498A: How to Harass Husbands in India. Part - 1

It is widely assumed that it is a male-dominated society in India.  

Notwithstanding, the Indian laws are totally female-dominated.

India was always supposed to have a male-dominated society. But, with certain laws under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), it does not seem to be the case anymore. The Indian Constitution has handed the fundamental right “Right to Equality” to all citizens of India.

Photo Courtesy: Law Is Greek

Then, why do we have the marital laws enforced in such a way that only the wife and her family gets benefitted from them, while the husband and his family is subjected to all the harassment in the world? A typical law of such nature is: If a married woman commits suicide, the husband and his parents will be immediately arrested and subjected to imprisonment without any investigation, presuming it’s a case of dowry harassment.

Until the investigation is completed, they will have to remain in prison. Whereas, if a married man commits suicide, the wife will be subjected to 50% of the husband’s property.

Is this what we call “equality”?

 

Photo Courtesy: Legal Fighter

Another law that is being highly misused is “The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005”. This law assumes that all victims of domestic violence are women and it does not give a man a chance to complain or seek justice if he is being harassed or abused by his wife. It also assumes that wives are always honest and truthful. Therefore, proof and evidence to support the allegations of abuse are not required. Leave the “Right to Equality”, where is the “Right to Justice” for the husbands?

Passed by the Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code Section 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 Cognizable, non-compoundable, and non-bailable.”

Photo Courtesy: Stand Up For A Cause

Do we have a similar law which defines that if a woman subjects his husband to cruelty or mental harassment, then she and her family will be subjected to imprisonment? Where is the so-called “equality” then?

Example Case 1: Verdict of a Bail Application in July 2005

Bail Application No. xxxx/2005

*

1. Petitioner, husband of Rupa (name changed), is an accused in FIR No. xxx/05 under Section 498A/307/34 IPC. He is in judicial custody since 8.5.2005. Learned counsel for the petitioner presses for bail stating that Rupa consumed some poisonous substance and it was the petitioner who took Rupa to M.B.Hospital, Poothkalan, Delhi and Rupa was discharged at the said hospital on the same date after some treatment. Counsel states that this shows that condition of Rupa was not serious. Counsel further states that the possibility of Rupa consuming something out of haste or in a state of depression cannot be ruled out.

2. FIR has been registered pursuant to a statement of Rupa in which she has alleged dowry harassment at the hands of her husband. It is to be noted that father-in-law and mother-in-law as also the other members of in-laws family are residing in the same house, but Rupa has not implicated any other family member except her 'Nandoi'. In her statement, Rupa has categorically stated that the petitioner under threat of shooting her forced her to eat some tablets. She refused. At that stage, her 'Nandoi' joined and her husband forcibly administered some tablets to her and her 'Nandoi' gave a glass of water to her husband and her husband forced water into her gullet.

3. Record of M.B. Hospital, Poothkhurd, Delhi shows that Rupa was taken at her mother on her own responsibility to Maharaja Uggersain Hospital. Record does not show that Rupa was discharged by M.B.Hospital, Poothkhurd, Delhi.

4. Counsel for the State submits that people are generally unhappy with the Government hospitals and probably for this reason, mother of Rupa took her to a private hospital.

5. In any case, contention of the petitioner that Rupa was discharged on the same day from M.B.Hospital is contrary to the medical records.

6. I have perused the FIR. Rupa has only implicated her husband as the person demanding dowry. On the particular incident she has also named her Nandoi. Her statement appears to be truthful as she has not implicated any other family member of her in-laws, a general trend noticed by this Court in most complaints by the aggrieved wives.

7. Considering the statement of Rupa, the manner in which the offence is stated to have been committed, the pious relationship which the petitioner expected is to have with his wife, breach of trust and safety which the wife could see in her husband's house, at this stage, I am not inclined to admit the petitioner to bail. Dismissed.

**One can easily see the grounds on which the bail was dismissed. If the wife has not accused anyone except her Nandoi, then does that logically imply that her husband and Nandoi were truly the criminals?

