UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM &

ENERGY STUDIES

SCHOOL OF LAW
BBA, LL.B. (BFIT)

SEMESTER- III

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2019-20

SESSION: July – December

A RESEARCH PROJECT

SECTION 498A OF IPC

A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

Under Supervision of: Mrs. CHARU SRIVASTAVA Ma’am

(TO BE FILLED BY THE STUDENT)

Name: Ritvik Kala, Anuj Jaggi

Sap id: 500070472, 500070286

Roll no: R155218041, R155218017

1
 ABSTRACT
RESEARCH TOPIC: Section 498a of IPC

Most of the people are not aware of the Section 498A of the IPC or what to do
when a case related to Section 498A is registered. It is important to know more
on what this law is all about. Section 498A was introduced in the year 1983 to
protect a married woman from being subjected to cruelty. It claims to provide
protection to women against dowry-related harassment and cruelty. On the other
hand, it became an easy tool for women to misuse it and wreak revenge from
their NRI husbands or to file a false case. Section 498A is one of the most
controversial sections of the IPC.

KEY WORDS : Cruelty, misuse, harm, harassment , marriage , dowry.

SYNOPSIS

RESEARCH TOPIC: Section 498a of IPC - Cruelty

2
INTRODUCTION: Cruelty is an abstract concept, there is no specific definition or
explanation given by any jurist. Cruelty can be of different forms such as mental, physical,
direct or indirect, intended or unintended. It also depends upon different factors and
circumstances such as social-cultural background of the woman, mental and physical
conditions, etc.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:-
• The project work done by the researcher mainly revolves around the concept of cruelty
which is been practiced in a matrimonial relationship between the spouses. Cruelty was
mainly practiced as a part and parcel of a social evil known as dowry system. Earlier married
women were subjected to cruelty so much by their in-laws that they have only relief to resort
was to commit suicide. Then the government took an active step and brought section 498a
under the Indian Penal Code as a shield against cruelty in the year 1983. But we can see that
in the first half of the 21st century it took a new shape and colour and the very section which
was inserted in penal laws for the benefit of the women raised a plethora of questions and
issues to be dealt with.

Is sec 498a of IPC really being misused and does it really live up to be a double edged
sword?

OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH-

1. To study the object behind the introduction of Section 498a Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. To study the impact of Section 498a Indian Penal Code, 1860 as a social reform
measure.

3. To examine the present day scenario in relation to the implementation of Section 498a
Indian Penal Code, 1860 and how come it had incurred the title of ‘legal terrorism’.

To make recommendations or find out possible solutions in relation to the problem of misuse
of the penal provision.

CHAPTERIZATION- The following below mentioned topic areas will be covered

under the project. Highlighting these aspects will lead to a better knowledge about the flow of
the Project.

 Acknowledgement
 Essentials of a Partnership Firm
 Introduction
 Need

3
  Emergence of Cruelty
 A Critical Analysis of Sec 498a of IPC
 Major Findings
 Answering Research Question
 Conclusion
 Bibliography

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY-The research methodology for the project is

doctrinal, analytical as well as descriptive in nature the source of knowledge includes primary
resources such as articles, online papers and various judgements given by courts, whose
decisions have brought about changes in the society affecting partnership firms for the better.
Secondly sources such as textbooks, magazines, articles reviews, research papers etc. will be
included in the bibliography.

Definition of Research:

The term ‘research’ is derived from a French word ‘recerch’ meaning to ‘to search’ and a
Latin word ‘circare’ meaning ‘to go round in a circle’.

In research1 –

‘R’ stands for ‘rational way of thinking’

‘E’ stands for ‘expert and exhaustive treatment’

‘S’ stands for ‘search for solutions’

‘E’ stands for ‘exactness’.

‘A’ stands for ‘analytical analysis of adequate data’

‘R’ stands for ‘relationship between facts and theories’

‘C’ stands for ‘(a) constructive attitude; (b) critical evaluation; (c) condensed and compactly
stated generalisation; (d) cautious and careful recording’.

‘H’ stands for ‘honesty and hard work in all aspects of the treatment of data’.

Various definitions as stated by the jurists are as follows:

Manheim, says “research is the careful, diligent and exhaustive investigation of a specific
subject-matter, which has its aim the advancement of mankind’s knowledge.”2

Redman and Mary defines research as “systematised efforts to gain knowledge”.3

1
Dr. S.R. Myneni, “Legal Research Methodology” 1 (Allahabad Law Agency, 5th ed. 2012)
2
Dr. S.R. Myneni, “Legal Research Methodology” 2 (Allahabad Law Agency, 5th ed. 2012)
3
Ibid.

