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At some point in time, undeniably women in comparison with men are more often victimized in cases of domestic violence on the wife both by the husband and the husband’s family. However, in cases of false allegations men fall prey to more than women do. The explicit purpose of Section 498A IPC is the protection of women who may be victimized as a result of a conspiracy or an unholy nexus between the husband and the husband’s family. Increasingly though, truly innocent men & their families have been mercilessly maligned as a result of married women misusing the legal system.What is Section 498A?Directly quoting IPC Section 498A mentions – “Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty shall be subject to imprisonment for a term of three years and shall also be liable to fine.”Currently, though, Section 498A IPC empowers Indian women to lodge grievances against their husbands for mental, physical, as well as psychological or any other ordeal that amounts to harassment. 498a cases are well-known for the provision of punishment if the law is violated or flouted. In other words, the general public is well-aware of 498a cases as there is a pile-up of cases in the pipeline.In this day and age, each and every woman is well-aware of how and when 498a can be used to their advantage as a trump card against any sort of matrimonial disputes. A 498a offense is a cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offense in India. Since the past couple of decades, Indian history is replete with cases of numerous women protection laws being amended and reformed, specifically for the purpose of safeguarding the rights and interests of Indian women. Over the past couple of years though activists have been vociferous and vehemently opposed to any such law that is biased. Over the past couple of years, increasingly misuse or false filing of cases u/s Section 498 IPC has been the trend. These laws, it’s been observed neither protect nor acknowledge or accept the fact that cases of perpetration of abuse to men were more in number in comparison with women which is a reflection of the inherent disparity of the system.  The procedure of seeking protection against Section 498A IPC Given Indian laws are replete with unidentified loopholes the legal recourses for anyone in case a spouse’s motive of misusing the law is known and even indicates registering a false case u/s 498A for personal profit.Get all Evidence & Documents: First and foremost in proving an accusation is false would require gathering all corroborating evidence emphasizing adequately on the 498a case details. One ought to start collating and compiling as much evidence as possible, including: Any discussion amongst the husband’s family member and the wife or any form of communication including SMS, emails, letters, call recordings and so on between the wife or her relatives. Any evidence at all that the wife walked out of her own volition Any proof at all that dowry wasn’t demanded prior to or post-weddingAnticipatory Bail: If the husband thinks his wife may under Section 498A file an FIR, he may have a criminal defense lawyer get an anticipatory bail preventing the husband’s as well as his family member’s arrest.  Anticipatory bail is similar to a precautionary bail averting arrest Any of the spouses can file for an anticipatory bail u/s 438 of Crpc. Quash 498A FIR: Any of the spouses can get the false 498A FIR voided by appealing to the High Court u/s 482 of CrPC[2]. Once an FIR has been filed the Courts are usually reluctant to void an FIR or get involved in the Police process, however, if there is enough evidence, the court can void the fake 498A FIR that the wife may have filed. File an FIR alleging the wife for false 498 A complaint: The husband may file an FIR against his wife as well for blackmailing or filing a fake 498A case against the husband. The Indian police simply do not approve such FIR; the only exception being if the case is invincible even the Police permits/allows such FIR. A good criminal lawyer ought to draft the husband’s complaint so that even the police would be compelled to accept it. If in case the police refuse to register the husband’s FIR, the husband may implicate the officer-in-charge of that police station.File a case for Conjugal Rights Restitution: If the wife has walked out of her matrimonial home and had gone back to live in her parental home, the husband could be filing a case for RCR i.e. restitution of conjugal rights against the wife u/s 9 of Hindu Marriage Act. The husband would have the upper hand and can call the shots and may mention the terms and conditions that she’ll need to be following so that both spouses van live as married couples once again. File a defamation case against false 498A case: A husband can file a defamation case as well against the wife for maligning the husband’s image by filing a fake 498A case against the husband. While 498a case is pursued, the timescale of the case would depend to a great extent on the proof submitted or filed with the court and the efficiency of the husband’s lawyer representing the husband’s case in the court of law.Ways of easing the onslaught of a 498A caseThe Supreme Court had rolled out specific guidelines for the enforcement authorities to follow while dealing with 498A cases in India and they are: At a district level, one or more Family Welfare Committees ought to be established by the District Legal Services Authorities for dealing with cases filed u/s 498AComplaints u/s 498A IPC involving the police or Magistrate must be referred to the committeeThe committee, in turn, ought to investigate the issue and send a report on it within 30 days to the authority that referred the complaint.Until and unless the committee sends the report, no arrests can be made. With a day’s notice, if an anticipatory bail for 498A is filled, it must be decided within that timescaleFamily members personally appearing in court may not be necessary. Appearing through video conferencing ought to be permitted for outstation family members.

