the law, the definition of dowry was widened by amendments in 1984 and 1986, to include any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given at, or before, or at any time after the marriage. To further check this deep rooted social evil, sections 113A and 113B were introduced in the Indian Evidence Act and section 406 and 498a in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The objective was to
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony give legal protection to the married women against victimization by the dowry greedy in laws. But, these laws have now become a handy weapon for many women to blackmail, harass, humiliate and falsely implicate the innocent members of the in laws family in ‘dowry demand cases’ and extract money from them before finally settling the marital discord or dispute. The cause of dispute may be something else like sexual dissatisfaction, drinking or smoking by the husband, lack of privacy, financial constraints, husband’s ‘extra leaning’ towards his parents or brothers and sisters, or even wife’s own leaning towards her own family or some other man which may not be liked by the husband. In such cases ‘demand of dowry’ becomes an easy excuse for many women with two advantages in mind getting rid of the man and extraction of Moti Rakam (hefty amount) by forcing the panicked husband and his family to agree to the terms dictated by her.
According to a newspaper report, in 90 per cent of the cases coming to the Crime Against Women Cell (CAWC), Nanakpura, Delhi, the lists of dowry, filed by the women are exaggerated. These contain, among other things such as, items, which either were never given in dowry or were already in possession of the woman. While request for retrieval of stridhan (jewelry) tops the lists submitted by women to CAWC, ‘demand of money by in laws’ figures next, the report says. The newspaper report also discloses that between 20 to 30 per cent of the cases reaching the CAWC are such that although the stridhan was actually in possession of the women, they still lodged complaint against their husbands.
This tendency to harass the in laws is more common among those women who do not want to compromise with their husbands or intend to remarry. Their intention is to extract as much money and material as possible from the marriage. There have been sporadic cases where the woman left her matrimonial house within few days of marriage and filed a long list of ‘dowry’ in the complaint filed against the husband. Women tend to implicate a large number of members of the husband’s family due to the simple reason that the greater the number of accused, the higher the chances of extracting hefty amount of money as settlement. Taking a serious note of this growing tendency, the Supreme Court of India has held that for the fault of the husband, the in laws or other relatives cannot, in all cases, be held to be involved in dowry death. ‘’In cases where such accusations are made, the overt acts attributed to persons other than the husband are required to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. By mere conjecture and implications such relations cannot be held guilty of the offence relating to dowry deaths,’’ the MyNation Hope Foundation (INDIA) Reg: S/1934/2018 Address: 133A, Pocket C, Siddhartha Extn. New Delhi 110014. Phone: +91 9972718212 49
Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony court observed while allowing an appeal against a verdict of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in a dowry death case. Earlier, the Joint Director of the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police had issued an order on 26 October, 1992 to the effect that the matter should be thoroughly investigated before registering a case under section 498a.
Today every husband is labeled 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 cruelity but what if the legal loopholes of this very law are misused by women to harass their husbands and in laws?
How long will the sufferings of the husband and his family remain unnoticed and their cries unheard?
“Today every husband is labeled a torturer and the mother in law a demon”.“One wonders where this growing tendency of misusing the laws by unscrupulous parties is leading the society“
How many more innocent lives would be lost before sanity and justice would be restored ?
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4. WHAT DO INDIAN COURTS SAY ABOUT SECTION 498A IPC? Is IPC 498a (dowry law) a balanced law? 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,2 002 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”
Supre me Court, In Mohd. Hoshan vs. S tate of A.P. 2002 Cri LJ 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 crueltydepends on
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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:
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“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 ignomy 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. As noted above 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 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.”
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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 liketo 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.
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:
1. A woman (not necessarily every woman) can be much more cruel than a man (not necessarily very man). 2. 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. 3. Instead of restoring equilibrium, the provisionaggravates 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. 4. For the reasons stated under conclusions 3 and 4 above the provision is not only imbalanced but also ultravires.
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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 honorable 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, malafide, malicious and revengeful.
5. WHAT ABOUT OTHER SIDE OF THE 498A REALITY? Am I a coward? My knees have circular scars from being scrubbed with footpad. I have a sambar burn on my face.I have two stitches on my thigh. Yet I had to face thethreat of being in jail as an aggressor. People either laugh or sympathize but nobody says I should get justice only because I happen to be a male! I care two hoots for laughter, I do not need sympathy but I want justice. Will I get it?” Says Bhargav, who not only had to face domestic violence but also the threat of a false 498a case by his wife. While such stories of male harassment are becoming very common, the society still finds it hard to empathize with a man’s plight. It hardly takes any effort to convince people if the same story were narrated by a woman. Divesh, another harassed husband says, “I do not defy anyone labeling my narration as ‘my side of the story’ but my question is why this is not asked when a girl goes to register a complaint or even during gossips where they are accompanied by the unlimited stocks of crocodile tears. They are taken on face value Is it that females speak only truth?” It might be hard to imagine the reasons why a woman might want to harm her husband and his family and ruin her own life by filing a false 498a case. Nakul, a victim explains: “Why do some unscrupulous wives misuse IPC 498a? Firstly to harass the husband, and maybe for monetary gains ” It is true that many women are making false accusations of mental cruelty and harassment on their husbands and in laws either of their own accord or at the behest of their family members. There are many cases where the main issue is incompatibility between the husband and wife. There are other cases where the husband discovers that the wife and her family misrepresented themselves and took advantage of his trust. In other cases, the domineering influence and greed of a woman and her family results in marital discord. Whatever the case may be, the husband and his family are in for a roller coaster ride for the next several years if the wife so desires.Some people might ask, “How can a lot of wives misuse the law when it’s a fact that misusing wives will lose cases anyway?” Nakul says, “The Indian legal process is a punishment initself, especially when it lingers on aimlessly for 5 10 years after the harsh period of police investigations (institutionalized blackmail to be frank). Since there are no legal repercussions if the wife is found to be fabricating a false 498a charge, wives use this almost by default even if they want a divorce for reasons other than dowry harassment and cruelty on
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony the part of the husband. Even if they (complainants) lose the case, there’s nothing for them to actually lose, as the wife gets a lawyer from the state (public prosecutor), she doesn’t have to appear other than for her statements during the trial (2 3 court sessions as opposed to the innumerable sessions whichthe accused husband and family have to attend throughout the duration of the case). This no lose situation is what makes the law misusing wife confident of inflicting damages to her husband without any harm to her whatsoever.” Nakul also points out that “in this particular criminal section of 498a, the accused is considered guilty right from the start until proven innocent (i.e. the onus of proof is on the accused), while in all other criminal cases (including murder) the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty.” There are many heart wrenching stories of innocent families being arrested without investigation and put in judicial custody. While IPC 498a is supposed to be a law to protect women, ironically it harms many more women. For every male accused of IPC 498a, there is at least one woman (his mother or sister) who is implicated in a crime that never occurred. If there are more women in the family they too are accused irrespective of their age, health condition, marital status or their physical proximity to the complainant. The entire family is ruthlessly arrested without investigation and there are no words to describe the financial hardship and emotional trauma that they have to endure. Children suffer whether they are jailed along with their mothers or are separated from them during that time. If this is not harassment, then what is?
Every innocent person facing a threat or charged with a crime under section 498a is extremely angry (and justifiably so) at how the Indian police and judicial systems operate in these cases. Shishir, a victim, says. “How would you feel when somebody accuses you of a crime you have never committed, the law asks you to prove your innocence and the police punish you even before you are convicted?”
Another striking feature of these victim stories is that the complainants, in collaboration with the police make sure that the arrests are strategically planned to harass and demoralize the accused, to make them succumb to the fear of being imprisoned and to extract huge amounts of money thereafter. Shivani, a US citizen who had gone to India to attend her mother in law’s funeral, was arrested under section 498a (filed by her sister in law), during a time when lawyers were on strike in Chennai. Shivani had to spend seven gruesome days in prison away from her two little children (one of whom was sick). Another female victim, Usha, who had
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony traveled to India to see her dying father, was arrested along with her brother while their father was still in hospital. They lost their father while they were in police custody.
Divesh notes that “most of the arrests that have been purposely made are on Friday evening .The reason is that the next two days being weekend off ensures that the husbands and his parents and relatives spend at least that many days in jail till the court opens on Monday. And if that day happens to be a government holiday then the proceedings are in suspension for a further while. The other popular days are days before holidays especially if the holiday is on Friday, then Thursday is apt for arrest as the proceedings are halted for three days minimum and the husbands and his innocent family members are in jail. I would rate these cases from past trends as more than 90%.”
What are the social consequences of misuse of 498a? Once a family has been tortured using the 498a weapon, the chances of reconciliation between the husband and wife is nil. The divorce that ensues is another mode of harassment for the already impoverished husband because he is forced to pay a hefty alimony/maintenance demanded by his wife. As Mihir notes, “An interesting ruling of the Allahabad High Court, where the wife was made to pay maintenance to her husband after divorce seemed to be a light of hope for those aggrieved and deprived husbands. But all the women had voted against this ruling criticizing the judgment as biased.”