4
Lundberg says “research is a method sufficiently objective and systematic to make possible
classification, generalizations and verification of the data observed”.4

Cook defines “research is a careful enquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles and
diligent investigation to asserting to something”.5

According to Webster’s International Dictionary, “research is a careful, critical inquiry or

explanation in seeking facts or principles; diligent investigation in order to ascertain
something”.6

Importance of Research:7

The research can be very important for a researcher. Importance of research can be listed
below as:-

 To discover answer to the questions

 To find out the truth which is hidden and yet not discovered.

 To gain familiarity with a phenomenon.

 To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular, individual situations or a

group.

 To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is

associated with something else.

To test the hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE PROJECT - The judiciary has failed to give justice to the
real victims of the dowry harassment cases since it is hard to differentiate between the real
victims and false accusations and sometimes real victims fall prey to the unfortunate situation

4
Dr. S.R. Myneni, “Legal Research Methodology” 2 (Allahabad Law Agency, 5th ed. 2012)
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
C.R. Kothari and Gaurav Garg, “Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques” 2 (New Age International
Publishers, 3rd ed. 2014)

5
and that is why it has earned the infamous title of being a ‘legal terrorism’ as quoted by
Justice Arijit Pasayat of the Apex court.8

The researcher is of the opinion that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is gender-biased
provision and has not been able to fulfil its objectives of protecting the women from dowry
harassment. The possible solution to the problem related to the implementation of Section
498A IPC, 1860 proposed by the researcher are as it has an outrageous impact on the society,
along with the husbands it also affect the innocent lives of the mothers, sisters of the husband
who are harassed on the filing of a single complaint. Thus the section needs immediate
amendment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Every work accomplished gives a sense of satisfaction. However a number of people always
motivate, criticize and appreciate a work with their objective ideas and opinions, hence I
8
Sushil Kumar Sharma v. Union of India &Ors. AIR 2005 SC 3100.

6
would like to use this opportunity to thank all those who have directly or indirectly
contributed to accomplish this project.

I would like to thank Mrs. Charu Srivastava Ma’am without whose guidance this project
would not have been completed. His ideas, and suggestions sure go a long way and help in a
plethora of issues.

I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards the Library of our college that has
provided me with books relevant to the topic.

INTRODUCTION
Family is considered to be the founding stone of the society. And this very family at the same
time has been considered a sphere of intimacy and devoid of conflicts of interests among the

7
members that poses ideal cultural and focus of identity. Marriage is one of the principal tool
used in expansion of family but having said that the institution of civil marriage has
undergone monumental changes in the last few decades.

First we have to look that what the word ‘marriage’ means i.e. ‘Marriage is the voluntary
union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.’ It is considered to be
a sacred commitment made by the spouses towards each other. It is regarded to be the social
alliance between two families. It is essential that vows, promises, commitments that are
exchanged by the spouses are revered with a sincere heart because it is this institution which
eulogizes the hallmark of love, bonding, union of families and harmony. Endeavour should
always be made to sustain the sanctity of such divine institution since it is such an edifice
which must be rebuilt every day. Here in this social institution the husband has the
responsibility to take care of and maintain his wife. He cannot neglect his duties.

But like all good aspects bad aspects of a particular act too exists. The institution of marriage
suffers from a major social evil i.e. dowry (Money or property brought by a woman to her
husband at the time of marriage); and for the dowry husband exercises physical as well as
mental cruelty on wife. Women are ill-treated, harassed, killed, divorced for the simple
reason that they didn’t brought dowry. For safeguarding the interest of woman against the
cruelty they face behind the four walls of their matrimonial home, the Indian Penal Code,
1860was amended in 1983 and inserted Section 498A which deals with matrimonial cruelty
to a woman.

Having said that, now in 21st century the concept of cruelty which was earlier exercised by
the husbands on married women, nowadays took a new colour and situation is vice-versa. At
the time of introduction of the section it instilled some hope and optimism in the hearts of the
woman and her family as it was seen as an ‘armour’ to combat against the brutality of the
male members of the society nevertheless with the passage of time it became transparent that
the provision of Section 498A IPC, 1860 left a host of loopholes which seemed to become
a powerful ‘weapon’ if falls on evil hands.

