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Flagging a "growing tendency to misuse" laws protecting women from cruelty by their in-laws, the Supreme Court has said courts must exercise caution while deciding dowry harassment cases to prevent unnecessary harassment of innocent people.
The remarks are significant amid a nationwide debate on the misuse of dowry prohibition laws in the aftermath of a 34-year-old man's suicide in Bengaluru. Before he died by suicide, Atul Subhash recorded an 80-minute video in which he accused his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family of slapping multiple cases on him and his family to extort money from them. Atul Subhash also criticised the justice system in his 24-page suicide note.
The Supreme Court's tough remarks came as it set aside a Telangana High Court order that had refused to strike down a dowry harassment case against a man, his parents and other family members. The court said an examination of the FIR shows that the wife's allegations were "vague and omnibus". It also said that some of the accused have no connection to the matter and "have been dragged into the web of crime without any rhyme or reason".
"A mere reference to the names of family members in a criminal case arising out of a matrimonial dispute, without specific allegations indicating their active involvement should be nipped in the bud," the court said. "It is a well-recognised fact, borne out of judicial experience, that there is often a tendency to implicate all the members of the husband's family when domestic disputes arise out of a matrimonial discord," it added.
Noting that such sweeping accusations unsupported by concrete evidence cannot form the basis for prosecution, the bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said in its order, "Courts must exercise caution in such cases to prevent misuse of legal provisions and the legal process and avoid unnecessary harassment of innocent family members."
The court said Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which punishes cruelty against a woman by her husband or his relatives, was incorporated into a law to ensure swift intervention by the State. With IPC replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 80 now deals with dowry death and Section 85 with cruelty against a woman by her husband or his relatives.
The court noted that in recent years, there has been a notable rise in matrimonial disputes across the country, accompanied by growing discord and tension within the institution of marriage. "...consequently, there has been a growing tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498A of the IPC as a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife.
Making vague and generalised allegations during matrimonial conflicts, if not scrutinized, will lead to the misuse of legal processes and an encouragement for use of arm twisting tactics by a wife and/or her family. Sometimes, recourse is taken to invoke Section 498A of the IPC against the husband and his family in order to seek compliance with the unreasonable demands of a wife," the order said.
The court clarified that it was not stating that any woman who has suffered cruelty should remain silent. "That is not the intention of our aforesaid observations but we should not encourage a case like as in the present one, where as a counterblast to the petition for dissolution of marriage sought by the first appellant-husband of the second respondent herein, a complaint under Section 498A of the IPC is lodged by the latter. In fact, the insertion of the said provision is meant mainly for the protection of a woman who is subjected to cruelty in the matrimonial home primarily due to an unlawful demand for any property or valuable security in the form of dowry. However, sometimes it is misused as in the present case," it said.
In a video he shot before his death, Atul Subhash said he married in 2019 after finding Nikita Singhania on a matchmaking website. The couple had a son the next year. He has alleged that his wife's family would repeatedly demand money running into several lakhs. When he refused to give more money, his wife left the Bengaluru home with their son in 2021.
The next year, Atul wrote in the note, Nikita filed a case against him and his family under multiple sections, including murder and unnatural sex. She alleged that he demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh and this put pressure on her father and he died of a heart attack. "This is some poor bollywood plot. She has already confessed that her father was suffering from long term illness in her cross examination. Her father was getting treated from AIIMS for the last 10 years for heart disease, diabetes etc. Doctors gave him few months and hence we got married quickly," he has said. This case, he said, was subsequently withdrawn.
Atul Subhash accused his wife of filing false cases against his elderly parents and brother, accusing them of assaulting her.
Raging against the law dealing with such cases, Atul wrote in his suicide note, "The more I work hard and become better at my work, the more I and my family will be harassed and extorted and the whole legal system will encourage and help my harassers... Now, with me gone, there won't be any money and there won't be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body but it has saved everything I believe in."