On Monday, the Calcutta High Court said that women have kicked off ‘legal terrorism’ with the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a provision which criminalises cruelty against a woman by her husband or his relatives.
Single-Judge Justice Subhendu Samanta said that Section 498A was formed to provide protection to the women and ensure their welfare but it is being misused by filing false cases. In the last few years, false cases filed under Section 498A have seen a drastic rise which has come up as a matter of concern for the judiciary.
The judge observed, “The legislature has enacted the provision of Section 498A to strike out the dowry menace from the society. But it is observed in several cases that by misusing of said provision new legal terrorism is unleashed.“
Harassment and torture enumerated in the definition of cruelty under Section 498A cannot be proved solely by the defacto complainant (wife).
The Court underscored while quashing a Section 498A case filed against a man and his family members, “The criminal law allows a complainant to file a criminal complaint but the same has to be justified by adducing cogent evidence.“
The Court was hearing a plea filed by the man and his family members for challenging the criminal cases lodged against them by his estranged wife. The cases were filed in October and December 2017.
According to the plea, firstly, the wife had lodged a case against the petitioner (husband) in October 2017 in which she accused him of subjecting her to cruelty; mental and physical both.
Pursuant to that, the police recorded the statements of some witnesses and the neighbors of the couple. However, the police noted that the wife had made only general and omnibus allegations against the husband.
Further, the wife filed another complaint in December 2017, this time against the family members of the husband, and also accused them of cruelty and subjecting her to mental and physical torture.
The Court further noted that no evidence establishing prima facie offence against the present petitioners was taken on record.
The Court opined, “The direct allegation against the husband by the de-facto complainant is merely from her version. It supports no documentary or medical evidence. One neighbour has heard about the quarrel of the wife and her husband; the quarrel of two persons does not mean or prove who is in aggression or who is aggrieved.“
The Court further noted that after their marriage, the couple were residing in one apartment that was separate from the relatives of the husband who were living in another apartment.
Thus, the Court said, “I am of a view that the instant criminal proceedings initiated by the de-facto complainant against the husband and in-laws does not disclose prima facie offence against them as alleged. The proceeding are instituted only to fulfil personal grudge. Considering the circumstances, I think it necessary to invoke the inherent power of this court to quash the proceedings otherwise the continuation of the criminal proceedings would be tantamount to the abuse of process of court.”
Based on the thorough observations, the Court quashed the case.
Senior Advocate Ayan Bhattacharjee and advocates Sharequl Haque and Debarka Guha represented the petitioners.
Advocates Saswata Gopal Mukherjee, Imran Ali, and Debjani Sahu represented the State.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/women-unleashed-legal-terrorism-misusing-section-498a-ipc-calcutta-high-court