Introduction
Men are not the enemy, but the fellow victims. The real enemy is women’s denigration of themselves.
-Betty Friedan
Marriage is a sacred tie between two people, which eventually connects two families and its members. Marriage has a great significance in our society. It is considered to be the most important and beautiful part of life. Sometimes women face cruelty in their in-law’s house either by her husband or by his relatives. Section 498A was inserted in Indian Penal Code to give protection to a married woman from being subjected to cruelty as there was a massive increment in cases related to domestic violence and cruelty against women arising due to many reasons, one and the most common reason being dowry. This section is a safeguard for women but has been proved to be a means of revenge by wives too. Men have become victims of section 498A by false allegations by their wives.
Section 498A of Indian Penal Code,1860
Section 498A was inserted in the Indian Penal Code to restrain cruelty against married women by her husband, her in-laws or any other relative of her husband. The code was amended in 1983 with the idea of safeguarding and empowering women. The offence under this section is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Whosoever commits the crime will be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall be liable to fine.
The section covers a definition of cruelty which is as follow-
- Any conduct which is likely to push a woman to commit suicide or cause serious injury to life of that woman (whether mental or physical); or
- Harassing a woman to coerce her to meet the unlawful demands for valuable security or property [1]
Massive multiplication in the cases of cruelty and violence against women lead to the amendment of Section 498A in IPC. These cases also involved dowry deaths, murders by the husband or his relatives and suicides of married women. In numerous cases, husbands were held guilty of abetment of suicide and they having unlawful relationships with another woman which resulted in cruelty with the wife.
Men : The Victims
Where the section was inserted for the welfare and protection of women, women these days are turning the tables and misusing the shield given to them as a weapon against their husbands and his relatives for money or other services. In the society which has modernization, financial security and high education qualifications, people are misapplying the power of their brain to negative acts. Daughter-in-laws are exploiting their in-laws and husband. Mostly men are seen as the culprits as awareness about women rights have been spread on a large scale and women have started to seek more attention of the society by playing the victim card.
Misuse of law
Section 498A is being misused by various ways to harass or abuse the husband or his family. This fraud is done under the silhouette of section 498A where women are pretending to be the victims by filing false cases. Accusing the family of husband and the husband himself for cruelty is now the easiest way to capture a good amount of money and property from them these days which is practiced by the wives and their relatives. Rather than making real use and attempting to have protection under the law, married women are using it against their NRI husbands, rich in-laws, etc.
False Cases and Lack of Evidence
The Supreme Court observed in 2010 that “it is a matter of common knowledge that exaggerated versions of the incident are reflected in a large number of complaints”. After the proper investigations, it was observed that most of the cases in which section 498A is invoked were false cases only filed to demand a huge amount of money for settlement outside the court. It was even specifically held by the court in the case of Savitri Devi v Ramesh Chand & Ors II[2] that marriage is now being considered as an unhealthy and hopeless tie for the society and public at large due to the exploitation of such provisions.
Many innocent men are convicted for no reason under this section because of lack of evidence of their innocence and well-executed master-plans for their wife along with her relatives. Here lack of evidence means evidence which wasn’t sufficient enough to prove an alleged offence beyond doubt. The defendants fail to give much evidence to prove men not guilty for the offence and hence are liable for the consequences.
In 2005, a petition was filed under Article 32 of Constitution, proclaiming section 498A to be ultra vires in replacement to formulate guidelines to prevent innocent people from being victims of false accusations. It was observed further in the case that many complaints are made with non-bona fide intentions and implicit motives. The court held that as the provision is constitutional and intra vires it must not be dissipated by the citizens. And by the time till when the legislature cannot find a solution to this problem the courts have to look after the situation keeping in mind the existing framework.[3]
Approach to Prevent Misuse
In various cases, high courts have observed that the petitioners filed the case in heat of the moment. There should be attempts made towards the reconciliation process so that both the parties come to a settlement which will not be possible if the accused is arrested immediately. Moreover, the accused is not even given proper chances to prove himself not guilty, rather the women create such a trap in the meanwhile to make the escape of accused next to impossible without fulfilling her demands.
In a case[3] Supreme Court laid certain guidelines to be followed by the officers while arresting someone under Section 498A, IPC and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, and that such arrest must be based on reasonable satisfaction.
In another case[4], it was seen that a woman was killed by setting her on fire by her husband and his relatives, which was further challenged by the sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased. The court held that both the appellants did not reside at the place of mishap and therefore there was no evidence to prove their charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Relatives and in-laws along with the husband are also dragged in the courts for no actual reason, it has been observed in many cases. Wife accused her husband and his relatives for inducing cruelty to her in the lieu of demand of dowry. Thereafter, the relatives requested for certain guidelines to avoid entanglement of unnecessary parties to the case. So a question was raised with respect to the requirement for prevention of exploitation of Section 498A, IPC, in the appeal.[5]
By the above-mentioned cases, it is to be culminated that for the conviction of an accused under this provision there must be reasonable satisfaction along with relevant facts supporting the conviction and the same should not be the mere outcome of women empowerment or feminism.
Recovery for Victims of 498A
To fight against the false cases and accusations made under 498A the defendants can opt for the following legal measures for recovery :
- The husband and his relatives can file a petition under Section 500, IPC for defaming them
- Section 182 of IPC is another ubiquitously used measures against the false petitions under 498A and as a result, the culprit is subjected to 6 months imprisonment for misleading the court and judiciary with false facts.
- Husband and his relatives can also seek protection under section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code, for recovery of damages they have undergone during the trial of false accusations of cruelty and harassment.
Conclusion
As it comes to exploitation of laws there are countless provisions being misused by the society due to misogyny and patriarchy. For instance, Section 307 is the most misused law and still never called as ‘Legal Terrorism’ but, 498A being focused on women is called so[6]. The matrimonial house being the second house of a woman should be a safer place for her to reside, and everyone must not be a victim of domestic violence or cruelty. Keeping in mind the dignity of a man or his relatives, it is important that they shouldn’t be exploited either. Respecting each other and adjusting is the key. Therefore the perspective of the society must be changed from exploiting the laws related to domestic violence to implementing them wherever required for the real purpose. Also, the judicial system needs to focus on the evidence produced in court, in front of the jury, whether they are reasonable or not. It’s not always the men who are the actual culprit in cases that reinforce women rights.
References:
[1] Sec.498A,IPC
[2] (2003) DMC 328
[3] Sushil Kumar Sharma V. Union Of India (2005)
[4] Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar
[5] Bibi Parwana Khatoon v. State of Bihar (2017) 6 SCC 792
[6] Rajesh Kumar & Ors v. Sate of U.P. (2017 SCC OnLine SC 821)
[7] Supreme Court, 2005 for a hearing under Section 498-A
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