IPC 498A – Does it actually protect women or is it a choking noose for innocent men?

DOWRY – a social menace which compels the bride’s family to pay a specific amount in cash or goods to the bridegroom’s family (considered as a ‘norm’ of an Indian wedding), is practised in many parts of India even today. BUT what’s even worse is the reckless misuse of the law which was initially formed to curb exploitation in the name of dowry. Undoubtedly, dowry still remains an ugly truth of India today. But, fake dowry harassment cases depict an even uglier and lurking reality of the Indian society.

True Story

Recently, after posting an extensive article on the actual history of the dowry system, I was going through the feedbacks and experiences shared by my readers across the country. One specific comment, managed to draw my attention. It stated that even though dowry still exists in the country, it would be great if I could cover the other side of the story, in one of my upcoming articles. The message was from a college batchmate, with whom I had never interacted before. Even though we’d never talked, I recognised him. He used to be an introvert guy, mostly reclusive and great at his academics. He hardly interacted with any girl of the class, and almost always kept to himself. Even in the group of boys, I had rarely seen him talk in a high-pitched tone. I’m just trying to give you a brief idea on the impression I had of him. He was mostly soft-spoken, and most importantly, I didn’t know him at all. And that day, he was suddenly posting lengthy comments and suggestions on my article. Honestly, I was a little intrigued initially, wondering why he was trying to highlight an aspect which was not even a part of my article and digress the topic to a different discussion. So, I casually asked him to share any personal or first-hand experience on cases of fake dowry harassment. And there he was!

Listening to his story, it finally made sense to me as to why a soft-spoken person like him, was suddenly so vocal about dowry and IPC 498A. That day, I was having a first-hand interaction with a victim of IPC 498A abuse. I do not wish to divulge further details about his personal life. On an unbiased account, I would suggest that he may have committed mistakes or triggered conflicts in a marriage. But, responding to his doings with a fake dowry harassment case just to build a stronger case of vengeance, is unethical and a strict NO-NO. Despite all odds, one message is loud and clear – “The law initially formulated to protect women’s rights should NEVER be misused to abuse the rights of men.”

The intention of my first post on dowry was to compel people to acknowledge the existence of this evil practice in Indian society even today and find ways to abolish it forever. While researching for this post, I had come across few disturbing tales of how fake harassment cases are being slapped on men and their families, often as a revenge in failed marriages. But, I never thought that I would delve deep into this, until I actually spoke with a victim myself. Here I was, talking to a victim of IPC 498A misuse – a classic example of exploitation of the law of the land. A regular middle-class man with a simple living, was now filled with bitterness for the Indian judiciary and was almost well-versed with all the penal codes of the Indian law.

Truth of IPC 498A today

In Criminal Law, a well-known principle is followed under criminal jurisprudence across the world. It states that – “It is better that ten guilty persons escape rather than one innocent suffer.” However, in India, a law existing for almost four decades now, has been denounced as a classic example of oppression, injustice and a cause for suffering of lakhs of innocents in an endeavour to punish the guilty. Brought on the statute in 1983 to protect married women from violence within marital home, section 498A of Indian Penal Code (also known as the anti dowry law) has often been called as the most abused provision in the Indian jurisprudence. This abuse has been documented by the highest courts in India through several judgments. In 2005, Supreme Court of India used the term “Legal Terrorism” to describe misuse of this law.

A violation of this section, its goals and its aims is on the rise with the woman frivolously making false allegations against their husbands with the purpose of getting rid of them or simply hurting the family. The abuse of IPC 498A is rapidly increasing and the women (often well-educated) know that this section is both cognizable and non-bailable and exclusively works on the complaint of the woman, placing the man behind bars.

It is considered a duty of the court to condemn wrongdoings and protect the victim in every instance. But, what happens when the victim turns into the abuser? Does the husband even have any option for remedy here? The irony is even after a case is nullified as fake, there is no immediate compensation for the man in any form, for his mental turmoil of years. No immediate charges are levelled against the woman who filed a fake case. So, don’t we value the lost time of a person in the process?

I feel so disturbed to even think of those few valid and legit anti-dowry cases, which might be considered useless and frivolous, considering the reality of majority of cases of 498A.

The position of the women in India is still bad. They still need rights to alleviate themselves in society but many a times they fail to notice others’ rights, as long as their rights are ensured. The educated woman of today must conform to the ideologies of equality and demand the same. Sadly, the trend is slowly getting reversed. Women are sometimes taking an undue advantage of the fact that they are referred to as the ‘weaker sex’ and subsequently, violate others’ rights on the foundation of rights ensured to them.

Documentary on Fake Dowry Harassment cases in India : A Must-Watch

While researching through the aftermath of the abuse of IPC 498A, I came across a documentary made exclusively to highlight real-life instances of fake dowry harassment cases. I was aghast at the reality of such cases. Those cases have stretched for years, and scarred lives forever.

