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Harassed Husbands : News By Sahara Time on Oct,5,2007 |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
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Harassed Husbands : News By Sahara Time on Oct,5,2007 ARE WOMEN USING THE ANTI-DOWRY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAWS TO TORMENT THEIR
HUSBANDS? ARE MEN BEING VICTIMISED FOR MONEY? AN INCREASING NUMBER OF SUCH CASES POINTS TOWARDS A DISTURBING NEW TREND IN INDIAN SOCIETY
Vinod K Shukla & Ashutosh Mishra
* Dilip Kumar Kar’s life turned into a tragedy following constant ill treatment at the hands of his wife. While he suffers in isolation, his wife now prefers to stay in her paternal house with their only son.
* 42-year-old Sheikh Moiuddin was driven out of his house by his spouse. The man is presently living alone in a rented house at Golarhat under Derabish block of Orissa.
* Madho Singh Chauhan – a 55-year-old automobile businessman – is forced to live in a solitary room of his own house as he is threatened and victimised under the provisions of 498A – the Dowry Act.
* Vikash Tuteja (name changed) who is in his late 30s had to pay his wife a hefty Rs 12 lakh as the settlement amount in his marriage dispute. It is 498A again that has spoiled his life as his in-laws have been using it quite frequently to extract money from him.
It’s a role reversal of sorts. After being at the receiving end of male oppression and repression for a long time, women seem to be hitting back with a vengeance. And it is now the turn of the men to cry foul and seek protection from their marauding wives. In Orissa, there is even a demand for setting up a commission for men on the lines of the women’s commission which already exists.
Significantly, the latest debate on male persecution was sparked off following a newspaper report which quoted the Orissa women’s commission chairperson, Namita Panda, as saying that the number of cases of atrocities against men by women was rising in the state and the commission had registered 38 such cases since May 2007. However, with her statement drawing the ire of women activists Panda has clammed up, refusing to be drawn further into the controversy.
It is not Orissa alone. The better half seems to be turning into the bitter half across the country. Police officials admit that with dowry prohibition laws heavily tilted in favour of women, the chances of their misuse cannot be ruled out. The misuse is most pronounced with regard to sections 498A and 406 of the IPC, a fact that even some women activists admit albeit grudgingly. Nonetheless, Tapasi Praharaj, a well-known campaigner for women’s rights, says that it is wrong to project women as wicked and the torturers of their spouses because given the traditional structure of Indian society they still remain at the receiving end of atrocities perpetrated by men.
In Bangalore, there are over 300 such cases registered with an NGO, Asha Kirana, which also runs a helpline for harassed husbands. Activist Girish who is also a victim, says that there are hundreds of husbands who are silently putting up with cruel wives. Says he: “Our various laws including the recent Domestic Violence Act also support the wife even when she is in the wrong. Even before the case is investigated, the police and the judiciary sympathise with the wife. Precisely for this very reason women who are bent on punishing men use the laws very convincingly. There are several instances where even though the husband is the real victim of harassment from his in-laws and relatives, he loses out heavily on money and property.”
Why is it that suddenly cases of harassed husbands are on the rise? Activists are o f the opinion that the increase in economic independence, materialism, promiscuity, incompatibility and social acceptance to name only a few trends are encouraging women to constantly invoke IPC 498A along with the Dowry Prohibition Act and the recent Domestic Violence Act to get out of a marriage. Earlier, once married, a woman had no choice but to stay put with the husband. But with society taking an increasingly lenient view of divorce, second marriages and live-in couples – at least in the urban areas – matrimonial relations have become strained.
Several networking groups have urged the government to review Section 498A and the Domestic Violence Act. To start with, the activists want the sub-clause of taking the aged parents and the wards of the husband into custody to be scrapped immediately so that they are not unnecessarily harassed for no fault of theirs. However, Bangalore NGOs, which are actively involved in marriage counseling, just want totally unbiased laws which view men and women on an equal footing.