Shishir asks, “Why are they calling it as biased? Do they despise providing any kind of financial support to their husband? Or do they feel that providing financial support is only a man’s domain and responsibility and not that of women? It is evident from the momentum of these women’s rights campaigns that they not only want to assert their own ‘rights’ in the society but also they want to dictate men’s ‘duties’.” Many feel that this kind of attitude on the part of women defeats any attempts of achieving gender equality.
Voicing the agony of all victimized men, Nakul says, “We are trying to see courts as our ‘parks’ and litigation as ‘small talk’, so that we ourselves do not fall into the self destructive vortex as the wasteful trials and adjournments and other self defeating legal processes stretch out,
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Sharat, another victim states, “According to an estimate, there are around 50,000 55,000 false 498a cases filed every year in India. This creates multi dimensional problems to the families and society:
1) Lot of productive time, energy and money of the family are spent in proving themselves innocent.
2) Law implementers and judiciary have to spend countless number of hours presiding over a ‘civil’ matter (false in more than 90% cases) while the judiciary is already overburdened and has a severe backlog of millions of civil and criminal cases.
3) Tax payer money is spent on the government lawyer appointed to the daughter in law and letting her fight her vicious lie.
4) Families who have never spent a single minute with lawyers, courts and police, are forced to run frantically from pillar to post to defend an alleged crime they never committed and they are bound to get depressed with the judiciary and police system.
5) Eventually, the institution of marriage might become more like a business transaction in which a man and wife will have to document every agreement in writing in front of lawyers.”
When victims and activists protest against misuse of 498a and other dowry related laws, they face large scale denunciation by groups claiming to be women’s rights activists. But is their criticism justified? As one female victim questions, “Why do we need unfair laws which will ‘benefit’ a woman if she is a daughter in law or wife but harm her if she is a sister in law or mother in law? When it is natural for a woman to simultaneously play all these roles how can a heavily misused law such as IPC 498a be beneficial to women in its current form?”
Shishir notes, “498a law, which was enacted to protect women from any unlawful dowry or related harassment, is now become a multi million racket in our society. The woman who files a false case, the lawyer who guides the woman on how to file a false case and the police who make the arrest, all seek unjust monetary gains from the situation. Why do we have to keep quiet when it is our right to fight against injustice? Such draconian laws are not
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony yet criticized by many women’s organizations which are campaigning for women’s rights and protection. The Government too has not provided any remedial measures to curb such a malicious practice, which was termed “Legal Terrorism” by Supreme Court of India.
The appeals and suggestions of 498a victims to amend section 498a have been grossly misunderstood and misrepresented by some women’s organizations (lobbying for strengthening 498a and other dowry related laws) as anti women strategies. In response, here is what victims who seek nothing but justice and freedom from these unfair laws and long drawn criminal procedures have to say:
“I do not want 498a to be eradicated. All I want is that the husband and his family are not arrested without proper investigation. In addition, if the law is misused then the wife and her family should be booked and sent to jail.” Rahul
“Do not change 498a. But argue for heavy punishment to women who file false cases and for lie detection and brain mapping test on the accused (cost being paid by accused). Simple is it not?” Anamika
Divesh, who has been enduring harassment from his wife and in laws for two years cries, “Arey kanoon banane wale, aap ke ghar mein baap, bhai ya bete hai ke nahi? (Makers of such laws, don’t you have fathers, brothers or sons in your homes?)”.
Lawmakers, are you listening? 6. TYPICAL TRAITS OF COMPLAINANT AND ACCUSED Note: The following are scenarios in which false IPC 498A (498a) cases have been documented over the last few years. Therefore, if a husband or his family observes any or a combination of the following behaviors, he might want to watch out for a possible 498a case against him.
Typical Complainant is a woman:
• 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 MyNation Hope Foundation (INDIA) Reg: S/1934/2018 Address: 133A, Pocket C, Siddhartha Extn. New Delhi 110014. Phone: +91 9972718212 59
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• 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 centered 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 Typical Accused is man and his family:
• Who are generally law abiding citizens with no connection or experience with police and courts. • Who are busy professionals or Non Resident Indians and do not have the time and ability to fight long drawn cases in Indian courts and therefore stand out as soft targets for blackmails and threats. • Who are living in a joint family and do not yield to wife's demand to setup a nuclear family. • Who are individualistic and refuse to submit to the controlling nature of the wife and in laws. • Who are wealthy and have a lot to lose under threat of arrest and extortion. • Who serve the Indian Government, and whose employment would be at stake if they were arrested or imprisoned. • Who are unwilling or unable to meet the monetary demands of the wife and her family.
7. THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTIONS ABOUT 498A
Registration of FIR, arrest and court proceedings: Equality of laws:
• When an FIR under IPC section 498A (498a) is registered, the accused are automatically arrested and jailed without investigation. The Supreme Court of India has ruled several times that arrest should be an exception, and not a compulsory. Why is there no penalty for
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony disobeying the Supreme Court’s orders? Is it not mental cruelty to subject a person to arrest without investigation or reasonable cause? • Why is there no provision in the criminal law that can serve to deter false and exaggerated claims? • Why does not the judicial system use its power to deter frivolous complaints made by unscrupulous individuals and prosecutions by corrupt law and order personnel for wasting the honorable courts’ precious time and imposing the financial burden on the public exchequer? • Why is there no provision by which the costs relating to false 498a cases can be recorded and recovered from the complainants to compensate the falsely accused? • Why is there no penalty for the complainant who does not appear to the court proceedings? • According to established research, the frequency of husbands committing suicide is three times that of wives committing suicide. When a wife commits suicide it is automatically deemed to be dowry death, under IPC section 304B. Why do we have no such protection for husbands? [ref: http://www.flonnet. com/fl1821/18210960.htm ] • The existing laws protect a woman from cruelty and harassment by her husband and in laws. Why does the law not provide protection to a man against cruelty and harassment by his wife and in laws? • The Dowry Prohibition Act clearly states that the dowry giver is also punishable under the said Act. Why do the police and judicial authorities not take any action against those who admit that they gave dowry? • Dowry laws were made to protect women from harassment. What legal protection is available to a woman who is being harassed by a daughter in law or sister in law? What legal remedies are available to a woman whose daughter in law or sister in law has booked a false dowry case against her?
8. GENDER BIASED LAWS ENGENDER INJUSTICE 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 labeled 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
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony with the above statement, the findings of a study conducted by The Center 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 favoring 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
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony women, done grave injustice to two groups of women. The first group constitutes the genuine victims of dowry harassment whose misery remains unmitigated 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 in laws.
The recently passed Domestic Violence Bill claims that it will protect women from domestic violence which includes physical, verbal, emotional, sexual and economical abuse. According to the law an aggrieved person is defined as “any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent ” and a respondent is defined as “an adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person ”. Thus, the law only recognizes domestic violence committed by a man on a woman in a household shared in the past or present. While this law is heavily biased against men, many supporters of the law are claiming that this law is good for women. The following are some gross inconsistencies in the law that prove that the DV Act is not good for women either.
There are several instances where a daughter in law and/or her blood relatives commit domestic violence (as defined by the law) against her mother in law, sister in law or any other females related by marriage. In addition, mothers or step mothers abuse their children (who include daughters or step daughters) physically, verbally, emotionally and economically and vice versa. In such a situation, the law does not provide any protection to female victims of Domestic Violence. Thus, the law can only be used by a wife or a girlfriend (present or former) and their relatives/friends against a man and his family.
According to Clause 17 of the Act legally divorced women and former separated girlfriends/live in partners can claim right to residence in the home of their former husband or former partner even though the Act says they may not have any right, title or beneficial interest in the same. The law can thus force a former wife or former girlfriend on a man’s household and violate the rights of his present wife or partner. The law does not provide
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony protection to a man’s current wife or girlfriend/live in partner or even dependent mothers and sisters under such circumstances. Here, the law favors divorced women and former girlfriends at the cost of the rights of a legally wedded wife/live in partner and other female relatives that share a household with a man.
According to clause 19 a man can be removed from his own household and him and his relatives can be restrained from entering any portion of the household in which the aggrieved person resides. Through this clause the law supports the encroachment of property by a girlfriend (former or present) at the expense of the right to residence of a man, his legally wedded wife and any other dependent female members of a family. In the name of protecting a section of women who may be making true or false allegations, the law penalizes innocent women who are related to an accused man.