INTRODUCTIONMarriage is one of the most significant things in a person’s life which binds an individual. It is a social institution where both the spouse has a responsibility to take care and maintain each other. But with marriage comes a burden called ‘dowry’; this is one of the social evil’s which is not new to the society and still exists. Dowry is the reason, because of which women get killed, harassed, divorced and suffers cruelty both physically and mentally.To ensure the safety of women which they suffered behind the walls of their matrimonial house, the Indian penal code, 1860 was amended in the year 1983 and inserted section 498A which deals with the cruelty of husband and his relatives on the wife.In India matrimonial cruelty is a cognizable, non bailable and non-compoundable offence, which is defined U/S 498A of The Indian Penal Code 1860 in chapter XXA.WHAT IS 498A?498A of The Indian Penal Code is an Indian law; it was inserted in IPC to cease cruelty on women. According to this section it is a crime if you are cruel to your wife or to your relative’s wife. According to law cruelty means-a)    Any willful conduct that is done either to cause serious harm to the women or makes the women mentally so disturbed that she wants to kill herself.b)   It makes it a crime to harass women to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security from the bride’s family to the husband’s family.According to the law the person has commit cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for three years and for a fine.Other laws for the protection of women from cruelty:·       Section 304B IPC 1860·       Section 113-A Indian Evidence Act 1872·       Domestic violence act 2005·       Section 306 IPC 1860TYPES OF CRUELTY ACCORDING TO 498A:a)     Cruelty by unlawful demandb)    Cruelty by committing extra marital affairc)     Cruelty by not accepting female childd)    Cruelty by distressing litigatione)     Cruelty by false attack on purityf)      Cruelty by taking away childreng)    Cruelty by inflicting pain h)    Cruelty that force a person to commits suicideMISUSE OF 498A:India is a patriarchal society where men are subjected as superior and women are subjected as a weaker sex. Cruelty to women by her husband or husband’s relative was not a new issue. In fact, most of the married women suffered from cruelty because of dowry demand and it got so severe that in some situations it became unbearable for the woman who is going through cruelty that they used to end their own life by committing suicide.The ratio of dowry deaths and cruelty by husband or husband’s relative is increasing, and to safeguard the same and to protect them from the violence 498A come into force in the year 1983.According to this section the women who are suffering from cruelty by their husband or husband’s relatives can file a complaint and the officer take prompt action. The offence is cognizable, non bailable and non compoundable who gives security to women that they are safe.The nature of this section is strict the women who are educated know that 498A is non bailable and non compoundable and they misuse it for their personal gain. By using this section, a woman gets to divorce her husband or even gain money as compensation. Sometimes women use this section to take revenge or to get the power of dominance.The section is made to protect women from cruelty and secure their rights but it was misused and because of its strict nature the man who is innocent suffers a lot. It is humiliating for them as it harms their mental health or they become isolated.There are a lot of fake cases registered under this section and the court gives its opinion to find a solution and before arresting a person investigate the matter.The position of women in India is still bad and they need protection but some women do not understand the seriousness of the problem and take undue advantage of the situation which harms the right of others.AMENDMENT:After observing lots of fake cases and heard about the misuse of 498A The Supreme Court amended the section and struck down the family welfare committee, the task of the committee was to examine each case before carrying out the results. Section 498A of the IPC pertains to the domestic violence and dowry harassment faced by the women. The court further said that the police can only arrest the person if they find it necessary and further added that the arrested person can also apply for an anticipatory bail.It was amended in 2018.CASE LAWS:JASBIR KAUR vs. STATE OF HARYANAKANARAJ vs. STATE OF PUNJABSTATE vs. SRIKANTHCONCLUSION:498A was inserted in IPC for the protection of married women from their husband and husband’s relative but now the scenario is different many women took advantage of its non bailable and non compoundable nature and registered a false case.The court has amended the section but still there are loopholes. The section defines cruelty and directs a punishment for 3 years imprisonment and fine also but what about the men who go through mental cruelty because of their wives.The law is equal to both men and women. There are many laws to protect women; to ensure their safety but there is no provision to protect men who is suffering from domestic violence, there should be similar laws to protect harasses husband and his family member from the wife.Laws are made to protect one’s right, but when the people start to misuse it then they should face the consequence. Everything is not a joke, there are women who are helpless and need help from such social evils. They are fighting every day and suffer a lot but because of some women’s foolishness it becomes difficult to grant justice to them. The female who register false case should be penalized with imprisonment and that too rigorousso that the others will not take the provision as a joke and realize the seriousness of the problem.