‘Will destroy marriages’: Misuse of 498A

By S R Ranjan: The Supreme Court of India (SC) reportedly noted that the Parliament did not look into the suggestions made by it in Preeti Gupta v. State of Jharkhand 2010 Criminal Law Journal 4303 made by it 14 years ago, in which it had observed that a serious relook of the entire provision (Section 498A IPC) was necessary. The Supreme Court has requested the Legislature to consider making necessary changes in the anti-dowry Sections 85 and 86 respectively of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, before the new provisions come into force. The Court asked the government to take into consideration the pragmatic realities and consider on misuse of false complaints, cruelty provision, make necessary changes in provision of Section 498A IPC reproduced verbatim in the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

The Supreme Court’s observations reportedly came while hearing an appeal against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order and while squashing a criminal case filed by a wife against her husband under Section 498A IPC. Reportedly, the Supreme Court observed that such legal methods lead to the complete destruction of marriage. "Many times, the parents, including the close relatives of the wife, make a mountain out of a mole. Instead of salvaging the situation and making all possible endeavours to save the marriage, their action, either due to ignorance or on account of sheer hatred towards the husband and his family members, brings about the destruction of marriage on trivial issues. The first thing that comes to mind of the wife, her parents and her relatives is the police as if the police are the panacea of all evil. No sooner the matter reaches up to the police, then even if there are fair chances of reconciliation between the spouses, they would get destroyed."

The Supreme Court reportedly also made observations that Police Machinery cannot be utilized to harass and squeeze husband and his family by wife through FIR. …if the wife on account of matrimonial disputes decides to harass her husband and his family members then the first thing, she would ensure is to see that proper allegations are leveled in the First Information Report (FIR). The Police machinery cannot be utilised for the purpose of holding the husband at ransom so that he could be squeezed by the wife at the instigation of her parents or relatives or friends and in all cases where wife complains of harassment or ill-treatment Section 498A of the IPC cannot be applied mechanically… 

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra reportedly made the above observations while quashing a case filed by a wife against her husband and his relatives.

#SaveFamily

S R Ranjan

(Singh Rakesh Ranjan)

A Journalist

#SupremeCourt #498A #Marraige #Husband #Wife #India
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 (Representational images, sources)