What if it was just the first stepping stone for the wife who was inclined to leave the husband’s house at any cost, for some extra-marital reasons? What if she just wanted to punish them for any unforeseeable reason?

How can she be taken to another hospital without getting released from M.B. Hospital? Are the medical records real?

Will anyone investigate into the facts, rather than blindly believing in what a woman has to say!!!

It was always understood that women constitute the “weaker” section of the society. But, does that mean that in each and every field, we give priority and a proper hearing to what a wife has to say, and believe her without listening to the husband or his family? Over the past 2 years, we have seen an exponential rise in such cases, all over the country.

... To be continued

Domestic Violence Act - WTF!

What does it mean?

The Domestic Violence Act 2005 was brought into force by the Indian Government since Oct- 2006. Primarily meant to provide protection to the wife or female live-in partner from domestic violence at the hands of the husband or male live-in partner or his relatives, also extends to women who are sisters, widows, or mothers. It includes actual abuse or threat, whether sexual, verbal, emotional, or economic.

Points to remember

• The expression ‘a relative’ in the Act, holds for a female relative as well. Hence, the wife can also get the husband’s mother/ sister / other female relatives prosecuted
• “Domestic violence" includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic. Harassment by way of unlawful dowry demands to the woman or her relatives would also be covered under this definition. Hence, any form of harassment or violence can be trusted merely on the basis of the word-of-mouth of the aggrieved

• The Act provides for breach of protection order or interim protection order by the respondent as a cognizable and non-bail able offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Similarly, non-compliance or discharge of duties by the Protection Officer is also sought to be made an offence under the Act with similar punishment
• “Physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the victim and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force. Hence, if there is a verbal threat, or, an actual one, the aggrieved can get the husband prosecuted
• The draft Act provides for appointment of Protection Officers and NGOs to provide assistance to the woman w.r.t medical examination, legal aid, safe shelter, etc. Hence, if you are out of shelter due to an abuse by your husband, these NGOs can provide you shelter and interim legal aid.

• The other relief envisaged under the Act is that of the power of the court to pass protection orders that prevent the abuser from aiding or committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified act, entering a workplace or any other place frequented by the abused, attempting to communicate with the abused, isolating any assets used by both the parties and causing violence to the abused, her relatives and others who provide her assistance from the domestic violence
• The Act not only covers physical harassment but also mental harassment. Even a sophisticated judge may have difficulty deciding if an act really caused mental harassment. On several occasions, the judge changes his mind many times on deciding if an act is mental harassment or not, but the law says that she can go to the protection officer to file the case
• In case a victim wishes to continue to live in her marital home, the magistrate may give a Residence Order, which protects her right to stay in the shared household or in an alternative accommodation to be arranged by her husband or male partner.

• A Protection Order by the magistrate will prevent the accused from perpetrating further violence, and from disposing of her property
• A Monetary Relief Order will ensure reimbursement of medical expenses, and maintenance for the victim and her children
• A Custody Order will restore the children to the victim
• A Compensation Order can be given against the physical and mental injury and pain caused by domestic violence, and the loss of wages suffered thereof by the victim. The magistrate also has the authority to issue interim reliefs to protect the victim and her property
• If the orders are violated by the perpetrator, he will be forced to pay a fine of up to Rs. 20,000 and/or imprisonment up to one year
• All orders will only be passed against a husband, ONLY after the “Domestic Violence” have been proved

Flaws in this Law

As per this law, only a woman can file a complaint against her male partner. A man, who is a victim of domestic violence, has no rights under this law. The fact is that it has been comprehensively proven in numerous studies that women are no less abusive as men in intimate relationships. Giving such sweeping legal powers to women while withholding protection to male victims, is tantamount to systematic legal victimization of men. In the western world, the domestic violence laws are gender neutral and provide protection to the victims, both men and women. The fact that the Indian version explicitly prohibits any male victim to seek relief under this law defies all logic and is beyond comprehension

The second significant flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to “teach a lesson” to their male relatives and will file frivolous and false cases