So by looking in to the above situation we may draw two conclusions i.e. firstly, the main
intention behind the penal law of cruelty against married women by husband is not fulfilled
and secondly, on the other hand the law is being misused and the in-laws and the husband are
mentally and monetarily harassed

Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with the violence done on women after
her marriage by her husband or her in-laws or any relative of the husband. It prescribes
punishment for 3 years and a fine. It gave a new definition to cruelty. Cruelty can be defined
as –

 If the act done is of such a nature that the woman is enticed to commit suicide or
cause an injury to herself, which may prove fatal. This was added in the case
of Shobha Rani v. Medhukar Reddy.[1]  It was held in the case that evidence is
required to prove cruelty.

8
Need for Section 498A
Women have always been subject to cruelty by male society. Laws like these help women to
fight back. Woman feel they are being heard. There is a lot of need for laws like these in a
country like India –

 9 out of 10 cases are always related to dowry. So, there is dire need for these laws to
prevent women from the cruelty.

 Woman are continuously forced, tortured, threatened or abused for demand for
something or the other. The Section 498A of the IPC helps the woman to approach the
court of law and punish the wrongdoer.

 In many cases, the woman are also subject to mental cruelty. There is no law which
can help the woman to ease the mental pain caused to her. Acts like these help woman
in every possible ways.

 No matter if the laws are misused, they cannot be removed from the Indian Penal
Code. As the laws can always be amended. There will be certain loopholes but always
a provision can be added to rectify the problems.

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 EMERGENCE OF CRUELTY, A SOCIAL EVIL
Cruelty is one of the serious kinds of social evil since ages.

Historical background:

India being multifaceted democracy, discrimination can never be entertained on the social,
civil, political and economic rights guaranteed by the nation. Nevertheless owing to certain
broad situations where Indian women do cross the hurdles and participate in the social
activities.

Since time immemorial women have been reduced to a demeaning decorative character
endowed with superficial attractiveness but intellectually docile, who could only serve the
purpose of male entertainment. In spite of India’s reputation of worshipping and treating
women as Goddess history reveals the dark bitter secret that is buried under the godly
personification of women which was only being used as a camouflage for securing the
superior position of the male members of the society indirectly. Since medieval times as
women played a rather subservient role in the society. Hence it is a fact that women are not
respected in a true manner earlier.

This can be proved from the instances of past, e.g. Sati i.e. self -immolation by a widow on
the pyre of the dead body of her husband. It is yet another phenomenon peculiar to an
illiterate, conservative and tradition bound society. It is nothing but a manifestation of the
barbaric attitude of man towards a helpless woman who becomes widow on the death of her
husband, we may say that this practice of treating women in an inhuman manner leads to the
concept of Cruelty. Cruelty against women has been age-old phenomenon, where women
have been subjected to brutality and inexplicable exploitation for one reason or the other,
cruelty can be both mental as well as physical... Here for the purpose of the research, the
researcher is going to look into the effects of cruelty from the perspective of matrimonial
relationship.

Under Old English law, according to Blackstone, a husband could correct his wife by
beating. E.g. a husband broke the legs of his wife since she had disregarded his instructions to
visit a particular place.9 In Holmes v. Holmes,10the husband used to assault and abuse his wife
and on occasion he insisted upon sexual intercourse with her in the presence of two men and
threatened that if she refused, the men would hold her down. In spite of all this, the wife was
held not to be entitled to any relief on the ground of cruelty. This was the poor condition of
justice then under old English law.

According to Manu, a husband should beat his wife only with a rope or split bamboo, so that
no bones are broken in the process.11

Concept of cruelty:

9
Kusum, Family Law Lectures, 59 (Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa 2nd ed. 2008)
10
(1755)2 Lee; 161 ER 283
11
Ibid.

10
Cruelty is an abstract concept, there is no specific definition or explanation given by any
jurist. Cruelty can be of different forms such as mental, physical, direct or indirect, intended
or unintended. It also depends upon different factors and circumstances such as social-
cultural background of the woman, mental and physical conditions, etc.