Despite documented evidence that section 498a of IPC has been heavily misused affecting more and more women (along with men) everyday, no amendments to this law have been proposed so far. As with section 498a of IPC, the Domestic Violence Act is replete with loopholes and is bound to be misused. The DV Act will allow legally wedded women, divorced women and girlfriends (former or present) to subject a man and his relatives (male and female) to domestic violence and legal harassment. This Act, like Section 498a of IPC will result in the harassment of many more innocent women than it claims it will protect. It is important for the Government to acknowledge the fact that IPC 498a and DV Act are bad laws that criminalize ordinary citizens (male and female) and violate their fundamental rights. Unless urgent amendments are made to prevent the misuse of these laws, credibility of women will be lost. In addition to lost credibility, an overload of false cases will worsen the delays in the judicial process and deny timely justice to women who are genuinely aggrieved.
Unreasonable and easily misused laws like IPC 498a and DV Act are already creating a situation of fear and mutual distrust and adversely affecting interpersonal relationships between men and women in the society. This is resulting in more and more broken families and depriving children of a healthy childhood. If the Government and women’s organizations were truly interested in improving the living conditions of women in India they would focus on empowering women through education.
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Education builds self confidence and gives a person the ability to stand up for oneself. Educating women can also ensure that the next generation of children are raised to treat each other with respect and be better citizens. The Government and women’s organizations can also lend support for rehabilitation of abused women and protect them from further harassment without doing injustice to innocent men. It would behoove the Government and women’s organizations to work in collaboration with social scientists and psychologists to understand human behavior in the context of changing social conditions and standards in India and think about workable solutions to deal with Domestic Violence and other forms of abuse instead of criminalizing ordinary citizens. Positive measures that can bring about domestic harmony are the only way to ensure family stability and long term social stability.
9. STEPS AND SUGGESTIONS TO GOVERNMENT
1. 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. 2. Family Counseling Centers: 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 counseling centers across the country to help those aggrieved families. 3. 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
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5. 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 betaken. The government should create awareness among officers about its misuse. 6. Bailable: The main reason of 498a being misused to harass innocent is its non bailable nature. This sectionshould be made bailable to prevent innocent old parents, pregnant sisters, and school going childrenfrom languishing in custody for weeks without any fault of them.
7. Compoundable: Once FIR has been registered it becomes impossible to withdraw the caseeven 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. 8. Arrest Warrants : Arrest warrant should be issued onlyagainst the main accused and only after cognizance has been taken. Husband family members should not be arrested. 9. 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.
10. Court Proceedings :
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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.
11. 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.
12. 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
13. 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 husband and his family have been charge sheeted without proper verification of the complaint, the investigation officer should be penalized for gross negligence of duty.
14. 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
15. 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 unscrupulous wife.
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10. MEDIA REPORTS “If there is a marital discord, man is considered the culprit. Everybody sympathizes with the woman. The law was made stringent to protect women but instead it has become a tool of blackmail” “90 percent of dowry harassment complaints are false.”
Arun Murthy, Founder of Sangyabalya quoted in “498a gives men pre wedding jitters”. Vijay Times. Bangalore. Thursday 07 April, 2005.
“Today, most women end up using the anti dowry law to book husbands for maltreatment even if dowry is not the cause of marital breakdown. Thus anti dowry law has not curbed the giving and taking of dowry. It has only provided a strong weapon for revenge in the hands of wives against their husbands and in laws, whether or not their conflict is over dowry. Lawyers and even police routinely advise families to list ‘dowry demands’ as the primary cause of marital violence, even if in actual fact this is not at all the case, or is only a relatively minor factor in marital conflict” Madhu Purnima Kishwar. Manushi, Issue 148. (Published July 2005 in India together)
“For women there are many laws to deal with such problems and many bodies like the Women’s Commission and the women’s grievance cell, while there is no facility for men who face problems from their wives” Aruna Mukherjee. Pirito Purush Poti Parishad (Forum of oppressed husbands). “Battered husbands join hands to take on ‘better’ halves.” Express India. Thursday, June 16, 2005 . “Matrimonial offences where a woman is not physically assaulted should be compoundable and bailable.” “There is a growing tendency among women, which is further perpetuated by their parents and relatives, to rope in each and every relative, including minors and even school going children of distant relatives” Justice J D Kapoor, Delhi high court. “Check dowry law misuse by women: HC.” Times News Network, Thursday, May 22, 2003.
‘‘It is unfortunate that more and more people are misusing the stringent provisions of the law out of sheer spite,’’ says Ajaib Singh, head of the Women and Child Support Unit.
‘‘People generally make use this law to facilitate a divorce. And often, it’s the lawyers who advise the women to implicate their in laws under the provisions of this Act,’’ says Shantosh Singh, chairperson of Women Welfare Counseling Cell at Sector 17.
Lawyers also admit that the stringent laws against the dowry are misused to a great extent,” There are only 10 per cent cases based on truth, and people usually come to us and ask
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There are many who feel that legal luminaries should find out ways to prevent the misuse of this Act. ‘‘With so many people filing cases under this Act, there may come a time when we begin to suspect even a genuine case,’’ says Ajaib Singh .
Nazir Ahmad Rather. “To do(wry) or not to do(wry), that is the Act.” Chandigarh Newsline. http:// cities.expressindia.com . Monday, February 20, 2006.
The chairperson of state woman commission (Orissa) says cases of husbands being tortured and harassed are on the rise, especially in urban areas of the state. Over the last five years 519 cases of torture against husbands have been registered.
“It’s high time that there should be forums where these victimized husbands can seek justice and law should also be made to deal specifically such situation,” says lawyer and Lok Sabha MP, Brahmananda Panda.
Jajati Karan. CNN IBN news. “Victimized husbands an ugly reality”. Thursday, February 16, 2006.
In several complaints, the husband states that the wife has threatened by saying that all laws are in their favor and they can do anything. Pandey says in most of the cases the husband blames his in laws accusing the wife of acting at their behest. They complain that the in laws want to interfere in their life. They want the husband to listen and follow their advice, she added.
Manish Sahu. “Complaining hubbies turn to Mahila thana for solace”. Lucknow Newsline. http://cities.expressindia.com . Tuesday, February 14, 2006 .
Counselors at the Maharashtra Commission for Women, setup to help women harassed by men, are having a tough time these days. Besides women, they have men queuing up with complaints against their partners, wives, girlfriends and even mothers in law. And of the complaints filed by women, many are turning out to be false.
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“In quite a few cases, women are filing complaints which are not only motivated but quite misleading — just to harass men deliberately,” said the MCW Member Secretary Sudha Bhave. Aditya Ghosh. “Men seek help. Is women’s panel listening?” DNA Mumbai, Monday, February 13, 2006. The Supreme Court today warned that misuse of anti dowry laws could unleash a “new legal terrorism”. A division bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Sema said provisions in the laws are often being misused to settle personal scores.
“that does not give a license to unscrupulous persons to wreck personal vendetta or unleash harassment,” the bench said.
The judges said “it may become necessary for the legislature” to find “appropriate” ways to deal with people behind “frivolous complaints or allegations”, as the laws do not give any directions in this regard.
“The object of the provision is prevention of the dowry menace. But many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with an oblique motive. In such cases, acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Some times, adverse media coverage adds to the misery,” the judges said.
R. Venkataraman. “Dowry law no licence to settle scores: SC”. The Telegraph. Friday, July 22, 2005 .
“The fact that we issued a warning should be an indication of how widespread the problem is,” says John Peters, the US State department’s citizen services specialist for India.
Lisa Tsering. “Indian Husbands from U.S. Fall Victim to Dowry Immigration Fraud in India”. IndiaWest, December 30th, 2004 .
Referring to the provision of arrest, the Court said it has been much abused and exploited by the police in offences related to section 498a/406 (cruelty by husband for dowry/criminal breach of trust) of IPC where all relatives including husband and even old or minors are arrested.
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“The fact that we issued a warning should be an indication of how widespread the problem is,” says John Peters, the US State department’s citizen services specialist for India.
Emphasising that unless the allegations are of “very serious nature” and “highest magnitude”, the arrest should always be avoided”, the Court observed “arrest of a person for less serious or such kinds of offence or offences which can be investigated without arrest by the police cannot be brooked by any civilized society”.
“Power to arrest is altogether different than the need for arrest,” the Court observed and added “no authority howsoever powerful or mighty can be allowed to deny a person his liberty as it hits at the very foundation of democratic structure”
”Arrest should be avoided until very necessary”: High Court. http://www.dailyexcelsior.com November 26, 2005
“About 80 percent of total cases of alleged dowry deaths in Vaishali district are lodged by so called victims’ relatives for blackmailing the in laws,” says the Vaishali SP Shobha Ohatker.
Talking to TNN here recently, the SP said that there is a trend of levelling allegations of demand of money as dowry in most of the cases. Married women often do this under the pressure of their “greedy” parents, she added.
“Majority of dowry cases are false”: SP. The Times of India. Cities: Patna. Tuesday, August 19, 2003.
In some cases lawyers have been appalled to find elderly relatives of the husband and even visiting relatives of the husband implicated in the case. In some cases the husband and his family are virtually being blackmailed into coughing up money and reach an out of court settlement.
