Women engaging in “legal terrorism by “misusing” laws: HC

By S R Ranjan:  In an August 2023 legal case, the Calcutta High Court, while quashing complaints filed by a wife against her husband and in-laws, observed that women are engaging in “legal terrorism”,  by “misusing” Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The hon’ble court further added, “The legislature has enacted the provision of Section 498A to strike out the dowry menace from the society. But it is observed in several cases that by misusing of said provision new legal terrorism is unleashed.”

In an another legal case in 2022, the hon’ble Supreme Court while quashing a FIR filed by a woman against her husband and in-laws of cruelty and harassment for dowry said, “It becomes pertinent to mention that incorporation of Section 498A of IPC was aimed at preventing cruelty committed upon a woman by her husband and her in-laws by facilitating rapid state intervention,” the judgment said. However, it is equally true, that in recent times, matrimonial litigation in the country has also increased significantly and there is a greater disaffection and friction surrounding the institution of marriage, now, more than ever.” 

The hon’ble further added, “This has resulted in an increased tendency to employ provisions such as 498A  IPC as instruments to settle personal scores against the husband and his relatives.”

 “Decisions clearly demonstrate that this court has at numerous instances expressed concern over the misuse of Section 498A IPC and the increased tendency of implicating relatives of the husband in matrimonial disputes, without analysing the long-term ramifications of a trial on the complainant as well as the accused,” the court said in reference to some earlier cases.

In India, a democratic country, where the laws are mostly not gender-neutral and usually favour women because one can't deny the fact that women have had suffered the most as compared to men and such laws are made for the protection of women, but today, in our daily life, there is increasing acceptance and acknowledgment by people that such laws like 498A is being widely misused. A woman blackmails her husband under section 498A to demand a huge amount of money for personal gain and if the demands are not met then threaten to file an FIR. This is not just the misuse of the law, but also the court’s process.

S.R.Ranjan

(Singh Rakesh Ranjan)

A Journalist

(Representational images, sources)