New law may see decline in dowry deaths
Monday - September 17, 2018 9:14 am ,
Category : WTN SPECIAL
WTN- The Supreme Court has reversed its earlier decision of ban on immediate arrest for dowry deaths.
Earlier, on July 27 last year, judgment by a Bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit had put an end to the practice of automatic arrests in cruelty and dowry-related cases under Section 498A of IPC that has often been misused to harass innocent family members of husbands named in complaints.
It had ordered setting up of committees to scrutinise dowry harassment complaints. Overturning the said judgment, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra and comprising Justice M Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud said, “We have protected pre-arrest or anticipatory bail provision in dowry harassment cases.” a batch of pleas seeking revisiting of a judgment that had purportedly reduced the severity of the anti-dowry law on the offence of of subjecting a married woman to cruelty by spouse and in-laws had reached the Supreme Court.
The two-judge bench of the apex court in July last year had voiced concern over the "abuse" of section 498 A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) and passed a slew of directions including that no arrest should "normally be effected" without verifying allegations as violation of human rights of innocents cannot be brushed aside. Now this injunction stands nullified, which means a person accused of dowry harassment can be immediately arrested without probe.
This verdict of the court opens up a debate on the pros and cons of its applicability. For one, misuse for vested gains by the woman or her family can be a possibility. In that case, an innocent will be arrested on the basis of this law. But votaries of women’s rights feel that such instances are rare and there is certainly some truth in their claim. Dowry death and harassment is rampant in our society. In most cases the allegations are found to be true and in 9 out of 10 cases, the husband or the in-laws are found responsible.
In such a backdrop, it would really equip the wrongdoers if the dowry law is relaxed. Despite all the laws in place, women in the country are still subject to various forms of torture and harassment, both in their homes and in professional space. The relative conservativeness of the womenfolk in India and their dependence on their husbands leads to this subjugation. There is too much familial and societal pressure which bars women from coming out of their shell and protest exploitation. Our society is not accommodative of such revolts and women are left alone to fend for themselves. In our society, if anything happens, the blame first falls on the woman. This is why, it is important for them to have at least the legal strength to fight atrocities.
Marriage in Indian society is still a sacred bond which is not broken just on any petty scuffle. It hardly happens that a woman files a plaint against her husband or in-laws without reason or basis. It needs immense courage and dispelling of numerous inhibitions to reach the police. If one does so, then there must be some compelling reason and the law, by supporting them, only upholds truth. That rare unfortunate husband whose wife abandons him for some ulterior motive and files a dowry harassment case, will have to suffer the initial horrors of getting arrested, but eventually, if he is spotless, he will come out clean.
-Window To News
Earlier, on July 27 last year, judgment by a Bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit had put an end to the practice of automatic arrests in cruelty and dowry-related cases under Section 498A of IPC that has often been misused to harass innocent family members of husbands named in complaints.
It had ordered setting up of committees to scrutinise dowry harassment complaints. Overturning the said judgment, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra and comprising Justice M Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud said, “We have protected pre-arrest or anticipatory bail provision in dowry harassment cases.” a batch of pleas seeking revisiting of a judgment that had purportedly reduced the severity of the anti-dowry law on the offence of of subjecting a married woman to cruelty by spouse and in-laws had reached the Supreme Court.
The two-judge bench of the apex court in July last year had voiced concern over the "abuse" of section 498 A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) and passed a slew of directions including that no arrest should "normally be effected" without verifying allegations as violation of human rights of innocents cannot be brushed aside. Now this injunction stands nullified, which means a person accused of dowry harassment can be immediately arrested without probe.
This verdict of the court opens up a debate on the pros and cons of its applicability. For one, misuse for vested gains by the woman or her family can be a possibility. In that case, an innocent will be arrested on the basis of this law. But votaries of women’s rights feel that such instances are rare and there is certainly some truth in their claim. Dowry death and harassment is rampant in our society. In most cases the allegations are found to be true and in 9 out of 10 cases, the husband or the in-laws are found responsible.
In such a backdrop, it would really equip the wrongdoers if the dowry law is relaxed. Despite all the laws in place, women in the country are still subject to various forms of torture and harassment, both in their homes and in professional space. The relative conservativeness of the womenfolk in India and their dependence on their husbands leads to this subjugation. There is too much familial and societal pressure which bars women from coming out of their shell and protest exploitation. Our society is not accommodative of such revolts and women are left alone to fend for themselves. In our society, if anything happens, the blame first falls on the woman. This is why, it is important for them to have at least the legal strength to fight atrocities.
Marriage in Indian society is still a sacred bond which is not broken just on any petty scuffle. It hardly happens that a woman files a plaint against her husband or in-laws without reason or basis. It needs immense courage and dispelling of numerous inhibitions to reach the police. If one does so, then there must be some compelling reason and the law, by supporting them, only upholds truth. That rare unfortunate husband whose wife abandons him for some ulterior motive and files a dowry harassment case, will have to suffer the initial horrors of getting arrested, but eventually, if he is spotless, he will come out clean.
-Window To News