Eminent lawyer Bishnu Charan Ghosh says, “As a lawyer I have never come across such gross abuse of any of the provisions of any Act as I am experiencing in 498a IPC cases”.
Rahul: “Some brides are ‘villains’, not victims: lawyers”. The Times of India. Cities: Kolkata. Wednesday, May 01, 2002. Sociologist Bula Bhadra believes that domestic violence against men is yet to become a public issue. “If we go by the numbers, it’s still a private issue. I believe anyone can be
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony abusive. We need to look at the bigger picture. We have to take into account the power relations — whoever is in the dominant position in a family structure, be it a man or a woman, will tend to use his or her power to inflict hurt on the other. But as women are gaining more power today, we can see a ‘fear psyche’ working among men.”
Aruna Mukherjee, a senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court says, “I have been practising law for many years. I have seen innumerable cases where women misuse Section 498 A. I always felt that there should be a forum for men Women do cause great harm to men and contribute significantly to the breakdown of marriages.”
Anirban Das Mahapatra. “Help! My wife beats me”. The Telegraph. Tuesday, December 13, 2005
11. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW A SHIELD OR A SWORD?
Feminist organizations have unequivocally and unanimously hailed the implementation of the Domestic Violence (DV) Act in India. They claim that this law will empower victims and protect them from abuse. Most people in their right state of mind would agree that domestic violence in a relationship is not acceptable. It is only fair that for their own mental and emotional health and for the well being of the children, that the victims be protected from abusive partners. On the face of it, the law appears to be a blessing for people in abusive or violent relationships. However, a careful analysis reveals that, under the ploy of “women welfare”, this law is yet another misguided attempt to enact legislation to grant women legal supremacy over men and to create a society where men are deprived of their rights. There are three fundamental problems with this law – a) it is overwhelmingly gender biased in favor of women, b) the potential for misuse is astounding and c) the definition of domestic violence is too expansive.
The DV act singles out men as perpetrators of domestic violence and assumes that only women are victims. As per this law, only a woman can file a complaint against her male partner. A man, who is a victim of domestic violence, has no rights under this law. According to this law, it’s permissible for a wife to nag, insult and even physically abuse her husband. The fact is that it has been comprehensively proven in numerous studies [please see references] that women are no less abusive as men in intimate. Giving such sweeping legal powers to women, while withholding protection to male victims, is tantamount to systematic legal victimization of men. In the western world, the domestic violence laws are gender neutral and provide protection to the victims, both men and women. The fact that the Indian version
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony explicitly prohibits any male victim to seek relief under this law defies all logic and is beyond comprehension. The upliftment of deprived and disadvantaged women is a noble goal but empowering women by victimizing men is gross injustice.
The second significant flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that many women will find it hard to resist the temptation to “teach a lesson” to their male relatives and will file frivolous and false cases. A similar trend is already being observed in the case of anti dowry law (498a), which is being misused to such an extent that the Supreme Court has termed it “Legal Terrorism”. To illustrate how easy it is to misuse the DV law, consider the scenarios below. [She means wife/female live in partner and he means husband/male live in partner] a) If she demands any amount of money from him, for any reason whatsoever, he is legally bound to pay that amount in full, failing which he can be imprisoned. Under the pretext of preventing economic abuse of women, this law legalizes the extortion of money by women. Interestingly, if he asks for money from her, he can be jailed for that as well. Furthermore, he is resp onsible for paying the rent if the couple resides in a shared rented accommodation . b) As per the law, she retains the right to the residence. This is a very convenient means of getting control of the house regardless of whether she has any legal right on the property. c) If she decides not to cook and wishes to eat out in a restaurant everyday, he cannot afford not to oblige, lest he invites the DV provision for “not providing food”, for which he could be jailed. d) If she has an affair and he tries to prevent her from meeting her lover, he could be punished under the DV act, as he is preventing her from meeting someone . e) He can be booked under the DV act if she feels that she has been insulted. Insult is a relative term, which is totally left to her discretion. Interestingly, if she insults and abuses him verbally or even physically, he does not have any legal recourse in this law. f) Divorced wives and former girl friends can legally claim a right to live in the residence of the man, if she has ever cohabited with him in that house. This can potentially be done after 5, 10, 20 or even 50 years after the relationship has ended.
These are just some of the ways in which women can exploit men in a legally permitted manner. The fact that the complaint by a woman will be treated, prima facie, as “true and genuine” opens up a whole new realm of possibilities where innocent men will be accused and implicated in false cases, just because they refuse to give in to her unreasonable demands. In fact, its legally possible for the wife’s paramour to make a complaint against the husband (of
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony course, with the active support of the wife), get him kicked out of the house and then move in the house, while the innocent husband is forced to pay the rent while he languishes in jail. The likelihood of large scale misuse of this law is phenomenal given the sloppy drafting .
Most people, including the ones that helped draft and push the law in the parliament, readily agree that the law will be misused. Their counter arguments generally are a) The number of misuses will be very low OR every law is misused – Th e objective of any law should be to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The persecution of innocents cannot be justified in any circumstances. As is the case with 498a, this law will be heavily misused in urban India. Statistics prove that more than 90% of the cases filed under the dowry law (498a) are false [see references] b) If she is happy, then why will she file a complaint – Ah ! So, the man exists at the mercy of the woman. If the wife wants to kick out old parents from home or wants to pursue an affair and should the man dare to object, she can get him incarcerated with alacrity. Any law that forcefully subjects a section of a society to conduct as per the pleasure of another section is deemed oppressive and should be vehemently opposed. c) There are other provisions to deal with the misuse of this law – The fact is tha t there are other legal provisions to deal with domestic violence as well. If a strict law is made for a specific purpose, then the provisions for dealing with its misuse should be in the law itself The third major flaw in this law is that it provides an all encompassing definition of domestic violence and some terms (insults, name calling) are extremely subjective.
The radical feminists claim that 70% of women in India face domestic violence. While these statistics can not be confirmed [pls see references], however, given that even an insult is considered domestic violence, it is clear that this number has been really blown out of proportion . Interestingly, they are silent on how many Indian men suffer domestic violence using the same criteria. Nagging wives are a well known phenomenon and it would qualify for verbal abuse as per this law, which would mean an equally high number of men are victims of domestic violence. If the criteria for defining domestic violence, as per this law, are to be believed, then practically every man and woman in a relationship is a victim of domestic violence !! The fact is that these statistics are not an accurate reflection of the social conditions. They seem to have been conveniently misrepresented to promote vested interests.
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This law strikes at the very foundation of marriage by promoting intolerance and litigation for petty domestic disputes. It is universally recognized that from time to time differences arise in a marriage and sometimes people, both men and women, behave in hurtful ways towards each other. Most people, though, are able to work them out and lead a more or less happy life with their loved one. However, this law makes it very easy to escalate the domestic problems in daily life to such a level that it eventually leads to a breakdown in marriage. Once a man has been accused of domestic violence for a something relatively minor (insult), while he might have been subjected to the same treatment from her, he will perpetually feel threatened by his partner and that is the beginning of the end. This law will lead to more divorces, broken homes and the children will pay the ultimate price by getting robbed of a happy childhood.
There are degrees of domestic violence and not all conflicts in a relationship can be termed as domestic violence. This law trivializes the issue of domestic violence by including minor differences in its realm and by explicitly denying protection to half of the population.
The law in its current form is grossly inadequate to tackle the problem of domestic violence. It imposes a lot of responsibility on men, without giving them rights. On the other hand, it gives lots of rights to women without requiring them to be responsible. At the very minimum, it should be made gender neutral, offering protection to both men and women. Also, provisions for stringent punishments need to be incorporated into the law to prevent misuse. Moreover, the law needs to be made more practical by differentiating between various degrees of conflicts and by unambiguously defining what constitutes domestic violence.
The fact is domestic violence is a serious problem and a neutral and unprejudiced law is needed to protect the genuine victims of domestic violence, irrespective of gender. The perpetrators of domestic violence need to be appropriately punished and dealt with. At the same time,protection cannot be withheld from real victims for any reason whatsoever, least of all their gender. One can be certain that there is something sinister about a law, whenit intimidates and instills fear in innocent people. When a person who has not committed any crime, begins to fear punishment under the provisions of a law, it is not a law anymore – it is state sponsored terrorism.
References
1. Study that shows that in India, women are much more violent then men (http://pubpages.unh.edu/ ~mas2/ID41E2.pdf) 2. The US Govt. National family violence surveys of 1975 and 1985 (http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv 21.htm).
