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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the increasing misuse of laws made to stop dowry. On Tuesday, while hearing the complaint filed by the wife against the husband and his family, the Supreme Court asked all the courts of the country to be more cautious while hearing such cases. The Supreme Court said that disputes in marital relations are increasing. Along with this, misuse of the law to stop dowry has also increased. The courts must be vigilant to prevent misuse of the law and ensure that no innocent family is put to trouble. This law is not for taking revenge from the husband or his family.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotishwar Singh, hearing the case, said that in criminal cases arising out of matrimonial disputes, only the names of family members are mentioned while there are no specific allegations against them. Such people should be stopped from getting into trouble in the beginning itself. Such cases are also coming to light in which the husband and his family only intend to cheat. Mere naming without specific allegations and solid evidence cannot be a basis for prosecuting criminal cases. Courts should hear cases with more caution to protect innocent people.
In Telangana, a woman filed a complaint under section 498A for dowry against her husband and other in-laws, the husband moved the High Court seeking quashing of the complaint, which was rejected. After which the matter reached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the High Court during which this clash took place. The Supreme Bench said that there have been cases in which Section 498A of IPC (extortion of dowry) is sometimes invoked against the husband and his family members for meeting the unreasonable demands of the wife.
Supreme Court Justice BV Nagarathna said in the decision that we are not saying that women facing dowry extortion or other cruelty should remain silent, this law has been made to protect women from dowry extortion. But sometimes this law is also misused, in the present case also it is clear that this law has been misused. At present, there has been an increase in marital disputes across the country. At the same time, tensions and conflicts within the institution of marriage are increasing. As a result, provisions like IPC section 498A (cruelty to wife by husband or his family) are also misused to take personal revenge against the husband and his family. In this case it is clear that the allegations made by the wife are vague, allegations have been made but no witnesses have been produced. The Supreme Court also rejected the dowry complaint filed by the wife against the husband and his family.
Dowry is still a curse in the country, every day 18 women become victims of it.
New Delhi: Abuse of dowry law has increased, while cases of death of women due to dowry have also come to light. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, thousands of women die every year due to dowry.
Many cases of dowry deaths are registered. In the year 2022, 6450 cases of dowry deaths were registered, which means every day on an average 18 women are dying due to dowry. Section 498A on dowry, which has been added to Section 85 in the new law BNS, aims to prevent mental and physical exploitation of the wife by the husband or his family. According to the NCRB report, the conviction rate in 498A is only 18 percent.