Let us look at some of the case laws put forward by the Supreme court of India:

 In N.G. Dastane v. S. Dastane, the Supreme Court has observed that conduct charged
as cruelty should be of such a character as to cause in the mind of the Petitioner, a
reasonable apprehension that it is harmful or injurious to live with the respondent.12

 In V. Bhagat v. D. Bhagat, the Supreme Court held that the mental cruelty must be of
such a nature that the parties cannot be reasonable be expected to live together. While
arriving at such conclusion regard must be had to the social status, educational level
of the parties, the society they move in and all other relevant facts and
circumstances.13

 In NeeluKohli v. Naveen Kohli, it was held by the apex court that in order to constitute
cruelty the acts complained of as causing cruelty must be more serious than ordinary
wear and tear of marriage. Not any and every abnormal act of the other party can be
viewed as mental cruelty. 14

 In A. Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur, the apex court held that for physical cruelty there
can be tangible and direct evidence but in mental cruelty there may not be direct
evidence. When there is no direct evidence, courts are required to probe into the
mental process and mental effect of incidence that are brought out in evidence.15

 In Vinitha Saxena v.Pankaj Pandit, the Supreme Court held that what constitutes
mental cruelty will not depend upon the numerical count of such incidents or only on
the continuous course of such conduct, but really go by the intensity, gravity and
stigmatic impact of it when meted out even once and deleterious effect of it in the
mental attitude, necessary for maintaining a conducive matrimonial home.16

Few instances of cruelty as a social evil in modern era.

 Slow starvation - is cruelty: The wife was compelled to do all the domestic works
single handed. She was ill-treated and subjected to physical assault when she
protested. She was not getting sufficient food and it resulted in slow starvation,
thereby giving an emaciated look, to meet an unlawful demand of money. When she
committed suicide cruelty stood proved in a court of law.17

12
(1975)2 SCC 326
13
(1994)1 SCC 337
14
AIR 2006 SC 1675
15
(2005)2 SCC 22
16
(2006)3 SCC 778
17
Hira Choudhary v. State of West Bengal, 1997 (1) WLC 543

11
  Repeated demands of dowry amounts to cruelty: If repeated demands of dowry are
made and harassment is meted out to a woman, which may be physical or mental, it is
an act of cruelty.18

 False allegations in litigation amounts to cruelty: The wife was subjected to a

series of malicious and vexatious litigations in which extremely hurtful and offensive
accusations were leveled against the wife of a sense of vindictiveness and wherein she
was humiliated and tortured through the execution of search warrants and seizure of
her personal property. These very acts when repeated and carried on, constitute
cruelty of an intense degree.19

 Repeated taunts calling her ugly and mal treatment is cruelty:The wife was ill-
treated from the next day of marriage and she was repeatedly taunted and mal-treated
and mentally tortured by calling her ugly etc. This amounts to cruelty, mental torture
for any bride.20

 Neglect by husband also amounts to cruelty:the act of the husband was only that of
disregarding his duty to provide the wife and the child elementary means of
sustenance while he himself was squandering his earnings on gambling and other
vices and was starving his wife and infant child to death. 21
22

Statutory provisions in relation to cruelty under personal laws: a comparative analysis

Hindu Law:

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 after going through amendment under the marriage laws
(Amendment) Act, 1976, cruelty is being made a ground for divorce as well as for judicial
separation. 23 Another significant change brought by the amendment is that the concept of
cruelty has been enlarged as because earlier it was only confined to ‘such cruelty so as to
cause reasonable apprehension in mind of the petitioner that it will be harmful or injurious for
the petitioner to live with other party.’ However, now simply it is to be established that ‘the
respondent has treated the petitioner with cruelty.’

Parsi Law:

Under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 prior to 1988, cruelty was only aground for
judicial separation, and cruelty was explained as such behaviour ‘as to render it in the
judgement of the court improper to compel him or her to live with the respondent’.24

18
Jagdish v. State of Rajasthan, 1998 RCR (Cr) 9
19
Smt. M.M.Chitnis v. Mr. M.M. Chitnis, 1991 (2) Maharastra L.R. 753
20
Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana J.T. 1998 (1) SC- 565
21
State of Karnataka v. Moorthy 2002 Cr. L.J. 1683
22
State of Karnataka v. Balappa, 1999 Cr. LJ 3064 (Kant)
23
SS 13 and 10 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
24
Kusum, Family Law Lectures, 61 (Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa 2nd ed. 2008)

12
Christian Law:

The Indian Divorce Act, 1869, prior to its amendment in 2001, a wife could seek divorce if
the husband had been guilty of cruelty coupled with adultery. However now, after the
amendment in the year 2001, it completely transformed the original act and the grounds for
matrimonial relief have been brought at par with that of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and
the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. 25

Muslim Law:

Under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, cruelty is mentioned as one of the
grounds to obtain divorce from a matrimonial relationship. 26

SECTION 498A IPC, 1860: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

25
Kusum, Family Law Lectures, 61 (LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa 2nd ed. 2008)

26
Ibid.

13
The following chapter talks about the pros and cons of section 498A Indian Penal Code,
1860.

A step towards social reform:

In the first few years of its proclamation section 498A seemed to be quite fruitful and
effective in combating the heinous act of cruelty in the latter half of the 20th century. The
researcher while studying various cases have found out that the concept of cruelty has been
interpreted in no. of ways by the judiciary so we will go through a series of judgement where
section 498A whose main object of insertion in 1983 is ‘to punish the husband and his
relatives who tortures and harass women with a view to coerce her or any person related to
her to meet any unlawful demands’ 27 being adequately corroborated.

 In case of State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal28, the wife committed suicide by
hanging in the house of her in-laws within one year of her marriage and she was
subjected to cruelty and mental and physical torture by mother-in-law and the
husband.

So here in this particular case, the court after going through the facts of the case stated it is a
clear case of mental and physical cruelty and it is cognizable under Section 498A IPC, 1860.

 In case of State of Karnataka v. C.Prakash29, there was a conclusive evidence on

record that the husband assaulted the wife because of some non-payments and as a
result finally wife committed suicide.

The Court held that such acts of the husband are the acts of cruelty and they are grave and
persistent according to the facts of the case hence accused was found liable to conviction.

 In case of Rajesh Dewan v. State of Del.30Husband use to beat his wife in the
presence of his sister and sister’s husband, soon the wife left the matrimonial home
and filed a case against the husband and the in-laws.

The court held that cruelty against the wife is proved and an offence is made out against the
husband, sister of the husband, and sister’s husband under Section 498A IPC, 1860. Here in
this case increased the ambit of the punishment by including the abettor of the cruelty i.e. in-
laws.

 In case of State v. Siddaraju31, husband contracted second marriage during the life
time of his first wife, who was living in the same house, hence it constituted cruelty as
held by the court.

27
LV Jadhav v. SA Pawar 1983 Cr LJ 150
28
AIR 1994 SC 1418
29
1998 (1) Hindu L.R. (KAR) (DB) 185
30
1999 (2) Hindu L.R. (Del) 250
31
2001 (1) Hindu L.R. (KAR) 660

14
  In case of Saifan Rahimsaheb Shaikh v. State of Maharastra32 the wife was treated
with cruelty as she could not bear a child after marriage and hence the court on the
grounds of cruelty proven under Section 498A IPC, 1860 convicted the accused.

 In case of Maeyaea Vishvanatha Rao v. State of A.P.33here wife died of burn injury.
A letter written by her revealed anguish about various incidents and methods of
harassments, caused by the accused, which not only included demand of dowry but
also filthiest possible language. This facts were supported by oral evidence by the
prosecution hence the court held the accused to be convicted under section 498A IPC,
1860.

 In case of Yaldapati Kutumba v. State34 husband suspected the character of the

deceased, he too suspected that she was pregnant through somebody else; hence the
court held such statements amounts to cruelty.

There are numerous cases of cruelty exercised upon the married women in their matrimonial
homes on account of dowry or anything else, such acts are huge in number and Section 498A
IPC, 1860 steps in and plays an important role in curbing out this menace and bring a social
reform in real sense.

Misuse of section 498A Indian penal code 1860:

“The highhanded behaviour of the laws and the breakup of the marriage has another side.
Lodging of cases with the crime against women cell may not be genuine. Matrimonial
discords unconnected with dowry demands or dowry related harassment are often given the
colour of dowry by the wives to get even with their husbands.”35

Section 498A IPC, 1860 sometimes said to be ‘gender-biased’ law because recent study
reveals that the provision provides protection only to women in the fight against
husband and his relatives. A number of cases have been filed in the police station which
forms the basis for the official statistics of dowry harassment, which otherwise
implicates that only the woman are entitled to file harassment cases with an unlimited
scope of fabricating stories and lies without even undergoing any penalty to pay
compensation or any kind of damages. It is true that a careful reading of the section
exposes some serious problems which can affect the society:

1) Since only the women are entitled to file harassment cases there ought to be a grave abuse
of this section in the effect of harassing the husband and his family

2) The law framers at the time of enacting this provision did not envisage that it is actually
doing injustice to two sets of people:

32
2001 (1) Hindu L.R. (Bom) 624
33
2003 Cr. L.J. NOC 11B (A.P.)
34
2003 Cr. L.J. 4220 (AP)
35
Poonam Pradhan Saxena , (Annual survey of Indian law vol xxxvi, 2000)

15
a) The real victims of the dowry harassment are now being criticized to make false claims
and accusations.

b) The mothers, sisters of the husband who are either harassed by the police or send to the
police custody without even considering their age, health and marital status. There are
instances where even the pregnant women have been sent behind the bars owing to the false
accusations thrown at the husband’s family by the wife.