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3. Various studies on domestic violence conducted by the University of New Hampshire (http://pubpages. unh.edu/~mas2/ipv violence by women.htm) 4. Ms. Renuka Chadhary’s interview by Mr. Karan Thapar [available on the 498a.org videos section http://www.498a.org/video.htm ]
5. Statistics presented by the feminist organizations in India to justify the Domestic Violence Law, are proven false and the United Nations issues a clarification. [http://www.mediaradar.org./ alert20061113.php] [http://washingtontimes.com/ corrections/20061128 102228 2806r.htm]
12 . A FEW TRUE STORIES OF 498A VICTIMS
See how innocent men and women are victimized by the draconian 498a law. See for yourself how easy it is for a wife to use this case to destroy an innocent man and his complete family. Look at how distressed people are when they contact us (some even considering suicide).Look at failed relationships, failed marriages and how kids just become pawns in the hands of unscrupulous women. Look at all the injustice that has been meted out to these families and see how some of them were betrayed by someone they considered their own. All cases are different but still have one thing in common – They are all victims of the legal system in which they are presumed guilty without even been given a chance to present their side of the story.
WIFE USES NRI HUSBAND FOR IMMIGRATION VISA AND 498A’s HIM – HUSBAND’S MOTHER HOSPITALIZED
A Victim from Singapore I am an NRI. I would like to draw your kind attention to the extreme abuse of anti dowry Section 498a of IPC with my case. I am among many of the hundreds of thousands person whose whole innocent family is tortured just on a false complain if the wife is unable to adjust with her husband. The sufferers have to go under harassment and extreme stress after being held in police lockup and jail without any ground of proof and these people are assumed guilty by law. Is this justice to innocent senior citizen of India? Please go through my what happened to my innocent parents and brother after 14 months of my separation with my wife. I hope necessary actions are taken to prevent the misuse of any law. These incidents are now very common and many people are suffering because of such blind laws.
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I am working as IT professional in Australia since last seven years. I completed my education (MCA) in India and have been in good job since then. I am currently in Sydney. My parents are living in Faridabad. I got arranged marriage in India Oct 2001 and sponsored my wife, PS, to come over to Australia (on permanent residency visa) to live with me. We stayed together for eight months and during that period I found her to be extremely dishonest, unloyal, unfaithful, a big liar and greedy for money and it was obvious her intention to marry was just to come over to Australia and for the money. She had been asking me to sponsor her brother to Australia as well and to bear all his expenses on his education and living. There was no love, commitment though I tried my best to compromise with the situation and have excused her on all occasions assuming it may take time for her to adjust.
We went to India in Oct 2002 and there she tried a lot of trouble by creating misunderstanding between brothers, their wives and started stealing jewellery and cash from home to take it to her mothers place. Have been talking vulgar about my mother and brother. Then she was involved in a horrifying crime by secretly stealing and then destroying the passports of my younger brother and his wife. They are living in USA and where also on holidays there. My brother is working as software engineer in Chicago. She did it just two days before their departure and my brothers whole career was in danger as he could not go to USA. It is a long process to get the new passport issued and then get visa processing again. It was a mental torture for all of us. It was not known where the passport have gone until three days when the time came for me and my wife to come to back to Sydney. Our luggage was packed it was just five hours before our departure when we were getting ready and I found a trace of torn passport photo inside the toilet. It took me no time to understand by her activities that it was her act. I had to postpone our return to Sydney. I called my father in law and sent her back (Nov 2002). I have all the proofs with me that she has damaged the passport. She has tried to torture everyone in the family by her cruel and criminal acts. I then came back alone to Sydney in extreme stress.
I regretted a lot for marrying and loving such a stupid girl. She contacted me many times after that and asked me to call her back to Sydney. But her intentions were still clear. I can not live whole life with her. I am Australian citizen and by the Australian laws (validated by Indian law as well) I applied for divorce at the earliest possible date and had sent her notice on 16 Dec 2003 in Gujarat where she lives. The notice was received by her. Later suddenly on 14 th Jan 2004, police and lawyer from Indore came and arrested my aged parents and my youngest brother who lives in Faridabad and within few hours took them to Indore. They have to get me as well but since I am in Australia, they can’t arrest me. My wife had filed a false case of
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony torture in dowry case under section 498A in Indore (Though her residence is in Unjha, Gujarat). She put a false allegation that I and my parents and have beaten her many times and even have tried to burn her for demand of dowry. I or my parents or any family member have never ever touched her with any bad intentions. She has accused this allegation after 14 moths of separation upon receipt of divorce notice. She didn’t even mention the fact, the real reason for what she was sent back to her fathers place. Rather she said that she came back herself. Though I have enough proofs for my claims. When my wife had spend just about initial month or two in whole of our married life with my parents. Also she had been separated and staying away for more than a year.
I was extremely shocked. I do not have nor my parents or brother have even touched her anytime with any intention of beating or burning. We are from respectable family. My father is retired engineer from Dept of Atomic Energy. My brothers are well settled and are earning extremely well.
She did such criminal act, still being decent we sent her back respectfully with her father when we separated. If we would have been strict, we could even have got her arrested for destroying passports. But still we respected her being a woman.
It was a brutal torture to my innocent retired aged parents and my innocent brother. Without any notice they had to travel from Faridabad to Indore in police custody for three days a distance of about 900km in police vehicle. My mother is heart patient and is under treatment. She was extremely exhausted; it was a big risk for her. How can police just come and arrest and torture anyone just on someone’s fraudulent and false allegation. Later my elder brother had to go from Rajasthan to get them released on bail on 16 th Jan after spending one night in lockup and three days in police custody.
My parents have lived a very clean and respectful life but now have to see such a days. It is big slap on Indian judiciary that they can just destroy anyone’s dignity and can prosecute without trial. There is no respect for senior citizens who have served the country for the whole life. At the same time the legal system have a blind faith on crook, cunning young married women and her parents. I am feeling dismay. My aged parents and brother have to suffer who have nothing to do with my wife. My crook wife and her greedy parents aim is to get me and extract a lot of money forms me.
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As a figure in India, almost 90% of such cases are dismissed by the court after find the case as malicious, but there is no punishment of making false allegations. Almost all the divorce ends up in 498A, where the reality is that dowry is not practiced and hardly any women are harassed in educated well earning family in urban area. And of 90% cases the police get a good excuse to harass any respectable person and then to discharge them after harassing. Lawyers and police are making a big money by trapping innocent citizens.
She was successful to get the complaint lodged at Indore and the police from other state came and arrested my parents and brother without permission of local police in Faridabad. Also a copy of FIR is still not been handed over to us.
In the ongoing crises my aged mother in India was admitted in hospital with severe cardiac pain and abnormal blood pressure on 22nd Jan’04 while they have to arrange lawyers and plan the visit to attend the next date 29 th Jan with a notice of just 7 working days to be attend in Indore 900km far from our place. My mother’s health is so severe that she is going to be operated today on 23rd Jan. Not attending will weaken our case. Who is going to look after my mothers and aged father health?
As I am also the accused in my wife’s complaint, I can’t go there in India as the police will arrest me. I am just helpless. As such there is no fair judicial or law system in India. It’s against the basic right to live with respect.
WIFE KILLED CHILD FOR EXTORTING MONEY A Victim from Pune
Following has happened with me and my family till date. 1. Married in Feb 2003 according to Hindu rituals. This was arranged marriage. 2. Within the first month itself she ran away from my house AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR NO REASON and came back after 3 4 hours. 3. I tried to enquire the reason, she said, this marriage was against her will and she wanted to marry someone else. 4. When my parents tried to sort the matter out, she kicked my father. Aggrieved by such abusive behaviour, my father (and other family members) disconnected relations from me.
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5. My father in law demanded 15 Lakhs, saying that we want to remarry our daughter to someone else. So, give us this much amount OR we will implicate you in false dowry harassment cases. 6. As my wife was pregnant at that time, she threatened to pay her Rs. 15 Lakhs and divorce otherwise she will kill the child. RmwP7.oaEulsAcichgLeLiavIdYmefidinlKoen.uId’MLtnLattEa.EkApDeoNlaTWicnHeHyEcIaLoCcEmtH,iopItLnlhaD.einS,dtoaer,seliIvgItearwrireyaddsitnimtngooetpthcuriseat,amrdeeyyqarufeoneqrdsudtsieinvhsgoet rpicwnoeatlihasceneadct ohnueosrratt,vipnteaharetehrpneot’utssointohiboooanurLsntoeOc.pNhTaiGlHdy.EdthBYaautettt 8.After doing all this things, no department/officer is paying attention to my request. My in laws are still making their unlawful demands. Case is in the court and ‘Date after Date’ is going on. Till date I am feeling depressed because of all this. I wonder what was the fault of the new born, who was killed by them at the time of birth. It was a baby girl.
9. Currently I am running from pillar to post in hope of justice. As they are politically very sound, so no one is paying attention to my case.
10. At last I can conclude that due to this blackmailing tool in the form of ‘false dowry harassment complaint + arresting of all accused without enquiry’ (as no one in our family history been to police stations or Jail), I have lost my relations with three generations i.e. My Parents (and in laws) + My brother (and brother in laws) + My daughter (Already killed). In future too I don’t think that they will understand the importance of “Family Harmony”.
