Women Need To Realise That Beneficial Laws Aren't Means To Threaten, Domineer Or Extort From Their Husbands : Supreme Court

Once again expressing concerns about the misuse of domestic violence and dowry laws by disgruntled wives, the Supreme Court cautioned women not to abuse the laws which are meant for their protection.

The Court observed that more often than not, provisions like Section 498A (cruelty), 376(rape), 377(unnatural sex), and 506(criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code are invoked as a "combined package" to pressurise the husband to accede to the demands of the wife in matrimonial cases.

While dissolving a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, the bench compriisng Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice NK Singh observed :

"The provisions in the criminal law are for the protection and empowerment of women but sometimes are used by certain women more for purposes that they are never meant for. In recent times, the invocation of Sections 498A, 376, 377, 506 of the IPC as a combined package in most of the complaints related to matrimonial disputes is a practice which has been condemned by this Court on several occasions."

"In certain cases, the wife and her family tend to use a criminal complaint with all the above serious offences as a platform for negotiation and as a mechanism and a tool to get the husband and his family to comply with their demands, which are mostly monetary in nature," the Court added. Sometimes this is done in a fit of rage, while at times, it is a "planned strategy."

The Court added that the involvement of other parties and stakeholders worsens the situation, as they may often "devise such crafty strategies for the women to adopt such arm-twisting tactics for their ulterior motives." In some cases, police personnel are quick to jump into action to arrest the husband and his relatives, including aged parents and bedridden grandparents. Many often, trial courts refuse bail.

The overall effect is that minor disputes snowball into "ugly prodigious battles of ego and reputation" and "washing dirty linen in public", eventually leading to the relationship turning sour to the extent that there remains no possibility of reconciliation or cohabitation.

"The women need to be careful about the fact that these strict provisions of law in their hands are beneficial legislations for their welfare and not means to chastise, threaten, domineer or extort from their husbands," the Court advised.

Last week, the same bench had raised similar concerns about the misuse of Section 498A IPC in Dara Lakshmi Narayana vs. State of Telangana, saying "Sometimes, recourse is taken to invoke Section 498A of the IPC against the husband and his family in order to seek compliance with the unreasonable demands of a wife. Consequently, this Court has, time and again, cautioned against prosecuting the husband and his family in the absence of a clear prima facie case against them."

Hindu marriage a sacrement

Justice Nagarathna observed in the judgment that spouses in many cases forget that Hindu marriage is a sacrament and is considered to be a sacred institution. The observations made in Dolly Rani vs. Manish Kumar Chanchal that at Hindu Marriage is a sacred institution and should not be trivialized as a mere social event for "song and dance" and "wining and dining" were reiterated.

Also from the judgment- Ex-Husband Can't Be Expected To Maintain Ex-Wife As Per His Present Status All Life; Alimony Not To Equalise Wealth : Supreme Court