Monetary compensation for emotional and physical trouble will eventually lead to opening of a floodgate of false charges
Passed by the Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code 498A, is a criminal law (not a civil law) which is defined as follows: “Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The offence is cognisable, non-compoundable and non-bailable.”
If a woman lodges a complaint of dowry harassment in the nearby police station, the husband, his old parents, his sisters and other relatives would be immediately arrested and put behind bars on a non-bailable term without any investigation. Even if you are not guilty, you will be presumed as guilty until you are proved innocent. This section of Indian Penal Code is non-compoundable (complaint can not be withdrawn) and non-bailable.
Mahesh Tiwary, advocate in Supreme Court, explains the legalities involved, “Under section 497of IPC, cases of adultery cannot be filed against a wife and thus she cannot be prosecuted.” As it stands, this Section makes only men punishable for having sexual relations with wives of other men without the consent of their husbands. Women cannot be punished even as abettors.
What is more shocking is even if after a prolonged legal battle, the husband’s family comes clean, the court does not punish women for filing false cases. Under Section 12 of IPC of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005, husband or in-laws can be asked to evict the house if wife feels threatened. Mahesh Tiwary says, “This means that practical ownership of every house rests with wives. Once she decides that her husband should not stay with her, he will have to leave at any cost.”
Passed by the Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code 498A, is a criminal law (not a civil law) which is defined as follows: “Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The offence is cognisable, non-compoundable and non-bailable.”
If a woman lodges a complaint of dowry harassment in the nearby police station, the husband, his old parents, his sisters and other relatives would be immediately arrested and put behind bars on a non-bailable term without any investigation. Even if you are not guilty, you will be presumed as guilty until you are proved innocent. This section of Indian Penal Code is non-compoundable (complaint can not be withdrawn) and non-bailable.
Mahesh Tiwary, advocate in Supreme Court, explains the legalities involved, “Under section 497of IPC, cases of adultery cannot be filed against a wife and thus she cannot be prosecuted.” As it stands, this Section makes only men punishable for having sexual relations with wives of other men without the consent of their husbands. Women cannot be punished even as abettors.
What is more shocking is even if after a prolonged legal battle, the husband’s family comes clean, the court does not punish women for filing false cases. Under Section 12 of IPC of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005, husband or in-laws can be asked to evict the house if wife feels threatened. Mahesh Tiwary says, “This means that practical ownership of every house rests with wives. Once she decides that her husband should not stay with her, he will have to leave at any cost.”
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