'Section 498A misused to force husband...': SC's big remark on dowry cases amid Atul Subhash Suicide SHOCKER
Flagging a "growing tendency to misuse" laws protecting women from cruelty by their in-laws, the Supreme Court has said courts must exercise caution while deciding dowry harassment cases to prevent unnecessary harassment of innocent people.
FollowIn a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Tuesday voiced its alarm over the escalating misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a provision aimed at penalizing cruelty by husbands and their relatives towards married women. The case in question, Dara Lakshmi Narayana and Others v. State of Telangana and Another, highlighted a troubling trend of this law being wielded as a tool for personal vendetta.
The remarks are significant amid a nationwide debate on the misuse of dowry prohibition laws in the aftermath of a 34-year-old man's suicide in Bengaluru. Before he died by suicide, Atul Subhash recorded an 80-minute video in which he accused his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family of slapping multiple cases on him and his family to extort money from them. Atul Subhash also criticised the justice system in his 24-page suicide note.
A Bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh underscored that while Section 498A was crafted to shield women from domestic violence and harassment, it is increasingly being exploited by some individuals to coerce husbands and their families into complying with unreasonable demands.
"Sometimes, recourse is taken to invoke Section 498A of the IPC against the husband and his family in order to seek compliance with the unreasonable demands of a wife," the Court remarked.
The judgment pointed to a disturbing pattern where vague and unsubstantiated allegations during matrimonial disputes are weaponized, transforming legal safeguards into instruments of oppression.
"In recent years, as there have been a notable rise in matrimonial disputes across the country, accompanied by growing discord and tension within the institution of marriage, consequently, there has been a growing tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498A of the IPC as a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife. Making vague and generalised allegations during matrimonial conflicts, if not scrutinized, will lead to the misuse of legal processes and an encouragement for use of arm twisting tactics by a wife and/or her family," the Court stated in its judgment, reported Bar & Bench.
This observation came while quashing allegations of cruelty and dowry harassment filed by a wife against her husband and in-laws. The case stemmed from a counterblast to the husband’s plea seeking dissolution of the marriage, with the Supreme Court concluding that the wife had misused Section 498A to settle personal scores.
The Bench clarified its stance on protecting genuine victims of domestic cruelty while condemning the misuse of the law.
"We are not, for a moment, stating that any woman who has suffered cruelty in terms of what has been contemplated under Section 498A of the IPC should remain silent and forbear herself from making a complaint or initiating any criminal proceeding. That is not the intention of our aforesaid observations but we should not encourage a case like as in the present one, where as a counterblast to the petition for dissolution of marriage sought by the first appellant-husband of the second respondent herein, a complaint under Section 498A of the IPC is lodged by the latter," the Court clarified.
The appellants, represented by Advocates Shubham Kumar, Anubhav Jain, Nayan Saini, Dhruv Goyal, Honey Verma, Rahul Mohod, Sanjay Gyan, Varnit Sharma, and Chand Qureshi, successfully challenged the Telangana High Court’s refusal to quash the case. Advocates Devina Sehgal and S Uday Bhanu appeared for the respondents.
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