Skip to main content

RECENT OBSERVATION OF THE APEX COURT ON SEC 498A IPC

INTRODUCTION 

Hello friends, today we shall take a glance over the concept of cruelty and cases filed thereof due to disputes arising between the married couples and their other family members. This section was introduced in IPC in the year 1983. The same was done as the women those days were subjected to cruelty more often then not by their husbands and in-laws, specifying the patriarchal system of the society. Another possible reason that for such dominance was that the women back then were not financial dependent as in modern times like of today, hence they had to live entirely on the mercy of their husband and which created situations that ultimately subjected them of cruelty. 

Before moving ahead let us take a glance of the bare act of Sec 498A IPC, 

Section 498A in The Indian Penal Code, 1860 

498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.— 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. 

Explanation.— For the purpose of this section, “cruelty” means— (a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or 

(b)harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand. 

However, as times moved ahead, more and more women came to educated and became financially independent. This was the reflection of the society which supported equal rights for both men and women. But the laws passed then, did not change over time and certain section of the society began to   misuse them more often then being used with caution. Nearly a decade back, there was a time when groom side family members used to under constant threat of the fact that in case an FIR is registered under Sec 498A IPC, in such a scenario they all will have to be behind the bars. Therefore, as soon as the complaint was filed in those days under this section, they all used to run from pillar to post in search of good lawyer who would file an application seeking anticipatory bails in case of a subsequent arrest. 

However, with further advancements, the courts began to realize that this particular law is being misused and thus have started to adopt a more lenient view in light of many false cases being filed in abuse of Sec 498A IPC, unnecessary dragging the entire in-laws before the court of law, including the old parents of the boy side. As a consequence, the relatives of the husband i.e. the in-laws are not being made a party unless there is specific involvement of them is made out.

Many rulings over time passed in this respect and observed that the actual number of genuine cases filed are much less in comparison to which it has been instituted. 

One such judgment observed this fact in 2017 titled RAJESH KUMAR VS STATE OF UP, wherein Supreme Court took note that 

 "according to Report of Crime in India, 2012 Statistics, National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs showed that for the year of 2012, a total of 197,762 people all across India were arrested under Section 498A, Indian Penal Code. The Report further shows that approximately a quarter of those arrested were women that is 47,951 of the total were perhaps mother or sisters of the husband. However most surprisingly the rate of charge-sheet filing for the year 2012, under Section 498A IPC was at an exponential height of 93.6% while the conviction rate was at a staggering low at 14.4% only. The Report stated that as many as 3,72,706 cases were pending trial of which 3,17,000 were projected to be acquitted." 

Taking reliance of the plethora of judgments passed in Sec 498A IPC, recently the Apex Court again came to the rescue of the victims who has been dragged unnecessary in false cases and also stringing the norms, it was categorically observed that 

 "Sec 498A cannot be applied mechanically in all the cases where the wife complains of ill-treatment or harassment by husband"

 CONCLUSION
 
The recent judgment passed taking a lenient view and due caution before applying the offence under Sec 498A IPC shows that the same has been passed with intent to discourage false cases and to protect the innocent persons, thereby maintaining a balance in the society. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Parental disputes or pending matrimonial and criminal matters between the natural guardians cannot constitute a valid statutory reason for refusal to issue passport says Allahabad High Court

Facts and Background The case involved a minor child aged about 2 years at the time of application whose mother applied for her passport on January 17, 2025. Despite completing all required formalities, the passport authorities kept the application pending indefinitely. The reason cited was the ongoing matrimonial dispute and criminal cases between the child's parents (the natural guardians). The authorities essentially treated these parental conflicts as a ground to withhold progress on the minor's passport application. The mother approached the Allahabad High Court via a writ petition, seeking directions for expeditious processing and issuance. Observations of the Court   Section 6 is Exhaustive and Mandatory   Section 6 of the Passports Act, 1967, provides the complete and exclusive list of grounds on which a passport authority may refuse to issue a passport or travel document.      - These grounds include matters like:       ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MARRIAGE REGISTRATION PROCESS IN DELHI

 Hello friends today we shall talk about the procedure for registration of marriage in Delhi.   ELIGIBILITY The marriage must have been solemnized either under the Hindu Marriage Act or under the Special Marriage Act, The Groom must have attained the minimum age of 21 years. The bride must be of the age of 18 years at least.   DOCUMENTS REQUIRED Photo ID proofs of both the parties like Aadhar card / PAN card / Voter card Date of birth proofs of both parties like 10 th certificate, etc. Permanent address proof must be there . Marriage photographs and Invitation Card. Passport Size Photographs of both parties. 2 witness in case marriage registered under Hindu Marriage Act or 3 witnesses in case it is registered under the Special Marriage Act along with their respective proofs like PAN CARD/ AADHAR CARD etc. An affidavit from both parties certifying the date of their marriage and more specifically stating that the marriage has not been performed between pers...
1 comment
Read more

DISTRICT COURT THRISSUR, KERALA HELD AIR ASIA LIABLE FOR DEFICIENCY IN SERVICE AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

Introduction    District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Thrissur, Kerala (India), held AirAsia India Limited liable for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices. Facts and Background In this matter, a passenger's flight was cancelled by the airline for operational reasons. Under applicable rules (including those from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA, and the Consumer Protection Act), passengers are typically entitled to a full refund in such cases, and many airlines (including low-cost carriers like AirAsia) are expected to process automatic refunds promptly without requiring manual claims in straightforward cancellations. However, AirAsia failed to issue an automatic refund for the ticket amount (which was ₹2,983). The passenger made repeated attempts to obtain the refund but faced ongoing issues and harassment, ultimately having to approach the consumer forum to recover even this small sum. This caused financial loss, inconvenience, a...
Post a Comment
Read more