A similar trend is already being observed in the case of anti-dowry law (498a), which is being misused to such an extent that the Supreme Court has termed it “Legal Terrorism”. To illustrate how easy it is to misuse the DV law, consider the scenarios below:

• If she demands any amount of money from him, for any reason whatsoever, he is legally bound to pay that amount in full, failing which he can be imprisoned. Under the pretext of preventing economic abuse of women, this law legalizes the extortion of money by women. Interestingly, if he asks for money from her, he can be jailed for that as well. Furthermore, he is responsible for paying the rent if the couple resides in a shared rented accommodation
• As per the law, she retains the right to the residence. This is a very convenient means of getting control of the house regardless of whether she has any legal right on the property. Moreover, if he is booked under DV, he is responsible for paying the rent as well, even though he may not be allowed to live in the house or he might even be in jail

Distribution of suicides by Men and Women in India, 2011

• If she decides not to cook and wishes to eat out in a restaurant every day, he cannot afford not to oblige, lest he invites the DV provision for “not providing food”, for which he could be jailed.
• If she has an affair and he tries to prevent her from meeting her lover, he could be punished under the DV act, as he is preventing her from meeting someone
• He can be booked under the DV act if she feels that she has been insulted. Insult is a relative term, which is totally left to her discretion. Interestingly, if she insults and abuses him verbally or even physically, he does not have any legal recourse in this law

The third major flaw in this law is that it provides an all-encompassing definition of domestic violence and some terms (insults, name calling) are extremely subjective. The radical feminists claim that 70% of women in India face domestic violence which comes as no surprise as even an insult is considered domestic violence. Interestingly, they are mum on how many Indian men suffer domestic violence using the same criteria. This law strikes at the very foundation of marriage by promoting intolerance and litigation for petty domestic disputes. It is universally recognized that from time to time differences arise in a marriage and sometimes people, both men and women, behave in hurtful ways towards each other. Most people, though, are able to work them out and lead a more or less happy life with their loved one. However, this law makes it very easy to escalate the domestic problems in daily life to such a level that it eventually leads to a breakdown in marriage. Once a man has been accused of domestic violence for a something relatively minor (insult), while he might have been subjected to the same treatment from her, he will perpetually feel threatened by his partner and that is the beginning of the end. This law will lead to more divorces, broken homes and the children will pay the ultimate price by getting deprived of a pleasant childhood.

FACTS and figures

• More than 80% of Domestic Violence cases and more than 98% of 498a cases filed in India, in the last 5 years, have been found to be false
• Article 21 of Indian Constitution says that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. But every year, over 1 lakh innocent husbands are arrested under IPC Section 498A, including 4000 innocent senior citizens, and 350 children, without evidence or investigation
• Article 14 of the Indian Constitution declares that “ The State shall not deny to any person, equality before the law, or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India”. But Indian laws against domestic violence blatantly deny protection to men against any form of domestic abuse
• Every year, over 56,000 married men commit suicide due to verbal, emotional, economic and physical abuse, and legal harassment

• Unbiased research on Domestic Violence shows that:

1. Domestic Violence is not a gender issue
2. Women initiate domestic violence just as frequently as men do
3. Men and children are less likely to report the incident when they are abused by their wives/ girlfriends, and mothers, respectively
4. Women’s organizations spread myths (e.g. Men are ALWAYS the aggressors, and women are ALWAYS the victims)
5. Media coverage is often biased (A young married woman committing suicide is attributed to as a ‘dowry death’; a young married man committing suicide is attributed to financial/ family problems or ‘mysterious reasons’)
6. Politicians and bureaucrats find no incentive in addressing domestic violence against men, children, and fellow women

Is this law to bring peace to the country, or to ruin the existence of men? I ask the Indian Government, and its lawmakers, Where is the “Right to Equality” and the “Right to Justice” for a married man?

For getting over the ‘death to girl child’ situation in early 80s, are we actually giving rise to something which would cause ‘death to boy child’? Does the Indian Government want India to be a woman-only country?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

Sources - Wikipedia, The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Hindu, lawyerscollective, dsw.gnu.ac.in, 498a.org, Save Indian Family