Do not repeal S.498-A

@ Sh. Prabhakar,

Nice write up (besides the point some wordings in it I disagree). However, in your favor quick short charge back take as follows;


Source:
https://www.indianexpress.com/story/299777.html


Title: Supreme Court refuses pleas citing executive domain
Express News ServicePosted online: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 2325 hrs


NEW DELHI, APR 21: Even as the Supreme Court is engulfed in a debate over the line separating judicial overreach and judicial activism, it seems to have decided to carefully tread the path. This was evident on Monday, as the apex court refused to entertain two petitions, which it described as “not within the four corners of law”.


In the first case, the petitioner, an advocate, urged the court to issue directions to the Government to provide subsidy for those willing to undertake religious trips similar to the Haj of Muslims, while in the second one, the petitioners wanted certain sections of Dowry Prohibition Act repealed. But a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan observed that “courts cannot pass such directions.”


Advocate Ashok Kumar Pandey had filed the PIL challenging an Allahabad High Court order which refused subsidy for people of other religious faith as granted by the Government to Muslims for Haj pilgrimage.


He had sought subsidised travel for Hindus visiting religious places in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.


In the other case, which demanded that several sections of Dowry Act be repealed, Vijai Kumar Dwivedi and Chandra Gopal Dwivedi alleged before the Court that dowry laws have now become devil’s weapons in the hands of estranged, disloyal wives.


“We cannot direct the Parliament to repeal the law,” said the Bench, also comprising Justice R V Raveendran.

@ Sh Prabhakar,

On "equity note" here are our submissions:-

TADA and 498A are more or less the same legal framework , if TADA can be repealed why not 498A ?
 

Below are the relative comparisons of the Indian TADA and IPC section 498A. It is amply clear hat both laws have the same legal framework like considering the accused guilty under proven innocent and arrests without evidence or investigations .They have led to the same type of human rights violations although human rights violations in 498A have been far more severe and devastating. So why was the TADA law allowed to be repealed and the government is hesitant in repealing or amending section 498A. Has militant feminism today become even more powerful than actual militants? The below article investigates.

The definition of  Terrorism

The term "terrorism" comes from the French word terrorisme, which is based on the Latin verb terrere (to cause to tremble). It dates back to 1795 when it was used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club in their rule of post-Revolutionary France, the so-called "Reign of Terror". Jacobins are rumored to have coined the term "terrorists" to refer to themselves. Terrorism refers to a strategy of using violence, social threats, or coordinated attacks, in order to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, brings about compliance with specified political, religious, or ideological demands. Terrorism can be used by motivated individuals or organizations to disrupt an existing process and make other individuals or government give in to demands which under normal circumstances cannot be met . Terrorism under TADA normally referred to misuses of weapons like rifles , RDX etc while Terrorism under 498A referred to the use of the state machinery to wreck havoc on the opposite party to force them abide by unreasonable demands .

How are TADA and 498A similar ?
The carnage of TADA

The Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) was created in 1985 (amended 1987)  The abuse of the act led to  led to tens of thousands of politically motivated detentions, torture, and other human rights violations. TADA was as a tool to fight trade unions and to detain Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits, and political opponents. Over 76,000 people were arrested while TADA was in force from 1987 to 1995.  The conviction rate for these arrests was less than one percent Out of 200 people charged under TADA only one person will be convicted, which just proves how unfair and ridiculous the Act is. TADA allowed for people to be detained in police custody for up to six months without charge or trial. Data gathered on 1997 said that as of August 1997 there were there are an estimated 65.000 TADA detainees in Indian prisons. The detainees and their families go through so much unnecessary heartache and suffering.  This Act can in many ways be seen by some Muslims as prejudiced for example in 1995, 228 TADA cases were registered in Rajastan, 101 were against Muslims, 96 against Sikhs and 3 against Hindus. There is no bail under the TADA Act and appeals can only be made to the Supreme Court in Delhi. Thousands of people are unfortunately precluded this right as the court is in Delhi, families would have to undertake very expensive long journeys. To obtain a lawyer for the Supreme Court the minimum cost would be RS 250.000, which is £4.200 a large amount to raise even by western standards.  The TADA Act is against one of the basic points of the Indian Constitution, that a person is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty. TADA presumes that people are guilty until they are proven innocent. 