HARRASED HUSBAND TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE – WIFE 498A’s HIM
A Victim from Hyderabad
I got married in February 1998. I am from Andhra and she is from Maharashtra. Immediately after my marriage I went to Malaysia because of my job. She joined my after few months. We got a child and now he is around 5 yrs old. When she was with me in Malaysia she always used to take lot of money and used to send to her parents without my knowledge. My uncle had taken a loan of around 3 lakhs from me in various occasions when she was with me. But I have only few receipts of around 1.5lakh as it happened few years back.
My wife always used to suspect me and made several insults in front of my colleagues and friends. Whenever I come to India for few days also she always used to insist to take either separate house or stay outside for staying rather than at my home. She used to insult my parents and my sisters when they met me or I was with them. One time when I came to India and I forcibly brought her my home to stay for few days, her parents came to my house and created lot of fuss, shouted at my parents & me and insulted in front of my relatives & friends.
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I couldn’t bear this and tried to commit suicide. Somehow I got survived and I came to home. As soon I reached home they started shouting again and took her daughter along with them. This incident happened in October 2003. I tried to mediate with them through some elders of my community but they refused to send their daughter and they insulted the elders whom we sent to them.
Got fed up all this and then applied for divorce on mentally cruelty grounds in Oct 2003 itself and left India. As their place is near to Mumbai (not Mumbai, a small town 100 km away from Mumbai) they applied for change of court in Supreme Court. In the mean they filed a petition for maintenance at their place, but I didn’t’t challenge it. The Supreme Court gave the order to change case to Thane, Maharashtra family court. This happened in early 2004. Since the case came to Thane court nothing progressed. Since I applied for divorce I had been trying through mediators to settle the issue and get the divorce mutually. But they never cooperated and everything went vain of all my efforts.
In Nov 2004, my sister (unmarried) passed away because of some health problem. By seeing this mother went to coma. I then came to India immediately and admitted her in hospital on the same night without attending my sister’s funeral. My mother went on coma for 3 days. I was in hospital for 14 days with my mother. While in the hospital none from their side came (my uncle is my mother’s own brother and they got to know the news on the same day it happened). I even tried one time for negotiation with the through mediators while I was in hospital. But again I was failed. Immediately after my mother discharged (the next day it self), I left India. In the early 2005 I have got Australian Permanent Resident and I moved to Australia. Since then I kept on sending the maintenance allowance to her from Australia. But they refused to take. In the mean I applied for divorce from Australia itself and I have got divorce from Australian Court in November 2005. By seeing my divorce petition my wife file a false case, 498A against me and my parents in Nov 2005.
The Maharashtra Police came in the mid of the night and arrested my father. They tried to arrest my mother but seeing her health condition (she is quite old and can’t even walk properly). My father spent one week in the police station. In the one week the Police again to
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony my place (from Maharashtra to Andhra) brought my father to my home one more time for taking their things from my home(They took lots of things even I bought for my home also like TV, fridge, Washing Machine, etc.,). The Police even tried to took the money from my NRI account and locker (my wife knows well about my savings in my NRI account and locker). But the bank Manager refused to handover to Police as they didn’t have court orders. I engaged one lawyer who resides in Mumbai (took lot of money but did nothing much, as we don\’t know any body in Mumbai/Maharashtra). After a week my father came out on bail. I engaged one more local lawyer again there it self as my lawyer couldn’t show much interest again (I feel he might have joined with them). Since then my father attended one time for hearing. We again started negotiating with them again. This time they sent a mediator to us and told a huge amount for mutual agreement. I spent most of my savings for my family, their family and to Lawyers. Now the amount they asked which I simply can’t give as it is impossible for me.
Yesterday I heard from my lawyer that they filed a petition in Maharashtra court to Passport Office, Hyderabad to cancel my Passport, so that I can come to India. Now I want to seek help/guide from you all in this matter. Ever since I married and even I got the divorce from Australian Court also I am still mentally getting tortured. So my dear friends pls help me in this regard as I am very frustrated now. I need your advice, suggestions. I can’t trust anyone in India except you all as you are like me.
AMERICAN WOMAN MARRIED TO INDIAN DUMBFOUNDED BY INDIAN LAW Victim from USA
I am writing to you because I have reached a desperate level and I have nowhere else to turn. I am an American married to an NRI. I have only traveled to India once, and that for less than 2 weeks. This trip was a happy occasion, one that allowed me to meet my husband’s family and to get to know them and vise versa. Since my departure from India my life has been a nightmare. My family and I have become victims of the rampant misuse of the 498A laws in India. My brother in law’s wife and her family have falsely accused my family of some sort of abuse and are demanding obscene amounts of money to settle this fraudulent case. My 54 year old mother in law has been imprisoned for over two weeks now and I have been told that she will remain there indefinitely. She is a diabetic widow whose health is failing. I must be quite frank with you, she is dying. I have been informed that the only way to get her out of
MyNation Hope Foundation (INDIA) Reg: S/1934/2018 Address: 133A, Pocket C, Siddhartha Extn. New Delhi 110014. Phone: +91 9972718212 82
Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony prison is to settle with my brother in laws wife and her family. I have been told that if I do not do this, my mother in law could spend up to 3 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. She has been arrested and imprisoned based solely on the statements of a deceptive young woman who is looking only for financial gain at my personal expense. There has been no investigation of any kind. No evidence to substantiate her fraudulent claims.
It is simply her word. I ask you, what should I do? I have an attorney in New Delhi working on this case but I feel he may not be the best in this area because he seems to be continually blindsided by the other side. In the United States this type of activity is called extortion and I would be able to bail my mother in law out of prison while the charges were being investigated. I have been informed that in India people accused of 498A charges are “guilty until proven innocent”. Do you have any suggestions on what steps should I take in this unfortunate situation?
HOPE AT LAST – ADULTEROUS WIFE TAKEN TO TASK - Victim from Jharkhand I had caught my wife living in adultery with my friends in Dubai on 23rd April, 2005. Have letters and mobile recording of her. My daughter is eye witness to her unbecoming behaviour. She accepted her fault, and I told her that I shall now seek divorce. Brought whole family from Abu Dhabi on 28th April, 2005. She was left at Her parent’s house. I took my children with me.
Two days later, she was to meet at Family court to discuss mutual consent divorce to save the face of her family. After 4 days, I was summoned by Police of her area as she has filed CR106/2005 under IPC498a on 4th May\’2005. My lawyer told me to proceed to my work. I was arrested like a terrorist at Mumbai airport at Immigration on 7th May, 2005. I surrendered. Was brought at Police Station, and put behind bar along with hard core criminals. My relatives came, including lawyer. My children/cousins sang bhajans/prayed outside the jail. It was there I learnt what IPC 498a is, and what devastating blows it can land on one’s life!! but I got bail.
Next day, I hired a local lawyer thru the help of same police station, paid hefty amount only to apply for return of passport. Again, God\’s hand was seen
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
Judge heard my prayer which I myself narrated, and granted me permission to go back to work abroad with conditions to retain my children in India. I obeyed the order.
I got my children admitted in residential school outside Mumbai. Filed Divorce under cruelty/adultery on 15th June\’05. Attended 498a charge sheet filing on 16th June\’2005. My Wife later filed children custody and maintenance petitions in family court. Later, She applied 3 Interim applications. I attended family court on 1st Dec\’05. She later went to High Court, and managed thru wrong means a stay order on my NRI SBI Bonds. I attended 498a trial on 23rd Jan’2006. It was usual drama of attendance with long date after 6 months!
I attended family court on 24th Jan\’2006 along with my two children. Again attended family court on 13th Feb. ‘2006 along with children. I was made to bring children to court on both occasions! Returned her passport, and disclosed whereabouts of children to her before court. I challenged her Stay Order in Appeal Court on 15th feb’06 and exposed her lawyer\’s fraud of getting Stay order to frustrate me! HC accepted the appeal and fired/warned her lawyer. HC asked us not to come to HC again, and to rely on family court verdicts. Main trial has yet to begin.
I guess, mentally I am in strong position for the reasons that I still have my jobs, my children are studying well, healthy, happy and are on my side. Today, my children hate their biological mother, and hardly miss their mother. My daug. Is 13 1/2 yrs and son is 10yrs. Now the ball is in her court. Unless she quashes 498a in HC, no settlement is possible from my side. I am ready to prove her fault.
I suggest all victims not to give up, never think of suicide etc. Truth always wins, though it has to traverse thru troubled waters. Have firm faith in god, and proceed with right action, and ‘chaankya neeti’.
13. 498A Counter Cases To Fight Back With METHOD 1. FOLLOWING THE TRIAL & PROVING INNOCENCE. Advantages: 1. Text book method following judicial system to get the formal acquittal order. 2. Post acquittal, we can file perjury U/s 340, malicious prosecution & defamation suit, which will destroy the 498a family completely. 3. Scope for financial compensation thru defamation suit.