Martyrs of Marriage is a documentary film that documents the injustice that has been perpetrated on people because of misuse of section 498A of Indian Penal Code. It gives a first person account of those who have suffered at the hands of abuse of this provision. The film delves deep into the problem, the reasons behind it and the repercussions of the same. Starting from a brief introduction as to why the law was brought in the first place, the film proceeds to showcase instances of several suicides as a result of the abuse of the provision. It depicts a story that’s never been told before and highlights plight of men and women who have suffered, are suffering and some who have succumbed because of false allegations.

No law intends to do injustice to people. IPC 498A, however, has become a tool and a weapon for harassment and extortion – a fact less stated but well known.

Martyrs of Marriage intends to inform and educate people about this issue and seeks intervention of lawmakers to save lives of many innocents. The film interweaves personal stories of men and women who have faced trial or are undergoing trial under 498A on wrong allegations along with experiences of Judges, Advocates, Court Mediators, Detectives and Men’s Rights Activists with the abuse of this provision. It goes in detail of what happens, why it happens, how it happens and what the abuse of this provision is doing to lives of lakhs of innocents lives. The stats citing the ratio of fake to legit 498A cases provided in the film, is shocking!

For all the pseudo-feminists out there, this film is a creation of a woman Documentary Filmmaker, Deepika Narayan Bharadwaj. This should qualify as a proof good enough for the unbiased take on this feature film. Martyrs of Marriage is her first independent documentary feature which she has researched, scripted, produced and directed on her own. While making the film, Deepika has written and spoken extensively on gender biased laws in India and impact of their misuse on people through platforms like TEDx and others.

Recent Judgements

Indian Courts in their recent judgements have speculated over the instances of misuse of Sec – 498A of I.P.C. As this section provides that when an F.I.R. is lodged, all the family members of the husband can be roped in. In their judicial observations and remarks, the courts have expressed deep anguish over this law.

Here are some recent judicial observations –

1990 Punjab and Haryana High court observed in Jasbir Kaur vs. State of Haryana, 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, 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, observed as:

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

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

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

Supreme Court, in a relatively recent case, Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India and others, observed as:

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

But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used a shield and not an assassin’s weapon. If cry of “wolf” is made too often as a prank, assistance and protection may not be available when the actual “wolf” appears. There is no question of investigating agency and Courts casually dealing with the allegations. They cannot follow any straightforward 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 indisputable 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.”

Proposed Changes in IPC 498A

I strongly believe that the Indian Judiciary and Legislature should make certain amendments to the existing ‘Anti-Dowry’ law, to ensure that justice is done in the correct sense. It’s high time that the misuse of this law be deterred. Here are my list of proposed changes :

1. Bailable: The main reason of 498A being misused to harass innocent is its non-bailable nature. This section should be made bailable to prevent innocent old parents, pregnant sisters and children from languishing in custody for weeks without being proven guilty.

2. Compoundable: Once FIR has been registered it becomes impossible to withdraw the case even if wife realizes that she has done a blunder and wants to come back to her matrimonial home. To save institution of marriage, this should be made compoundable. Moreover, in the scenario where the couple decides to end the marriage by mutual divorce, continuation of criminal proceedings tend to hamper their life in general.

3. 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.

4. Creation of Family Counselling Centres: Proper family counselling centres should be created across the country to address family issues on both sides. As of now there is no authorised organization, which can really help harassed men and his family members, to listen to their side of the story and put their point of view in front of the government.

5. 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, but also lead to prompt redressal of the grievances of real dowry victims.

6. Definition of Mental Cruelty: Mental cruelty has been vaguely defined in the act, which leaves scope of misuse. This should be clearly elaborated to remove loopholes in the law. There should be provision for men also to file a case for mental cruelty by his wife.

7. Arrest Warrants: Arrest warrant should be issued only against the main accused and only after cognizance has been taken. The family members of husband should not be arrested blindly.

8. Penalty for making false accusation: Whenever any court comes to the conclusion that the allegations made under section 498A IPC are false, strict action should be taken against people making the allegations. This would discourage persons from coming to courts with ulterior motives. Criminal charges should be brought against all authorities that are collaborating with falsely accusing women and their parental families.

9. 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.

10. Punish Dowry Givers: If the complainant admits giving dowry in the complaint, the courts should initiate proceedings against them under the relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

11. 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 negligence of duty.

There is no denying that dowry still exists in India. Even though the quantum of harassment has considerably reduced, some or the other forms of monetary demands from the wife’s family is still prevalent. Sadly, these instances are hardly reported. Such people are hardly convicted by law. The law, which was formulated to protect the rights of women, has not been successful in serving its purpose. Rather, it has majorly become a choking noose for innocent man and their families. It’s time to ruffle up our conscience and stop this misuse of the law.

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