A research conducted by some social activists reveals that urban well educated women are
taking advantage of the section 498A in order to reside independently, separated from the
husband and his family right after the husband’s family submit to her demands which
generally involves either cash or property and the provision of section 498A is such that the
husband cannot even file a complaint or even if they do they are not entertained solely on the
reasons that the law is applied only for the protection of women and not men36. That’s why
the section incurred the infamy of ‘legal terrorism’ since it has the peculiarity of tilting
towards the woman and becomes an evil provision when fall into wrong hands.

Real scenario in modern times in cases related to Section 498A IPC, 1860 and the attitude of
Law Enforcing authorities:

A careful examination of recent cases presents a rather horrifying picture. The researcher has
attempted to draw a difference between the existing law and the actual practice in relation to
the 498A cases.

NATURE OF CRIME IN LEGAL TERMS IN ACTUAL TERMS

Cognizable As per law it is the duty of Instead of initiating the
36
An investigative report by a NGO called Rakshak, The Silent Tears of Shattered Families: The Ugly Reality
of Dowry Law.

16
 policeman to register the
offence as cognizable and
start investigation.
Non-Bailable By law Magistrate is
bestowed with the power to
refuse bail and send the
individual to judicial or
police custody
investigation they arrest the
suspects (husband and his
family) more so in exchange
of bribes from both the sides.
Before presenting the
individual in Magistrate‘s
court all sorts of gambles take
place involving settlement of
cases by paying huge amount
of money. There are other
instances too where the
Magistrate ,public prosecutor
and the policemen all
conjointly decides to settle the
case with the husband and his
family being locked up inside
the police custody

Why do people misuse the provision 498A IPC, 1860? 37

There are certain specific reasons stated below:

a. Legal Extortion – Get-rich-quick-scheme to extort large amounts of money

b. Prior Relationship – Wife has a prior relationship, and cannot get out of it. She
marries to satisfy her parents, and then misuses the 498a law in order to obtain a
divorce.

c. Adultery – Women who indulge in adultery use 498a as a bargaining tool

d. Domination – Wife wants the husband to abandon his parents and siblings, and have
total control over his finances and social behavior.

e. Custody - Deny the father and his family access to their children.

f. Fraudulent Marriages - in which the bride (and her family) hides her education level
or mental health; and when is justifiably asked to release the person who has gone
into marriage without knowing the full facts; she files a false 498a case.

In order to stop this menace Supreme Court in 2007 in case of Srinivasalu v. State of
A.P38held that consequences of cruelty that are likely to drive women to commit suicide or to
cause grave injury or danger to her life must be established before arresting the husband and
his relatives .The FIR must only be taken if there is a sufficient reason to believe that some
gross action of violence has been committed by the husband towards the wife.

37
An investigative report by a NGO called Rakshak, The Silent Tears of Shattered Families: The Ugly Reality
of Dowry Law.

38
Appeal (Crl.) 11 of 2002

17
The police, civil society, politicians and even judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court
have offered these arguments of the "misuse' of laws vehemently. The allegation of misuse is
made particularly against Sec 498A of the IPC, 1860 and against the offence of dowry death
in Sec 304B one such view was expressed by former Justice K T Thomas in his article titled
'Women and the Law’. The 2003 Malimath Committee report on reforms in the criminal
justice system also notes, significantly, that there is a "general complaint" that Sec 498A of
the IPC, 1860 is subject to gross misuse.

There is a gross violation or misuse of this penal provision as with the womenfrivolously
making false allegations against their husbands with the purpose of getting rid of them or
simply hurting the family.The abuse of this section is rapidly increasing and the women often
well-educated know that this section is both cognizable and non-bailable and impromptu
works on the complaint of the women and placing the man behind bars. Like in the case
of Savitri Devi v Ramesh Chand &Ors39the court held clearly that there was amisuse and
exploitation of the provisions to such an extent that it was hitting at the foundation
ofmarriage itself and proved to be not so good for health of society at large. The court
believed thatauthorities and lawmakers had to review the situation and legal provisions to
prevent such fromtaking place.