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Disadvantages: 1.Time consuming; have to be patient with great Indian Judiciary's efficiency. 2.Will take anything between 2 7 Yrs. 3.Need to cope up half baked lawyers from both the sides.
METHOD 2. FILING COUNTER CASES AGAINST 498a FAMILY. Advantages: 1. By giving the same medicine to the opponents, 498a case may get over in short time.(DP3, Threatening, Cheating, 406 etc) 2. Indirect pressure can be created to the opponents, so that they will not not time to harass you more.
Disadvantages:
1. Very delicate in nature. Needs to do lot of home work & legal analysis, before retaliating with counter cases. 2. Very Costly affair & time consuming. 3. Counter cases may back fire, if not launched properly. 4. Some counter cases may be of cooked nature, which will be a "misuse of law" & against our Group policies. 5. Has to deal with lawyers & will be another headache.
METHOD 3. COMPLAINING TO HIGHER AUTHORITIES: Advantages: 1. Taking the case details based on merit,to higher authorities & Officers such as Human rights, DGP, Collector, Commissioner, Home Secretary, Income Tax Dept. etc, will solve the case in shorter time. 2. Cheaper mode & may close the cases in shorter time duration.(1 6 Months) 3.Can handle without much legal aid & lawyers. 4. All the cases shall be closed in ONE GO. (498a, Divorce, Maintenance, DV etc.
Disadvantages: 1.This mode will be applicable based on 498a family & opponents profile & background. 2.Complaints have to be placed immediately after the threats & cases. 3.Government machinery may not work with expected efficiency, which may delay the process.
Method 4. USING RTI APPLICATIONS:
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Advantages: 1.Cheapest mode & consumes relatively lesser time to close the case.(4 12 Months) 2.We can screw the 498a family royally, with this "Legal Cruelty" tool. 3. May cause irretrievable damage to the opponents, apart from closure of 498a case & other related cases. 4. Can handle without legal aid & lawyers. 5. No limit & can fire numerous RTIs based on the opponents' profile. 6. Can be used against POLICE & JUDICIAL SYSTEM to create indirect pressure by exposing their law violations & atrocities.
Disadvantages: 1.498a family members or witnesses, needs to be government jobs & related activities. 2.Needs to cope up with time delay for RTI replies from govt. departments & information commission response for appeals. 3.Government machinery may not work with expected efficiency. 4.Very indirect method of attacking the opponents. 5. Needs lot of brainstorming before drafting RTI queries, to hit the Bulls' Eye.
Counter cases during and after the case against one
S.191 :Giving false evidence+ S.340(1) of CrPC for Perjury @ Family/Magistrate Court matter S.209 : Dishonest claim S.211 : False charge of offence made with intent to injure S.306 : Abetment of Suicide S.361 : For child Kidnapping from lawful guardianship S.378,380,381,382 :Theft S.383 : Extortion S.402 : Dacoity (Cognisable, Non bailable and Non compundable just like 498a :) S.406 : Criminal Breach of Trust S.463 : Forgery S.499: Defamation S.506&507: Criminal Intimidation Sections which you can check with your advocate(I dont remember the IPC section offhand for these crimes) Threatening, Abbetment of crime, these may be referring to a period before even your wife filed cases against you. If she breaks into your home, creates a scene, and goes to ” protection officer ” and lies that you abused her “physically, emotionally or economically” , file a damage recovery case u/s 9 of CPC against her. Legally, you must issue notice on the same day or next day. The suit will continue for long time. It has no risk.
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
Some other sections of IPC helpful for husband side:
167 (investigation cannot be completed in 24 hours), 182 (offenses committed by letters), False information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person 191 (transfer on application of the accused), 191 Giving false evidence 192 Fabricating false evidence 195A Threatening any person to give false evidence 196 Using evidence known to be false 197 Issuing or signing false certificate 197 (prosecution of judges and public servants), 198 Using as true a certificate known to be false 199 (defamation) , False statement made in declaration which is by law receivable as evidence 200 Using as true such declaration knowing it to be false 200 (examination of complainant) , 201 (Magistrate not competent), 201 Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender 202 Intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform 203 Giving false information respecting an offence committed. 204 instruction of document to prevent its production as evidence 204, 209 (triable exclusively by Court of Session), 205 lse personation for purpose of act or proceeding in suit or prosecution there are more 211, 249 (absence of complainant) , 250 (compensation for accusation), 306, 321 (withdrawl from prosecution) , 323 (commit to Session Court), 355, 378, 379, 384 (summary dismissal of appeal), 392 (judge of Court of Appeal are equally divided), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420, 467 (period of limitation), 471, 497 (adultery), 499, 500 (defamation) ,
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504 (insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) RCR Damage recovery case u/s 9 of CPC (law of torts):
14. Judgment References.
A. Andhra Pradesh HC : Bench: justice G. YETHIRAJULU. Kalaparthy Ranjit Kumar vs The state of A.P. REP. BY the on date 26/05/2007 Jurisdiction explained in criminal offences. 498A quashed on jurisdiction.
B. Punjab & Haryana HC : Crl. Misc. M 32351 of 2016 (O&M) Eashan Joshi vs Suman Date of Decision: January 23, 2018 Petitioner challenged that the Complaint is without jurisdiction. High Court thus with its vast inherent powers would be able to entertain the petition for quashing to ensure there is no abuse of process of law.
C. MP HC : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE G.S. AHLUWALIA Misc. Criminal Case No. 3658 OF 2016. Sandeep Singh Bais@ Anshu & ors. Vs State of MP & Anr. General, vague and omnibus allegations can not be treated as sufficient material to send other relatives of husband who otherwise, do not have anything to do with family affairs of complainant – Complainant has not only made Vague allocations against applicants, but she went to extent of assassinating character..
D. Allahabad HC : justice. Vinod prasad Rubi & Ors. Vs State of Up & Anr. ON 16 march 2007 . Cruelty, dowry demand – summoning of younger members of family, unjustified. At stage of summoning it is not law that even younger members of family be also summoned to stand trial along with elder even though no specific allegations made against them and their complicity in crime prima facie mala fide and porposive – leveling general allegations against all family members including unmarried younger girls and boys without specification is practice to be curbed because it will amount to great injustice to ask unmarried younger daughters and brothers to stand trial only because of their relationship with Husband.
E. Supreme court of India.: CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 908 OF 2009 [Arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 1793 of 2008] Harmanpreet Singh Ahluwalia & Ors. Vs State of Punjab & Ors Allegations contained in FIR made with an ulterior motive to harass appellants.
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Continuance of criminal proceedings against them would amount to abuse of process of Court.
F. Supreme court of India : CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1674 OF 2012 (Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 10547/2010) Geeta Mehrotra & Anr. Vs State of Up & Anr. Quashing of cognizance order – general allegation of physical and mental torture in FIR – Mere casual reference of names of appellants in FIR without allegation of active involvement in matrimonial dispute would not justify taking cognizance against
G. Supreme court of India : DATE OF JUDGMENT: 19/07/2005 Writ Petition (civil) 141 of 2005 Sushil Kumar Sharma vs Union of India Misuse of 498A is legal terrorism. Merely because the provision is constitutional and intra vires, does not give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreck personal vendetta or unleash harassment.
H. Allahabad HC : Criminal Misc. application No. 10090 of 2011 Amit Garg & Ors. Vs State of Up & Anr. Hurt, cruelty, criminal intimidation, dowry demand – Quashing of charge sheet – CJM took cognizance but not Persued the charge sheet and Persued order in a casual manner – he has not applied his judicial mind – Impugned order is illegal and set aside.
I. Allahabad HC : APPLICATION U/S 482 No. 25300 of 2012 Umesh@Banti & Ors. Vs State of Up & Anr . Allegations made in FIR are so absurd and inherently improbable on basis of which it is not possible to proceed against accused person. Criminal proceedings Quashed.
J. Madhya Pradesh High Court : Deepak Shukla vs Mahendra Chanpuriya on 31 August, 2001 Equivalent citations: II (2002) DMC 161 Deepak Shukla vs Mahendra chanpuriya Cruelty for demand of dowry alleged to be made on 1.6.1993. , Complaints filed three years of date 1.6.1993, Barred by limitations: Allegations regarding demand of dowry figment of imagination: Complaint filed by complainant more than three years after filling of divorce petition by petitioner against respondent: Continuance of criminal proceedings against petitioner, abuse of process of Court. Proceedings Quashed.
K. Patna High Court : Santosh Kumar vs State Of Bihar & Anr on 06 October, 2017 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA. Criminal Miscellaneous No.41318 of 2016 . no specific instances of alleged torture or cruelty with exact date and time as also
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location furnished. General and bald statement of victim being subjected to torture and cruelty as also assualt has been made. Instant Complaint is by way of counterblast to divorce case filed by petitioner which eventually was decreed and first appeal preferred there against before Allahabad HC was dismissed.
