Section 498 A IPC- Subjecting a Married Woman to Cruelty
Shreya Srivastava*
Section 498 A IPC was introduced in 1983 with an aim to protect married women from cruelty they were facing in their marital homes. The persons who can be implicated under the provision are husbands, or relatives of husbands, who have treated the woman with cruelty. Cruelty is defined as any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive a woman to commit suicide, or cause grave injury or danger to life, limb and health of the woman. This injury can be caused either to her body or mind. Thus, cruelty includes both physical and mental cruelty. Cruelty against the woman can also be to extract dowry from her, or, if a dowry demand previously made has not been complied with.
The section prescribes a maximum punishment of three years as well as a fine. The offence of Section 498 A is non bailable i.e. the accused will have to apply to the court to secure a bail by submission of a bail bond. However, the court can reject thebail if the accused has tried to abscond or there is grave suspicion or credible information against him/her.
The complaint of 498 A can only be filed by the aggrieved woman, or, her father, mother, brother, sister, or any person related to her by blood (i.e. her relatives), marriage (i.e. her husband’s relatives) or adoption. When an FIR is registered with the police station, the court will take cognizance only when a police report is submitted to the magistrate. This report must specify all the facts on the basis of which the complaint has been registered and an arrest has been made by the police.
Sometimes, the police also tries to bring about a conciliation between the parties. However, this conciliation must not be detrimental to the safety and health of the woman. If the woman feels that withdrawing the complaint or going back to the matrimonial home will be injurious to her, she can go to her natal family or shelter homes established by the states. Further, the offence is not compoundable i.e. a compromise cannot be entered into between the parties to close litigation and drop charges against the accused.
*The author is Assistant Professor of Law at Institute of Law, NirmaUniversity, Ahmedabad
While the law exists to safeguard the rights of a woman to live with dignity and security in her marital home, Section 498 A has also been misused by several women, to the extent that it is feared a kind of ‘legal terrorism’ maybe unleashed by women against their husbands and his relatives. In order to avoid the misuse of the provision, the provisions of arrest that are mentioned in the Code of Criminal Procedure must be followed by the police personnel. The police must not register the FIR without application of mind, that is to say, the police must scrutinise the complaints carefully and register the FIR only against those family members against whom there is credible information or reasonable suspicion exists.