So the question arises that it is been a duty of the court to condemn wrongdoings and protect
the victim but what happens when the victim turns into the abuser? What remedy does the
husband have here?

In case of Saritha v R. Ramachandran40here the court did notice that the reverse trend and
asked the law Commission and Parliament to make the offence a non-cognizable and bailable
one.

Suppose if the suggestion given by the court is approved then it would give a fair
chance to the men and above all help meet the ends of justice.

Justice must protect the weaker and ensure that the wronged is given a chance to claim back
his/her due.When women accuse their husbands under S.498A IPC, 1860then even if the man
is innocent he does not get justice and ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. Therefore, the
lawmakers must suggest some way of making this section non-biased to any individual such
that the guilty is punished and the person wronged is given justice.

Views of the Judiciary in the Recent Judgement in respect of misuse of Section 498A I.P.C.
1860:

In case of Jasbir Kaur vs. State of Haryana41 the Punjab and Haryana High court observed “It
is known that an estranged wife will go to any extent to rope in as many relatives of the
husband as possible in a desperate effort to salvage whatever remains of an estranged
marriage”
39
II (2003) DMC 328
40
I (2003) DMC 37 (DB)
41
(1990)2 Rec Cri R 243

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In case of Kanaraj vs. State of Punjab42the apex court observed that “for the fault of the
husband the in-laws or other relatives cannot in all cases be held to be involved. The acts
attributed to such persons have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and they cannot be
held responsible by mere conjectures and implications. The tendency to rope in relatives of
the husband as accused has to be curbed”

The Supreme Court in the case of Mohd. Hoshan vs. State of A.P.43 observed as:

 “Whether one spouse has been guilt of cruelty to the other is essentially a question of fact.
The impact of complaints, accusation or taunts on a person amounting to cruelty depends on
various factors like the sensitivity of the victim concerned, the social background, the
environment, education etc. Further, mental cruelty varies from person to person depending
on the intensity of the sensitivity, degree of courage and endurance to withstand such cruelty.
Each case has to be decided on its own facts whether mental cruelty is made out.”

MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE PROJECT

The major findings of the project according to the researcher are as follows:

 The Researcher is of the opinion that the whole provision is harboring the possibility
of massive social upheaval in large scale. Presently it is now a herculean task for the
court to differentiate between the false accusations and defending the real victims
since the whole provisions aims at protecting the women from being tortured on the
hands of her husband or his family.
42
2000 Cri LJ 2993
43
2002 Cri LJ 4124

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  The law made for relief under the Indian penal Codeis being totally misused.Along
with it, many other problems are working as ancillary part of such misuse such as
corruption among the policemen and law enforcers who usually take bribes from one
party to harass the other; shrewd politicians who take advantage of the scenario in
spite of knowing that many frivolous complaints are being lodged by women just to
harass the in-laws, while they support them in order to secure the vote-bank; even the
lower judiciary disposes of such cases quickly without looking into the facts in hand
carefully.

 The researcher after conducting the study found out that the Apex court has stated this
research problem to be “legal terrorism” and given certain guidelines in relation to it.

ANSWERING RESEARCH QUESTION

1. Is Sec 498a of the IPC really a Double Edged Sword, being misused?
The Indian legal system is an outcome of substantial and procedural laws
synchronization .Substantial laws are those which defines the rights or liabilities
while procedural laws defines the procedure to avail those rights and to affix the
liability, that is why procedural laws are called law of forum. The unfortunate
part is, law has been always misused by few group of people to achieve their
personal objectives; either it may be personal rivalry or monetary motive. Section
498-A (CRUELTY) is among those provision that has been misused. The

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 provision has been defined under chapter 20-A of the IPC and has been inserted
by the amendment act of 1983. 

The apex court is aware of this fact hence it has brought forth some provisions in
order to curtail the misuse of the section:

- All state government to instruct its police officers not to arrest automatically
until they satisfied themselves regarding the commission of crime.

- Decision not to arrest an accused, be forwarded to the magistrate in two weeks

from the date of institution of suit , which may be extended by the SP of the
district for reasons to be recorded in writing. Notice of appearance in terms of
section 41-A CRPC to be served on the accused with in two weeks from the
institution of case.