Quite often, cases under Sec 498 A turn out to be false as repeatedly acknowledged by the high courts and the Supreme Court. The Act is often used as a tool for blackmailing husbands or their close relatives in a strained marriage. In most of the cases under 498A, the complaint is followed by the demand for a huge amount of money (extortion) to settle the case out of court. There have been instances where, without any investigation, the police have arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant women and even children. In these cases the husband's family has to go through a lot of mental torture and harassment. A typical case goes on for years (at least 5 to 7 years) and the conviction rate is only around 2%. Some of the accused even commit suicide inside the jail, said one of the volunteers of the 498a.org – a website providing help to victims of this law.
A Supreme Court bench comprising justice Arijit Pasayat and justice HK Sema in the case of Sushil Kumar Sharma Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors - July 19, 2005-said that many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with an ulterior motive. “The question, therefore, is what remedial measures can be taken to prevent abuse of the well-intentioned provision. Merely because the provision is constitutional and intra vires, does not give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreak personal vendetta or unleash harassment. It may, therefore, become necessary for the legislature to find out ways how the makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with. Till then the courts have to take care of the situation within the existing framework. As noted above the objective is to strike at the roots of the dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used as a shield and not as an assassin's weapon.”
Around 60,000 cases get registered every year under the dowry law. “There are provisions at certain places including Delhi that the matter is first referred to the women’s cell and on its recommendation the case is registered,” Awanish Sinha, a Supreme Court lawyer, s complaint by the aggrieved party. Direct FIRs are being registered by disobeying the law. Even if a false complaint of harassment is registered, the husband's parents and relatives are immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars on non-bailable terms. You shall be presumed guilty until you prove that you are innocent,” Sharma adds.
The controversy notwithstanding, there is no denying the fact that men have been complaining of harassment from their spouses in increasing numbers. In Orissa, quite a large number of such complaints have been coming from the coastal Kendrapara district, which is equally notorious for dowry-related crimes. Sources said the district has reported as many as 19 such cases with most of them being referred to the police.
The dowry law claims to provide safety and security to women in Indian society. However, it seems to be working the other way around by widening the chasm in matrimonial relationships. “I know several cases where the women are targeting their in-laws through this draconian law by alleging that such and such persons in the family are demanding dowry,” said R P Chugh of the Crime Against Men Cell.
“There are several cases where the husbands were earning a handsome salary and a case of dowry was slapped against them. The women are misguided by the family and sometimes by the lawyers to extract money,”said Gurubaksh Singh, secretary, Save Family Foundation.
“If a case of harassment is there on grounds of dowry then the demand should be for punishment. But there are two interesting phenomenon to this: One, there are very few convictions and the other is that most of these cases are settled by paying money to the woman,” Chugh said.
“The dowry law is not read properly. The police cannot immediately register 498A, as they have to satisfy the magistrate. The police register 498A along with other cases such as 406, Sec 3 and 4 of dowry prohibition with 155 (4) of the CrPC. This makes the case cognizable and the police can make arrests. The arrest is one-sided, however. Sec 3 is for giving dowry and the person who abets it,” says Sharma.
“Like a law can be broken or mended to suit oneself, so are the laws regarding women broken at times,” says Shaila Mehta, president, Maharashtra State Women’s Council. According to Mehta it is very rare that the women accuse the family on false grounds just to harass them, though she does not deny that such cases do come up sometimes.
Mahesh Parekh, a practicing lawyer at the Family Court says, “One out of 12 cases is a vindictive case. It’s not as though there is no truth, but yes at times it is blown out of proportion to make the husband and the in-laws look criminal and thus fetch them punishment accordingly.”
National Commission for Women chairperson Girja Vyas says, "The NCW has the mandate to review all existing provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women, and to recommend changes, if any." And according to Rashmi Verma, an IAS officer dealing with issues related to gender equality, “Many of the Acts that still continue are very old and need to be updated keeping in mind the recent changes in society.”
–With Soni Sinha, Pragya Bharati and B Shekhar
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Last Updated ( 2007-10-19 06:59:35 )
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