L. Jharkhand HC :BENCH : justic A.Sahay : Radhe Raman Naik and Anr. Vs State of Jharkhand. On 04 जुलाई 2007 . Alleged occurance of offence took place out side of territorial jurisdiction. The criminal prosecution/ proceedings can not continue.
M. Punjab haryana HC : LAWS(P&H) 2007 3 22 HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA Decided on March 30,2007 Shanti Devi vs State of Haryana Allegations appear to be totally vague. Not clear from complaint as to when alleged article or money demanded or misappropriated or given to bride or bridegroom during marriage. Nothing to show prima facie that those articles dishonesty kept by other family members or they declined to return same. Criminal case prima facie baseless, false and frivolous against mother in law, brother in law and his wife. Complaint qua Quashed.
N. Jharkhand HC: Hamidan Khatoon And Ors. vs State Of Jharkhand And Anr. on 28 April, 2004 Equivalent citations: 2004 CriLJ 3626, I (2005) DMC 449. FIR lodged with ulterior motive by way of causing harassment. It’s continuance will be abuse of process of Court. Criminal proceedings Quashed.
O. Allahabad HC : BENCH HONE. BHANWAR SINGH J, HONE. J.M. Paliwal J:. Raj Yadav vs Dr. LP Mishra. On 10 जनवर 2006. FIR Quashed against all family members as wife fabricated well documented story in the FIR
P. Punjab Haryana High Court : Devi Lal And Ors. vs State Of Haryana on 29 October, 1992 Equivalent citations: I (1993) DMC 95. Vague allocations, improvement in witness statements. Quashed.
Q. Punjab & Haryana HC : Banch justice J.B. GARG DECIDED ON 02 December 1993 : Satish Kumar gogia & others vs State of Haryana & another Brother of husband arraigned as accused without substance FIR Quashed a qua them.
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
R. Rajasthan High Court : Moka Ram vs State Of Rajasthan And Anr. on 2 June, 2000 Equivalent citations: I (2001) DMC 227 . Cognizance of offence taken on vague statement recorded by investigation officer of the rank of Dy. Superintendent of police. No specific allegations against petitioner.
SOME USEFUL JUDGMENTS ON 498A
498a acquital : Neighbours and Panchayatdars not examined https://mynation.net/docs/462 1996/
498a acquittal – Accused Not found guilty https://mynation.net/docs/27293 2011/
498A Acquittal – Prosecution has failed to prove the allegations https://mynation.net/docs/212 2000/
498a and 406 cannot be used to teach a lesson https://mynation.net/docs/187 2002/
498a Filed after 13 years of the date of the commission of the offence dismissed https://mynation.net/docs/55807 2016/
498A IPC And DP Act Not Sustainable When The Complaint Is Filed Long After Divorce https://mynation.net/docs/1048 2018/
498a on distant a relatives quashed https://mynation.net/docs/64 3/
498A Quash – Section 498A Is A Weapon Rather Than Shield For Disgruntled Wives https://mynation.net/docs/13517 2018/
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
498A Quash – Tendency to make vague, omnibus allegations of Dowry harassment. https://mynation.net/docs/114 2014/
498a Quash against relatives, Dowry demand was not for them https://mynation.net/docs/4813 2017/
498A Quash of Married sister and Student Brother who stay seperate https://mynation.net/docs/20362 2019/
498a/304b discharge on suspicion vs Grave suspicion https://mynation.net/docs/2625 2005/
Absence of specific details in Allegations of Cruelty and Harassment, will not attract ingredients of S.304B and 498A IPC https://mynation.net/docs/86 2000/
Acquitted in 306/498A IPC https://mynation.net/docs/005806 %c2%ad2017/
Acquitted in 498A/304B IPC https://mynation.net/docs/1618 2016/
Acquitted in Section 498A IPC https://mynation.net/docs/57510 2016/
After 498A men are reluctant to take wife back https://mynation.net/docs/252 2012/
After IPC 498A acquittal husband can seek Divorce on cruelty Ground https://mynation.net/docs/8871 2019/
Amicable settlement Section 498A IPC quashed with Section 482 Cr.P.C https://mynation.net/docs/27720 2019/
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Appeal against acquittal in Sections 304B, 498A dismissed https://mynation.net/docs/438 2000/
APPLICATION UNDER ORDER 7 RULE 11 CPC FOR REJECTION OF PLAINT, DAMAGE AND COMPENSATION IN 498A https://mynation.net/docs/6241 2018/
Bail in 498A and 304B https://mynation.net/docs/239 2020/
Benefit of Doubt, Acquitted in Sections 498A/Section 302 IPC https://mynation.net/docs/919 2013/
Coming home late, eating out is not comes under IPC 498A as Cruelty https://mynation.net/docs/450 1997/
Compound 498A if parties settle the dispute https://mynation.net/docs/487 2018/
Contradictory, Vague allegations, acquitted in Sections 34, 107, 494, 498A and 498B https://mynation.net/docs/188 1993/
Discharged for the offence 498A/304B/306/34 IPC. https://mynation.net/docs/82 2012/
Husband acquitted in Sections 306 and 498A based on infirm evidence https://mynation.net/docs/jasvinder singh/
IPC 498A case against three members of husband’s family quashed https://mynation.net/docs/966 2016/
IPC 498A discharge under Section 239 or 227/228/245 Cr.P.C https://mynation.net/docs/510 2020/
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
IPC 498A, Suicide and Cruelty explained https://mynation.net/docs/548 2004/
Landmark rulings on Section 498A IPC https://mynation.net/docs/rulings on 498a/
Looking at other Women will not attract IPC 498A https://mynation.net/docs/100569 2014/
Mere demand of dowry, No persistent demand of dowry acquitted in 498A and 304B https://mynation.net/docs/1097 2012/
Mere suspicion without any basis, Discharged in Section 498A/304B https://mynation.net/docs/710 2013/
No iota of material of evidence, acquitted in 498a and 306 IPC https://mynation.net/docs/3568 2000/
No sufficient material for Framing of charge for the offences u/s 498A/406 IPC https://mynation.net/docs/126 2017 2/
No unlawful demand for any property or valuable, No 498A https://mynation.net/docs/145 2002/
Only 10 days stay, In Laws 498A Quashed https://mynation.net/docs/1066 2019/
Out of Court Settlement 498A quashed u/s 248(1) of Cr.P.C https://mynation.net/docs/1005 2018/
Parents short stay – Name removed in 498A IPC https://mynation.net/docs/2118 2018/
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Qua relatives 498a FIR Quashed .. https://mynation.net/docs/5858 2015/
Renew passport during Section 498a IPC pending. https://mynation.net/docs/22428 2019/
SAMPLE – CrPC 239 Discharge in 498a Application Format https://mynation.net/docs/crpc 239/
SAMPLE CrPC 239 Discharge in 498a Application Format https://mynation.net/docs/discharge petition/
Section 304B IPC cannt be linked 498A IPC always https://mynation.net/docs/345 2006/
Section 482 Cr.P.C in 498A directed to file 239 Cr.P.C in Lower court https://mynation.net/docs/525 2020/
Section 498a cannot be applied on Non relatives https://mynation.net/docs/11937 2017/
Section 498A I.P.C quashed with Section 482 Cr.P.C https://mynation.net/docs/13797 2020/
Section 498A IPC – No Ground for Framing the Charge https://mynation.net/docs/1930 2017 2/
Section 498A IPC breaking families than uniting them https://mynation.net/docs/157 2014/
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
Section 498a IPC FIR Quash with Section 482 https://mynation.net/docs/5766 2018/
Sections 406/498A IPC – Territorial Jurisdiction, Quashing of FIR https://mynation.net/docs/34 1993/
The Woman Subjected To Cruelty Herself only can file Section 498A IPC Complaint? https://mynation.net/docs/598 2019/
Vague and Omnibus allegations 498a quashed https://mynation.net/docs/30720 2013/
Whether complaint U/S 498A of IPC can be filed by father of aggrieved woman? https://mynation.net/docs/599 2019/
Whether Court should refuse to grant Anticipatory bail to husband for offence U/S 498A of IPC if he uploads a nude picture of his wife on the internet? https://mynation.net/docs/1811 2020/
Whether High Court can Quash Prosecution u/s 498A of IPC if there is Compromise between Husband and Wife? https://mynation.net/docs/1498 2014/
Whether husband can be prosecuted under S 304B and S 498A of IPC even if he is not legally married with prosecutrix? https://mynation.net/docs/25 2004 2/
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Equality, Justice and Harmony We fight for Equality among gender, Justice to all and Family Harmony
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MyNation Hope Foundation (INDIA) Reg: S/1934/2018 Address: 133A, Pocket C, Siddhartha Extn. New Delhi 110014. Phone: +91 9972718212 97