- The above directions are applicable to every case where arrest can be made for
an offence punishable for imprisonment up to 7 years. The misuse of provision
and false allegations attracts the punishment under Indian penal code and court
may impart heavy penalties, by this way in present scenario one can say that
section 498-A is a double edge sword that may harm the complainant.

CONCLUSION
The institution of marriage is no longer considered a sacred union of two hearts but has rather
become more of a civil contract between two individuals in literal sense of the term where
one is obligated to another to perform conjugal rights.

Section 498A which has otherwise incurred the infamy of being a ‘legal terrorism’ was
primarily incorporated to combat the evil practices of dowry and dowry deaths. But recent
study shows that over the years it has changed its colour and has become a weapon of
notoriety. With the help of books of distinguished legal personalities and eminent lawyers,

21
articles written or published by social activists the researcher has formulated some hypothesis
in regard to the curbing of this social cancer.

The inclusion of Section 498A IPC, 1860 though seemed fruitful and effective in the early
years of its proclamation unfortunately a new era of ruthlessness emerged with the arrival of
21st century. Although judiciary has failed miserably in curbing the gross abuse of Section
498A nevertheless the very provision calls for an immediate redressal to the sufferings of the
real victims of dowry harassment. The protection should also be extended to male members
of the society as recent study shows countless innocent husbands and their families have been
affected by this stringent provision since the section provides shelter only to women
rendering the provision to be biased, discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Anyone who has been awake the last two decades knows how section 498-A of IPC, 1860
has been heavily misused, dragging innocent men and women into police stations, lock-ups
and courts, thus depriving may young children of a happy childhood, many youth of
productive careers and many senior citizens of mental peace in the last leg of their lives.

Many women who really need protection from Domestic Violence will probably never know
about it and even if they do, never use it. This law will be yet another weapon in the hands of
unscrupulous women who will misuse it at the slightest opportunity. When a man is thrown
out of his own house under true or false allegations of domestic violence or cruelty everyone
who is dependent on him is bound to suffer. It is unfair enough to penalize an entire family
even if an accused man is truly abusive. Unfair is a subtle word to describe a situation in
which an innocent man, along with his family, is tortured by misuse of law.

After the entire study we can conclude that though Section 498-A of IPC, 1860 was brought
in forth for the protection of women from the cruelty of her husband and his relatives but now
it is being abused. These women are turning the law other way round by being cruel to their
husband and his relatives and getting them tried under Section 498A of IPC, 1860 which
deals with “Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband”. Henceforth certain legal actions
should be taken as soon as possible to curtail growth of “legal terrorism”, by misuse of
provisions of law.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Books:
2. Author: Kusum, Family law lectures, Family law-I, Published by LexisNexis Butterworth
Wadhwa, Nagpur, Edition 2nd (2008)
3. Author: J.D. Chandna, Law relating to dowry deaths dying declaration suicides &
cruelties to women, Published by the Bright Law House, Delhi, Edition 1st (2005)
4. Author: Ratanlal Ranchoddas and Dhirajlal Keshavlal Thakore, Indian penal code
5. Published by LexisNexis, Edition 34th, (2014)

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6. Author: K.D.Gaur, Textbook on the Indian penal code, Published by Universal Law
Publishing Co. Edition 4th (2009)
7. Author: K.D.Gaur, Criminal law: cases and materials, Published by LexisNexis
Publications, Edition 7th, (2013)
8. Author: Mamta Rao, Law relating to women and children, Published by Eastern Book
Company, Edition 3rd, (2012)
9. Author: S.R.Myneni, Legal research methodology Published by Allahabad Law Agency,
Edition 5th 2012.
10. Author: T.Padma and KPC Rao, Legal research methodology, Published by New Age
International Publishers, Edition 3rd, 2014
11. Author: C.K.Kothari and Gaurav Garg. Research methodology, methods and techniques,
Published by New Age International Publishers, Edition 3rd, 2014
12. Articles:
13. Author: K.D.Gaur, The poor victim of uses and abuses of criminal law and process in
India, Published in Indian Bar Review by the (BCI) Trust, Vol. XXVII, (July- Dec)
(2000)
14. Author: Poonam Pradhan Saxena, Family law and settlement, Published in Annual
Survey of Indian Law by ILI, Vol. XXXVI, 2000

15.Websites:
16. http://www.498a.org/
17. http://www.saveindianfamily.org/
18. Lexloci.com

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