Ganapathi Bhat
The recent Supreme Court (SC) judgment on dowry harassment has opened a Pandora’s box. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), relating to the same, was better armed after an amendment to the 1860 Act in 1983. Though Section 304B IPC deals with deaths caused directly by dowry intimidation; it was 498A which became the bone of contention for husbands and in-laws. Cruelty and harassment were two words which led to debates and discussion.
Section 498A allowed for an immediate arrest of those named by the aggrieved woman. The offence was non-cognizable which permitted the police to arrest the ‘accused’ without warrant and begin investigation without nod of the magistrate. Inarguably, the section provided great succour to a woman who faced insurmountable dowry hardship at her in-law’s place.
In a patriarchal society, where many parents consider a son as a boon and a daughter as their bane, a pro-active law was indeed the need of the hour to arm our girls. With no support of their parents, and nowhere to go, helpless women were driven to the brink of suicide. Dependent women with little education suffered more than their educated counterparts. However, misuse of the section, which had become a raging subject for legal experts and common citizens, was Section 498A’s shortcoming.
There were instances galore of women armed with 498A, unhappy with their husband or in-laws for one reason or the other, filing “dowry harassment” cases with impunity leading to arrests of the whole family including aged septuagenarian members. Genuine cases became casualties going by the abysmal conviction rates in dowry cases. Most unfortunately, there were no mechanism in place to verify the authenticity of the complaints.
The SC has now ruled there will be no immediate arrest on dowry complaints. Instead, all such complaints will go to a “family welfare committee” (FWC) to be set-up in each district which will “talk” to the complainant and the complainee in detail and report to the “designated investigation officer” of the local police station within one month who will then conduct an inquiry based on the findings of the FWC.
No law is without loopholes; its effective implementation is the key. It is interesting how the new system will work out because the integrity of the FWC and the police is paramount as no arrests are to be made till the FWC report.
Perhaps, if the police had struck a fine balance with 498A, there wasn’t any need for the court’s intervention.