The carnage of 498A is still ongoing ....!

If abuse of TADA equal that if a carnage then abuse of 498a approach that of a genocide .Section 498A was inserted into the penal code in 1983. The abuse of 498A leads to more than 75000 cases being filed all over India. 498a is used by motivated and bl**dy minded wives to misuse the Indian state machinery to arrest her husband and his entire family and then make them agree to unjustified demands or face jail time. Just like TADA , 498a also considers the  accused to be guilty  until proven innocent. Over 126000 women and children and 3 million men have been arrested without any evidence or investigation under 498a. Over 56000 husbands have been driven to suicide annually due to the misuse of these laws while. These people languish in jails and police lockups for days on end. Just like TADA was looked upon as prejudiced against Muslims, 498a is completely prejudiced against Husbands and their families. The Police never register a case for giving dowry as has been mandated by the law under section of the Dowry Prohibition act but immediately arrest the husband and his family under allegations of taking dowry. Like TADA victims of misuse of 498a have to battle false cases against the government of India for decades on end that cost their life savings. The wife and their families do not have to spend any money as the government draws from  the tax payers money to fight their false cases also causing a huge loss to the nation. The conviction rate in 498a is even lower than TADA. Cases where 498a alone is used the conviction rate is close to 0% .The overall statistics says that over 98% of 498a cases are false to begin with . The supreme court of India has called misuse of 498a as legal terrorism.

Why is 498a more dangerous than TADA?

1. S. 498a is state sponsored terrorism. Indian State itself provides the weapons of terrorism in the form of laws. The government provided law is a weapon of terrorism.

2. Indian state spends exchequers money to fight false cases. This is leading to massive loss of revenue which could have been used in a better way to improve judicial infrastructure.

3. Government lacks commitment to fight legal terrorism unleashed through misuse of section 498a even through it is clear that 498a is a lot more deadly than TADA when misused.
 

No. Both Tada and S. 498-A are non-comparable.

TADA/Pota is peventive detention Act.  That is an Act itself and not a provision in IPC.  Cr.P.C. is not applicable as well as bail and anticipatory bail provisions, which are integral part of Cr.P.C. are not applicable in TADA/POTA.  As it was preventive detention Act, which was a procedural and substantive law, the detention can be scrutinized before the Advisory Board, which was executive nature and till that time, the person could be put behind the bars.  Here, the complainant is the State itself.  The trial will be held in the Special court presided by the the judge not lower than the rank of Addl. Sessions Judge.

Now, S. 498-A is a provision in I.P.C. and a mild provision of having only 3 years imprisonment as punishment and can be tried by the lowest criminal court, i.e., first class magistrate.  Cr.P.C. is applicable and bail and anticipatory bail provisions are available.  the accused generally gets bail quickly and  in any case he will not be put more than 15 days in jail.  Howmuch estranged the wife will be, comparing her terrorist is neither in good taste nor proper. 

Calling all the wives, who invoke S. 498-A, some times terrorists, some times beggar, some times domestic servant etc. is not  at all in good taste.  Without considering the facts case to case basis, generalizing all the women, who invoke S. 498-A as cunning women  is far from truth.  Shedding crocodile tears about the plight of rural women, women living in towns, who are not resorting to S. 498-A and advocating that they need the assistance of S. 498-A and criticising the urban women for invoking this section show the double standards.  If rural and town women resort to S. 498-A,they are also attacked with prejudice.  Going through S.304-B dowry death judgments (not police complaints, but judgments after full fledged trial) show that even in urban areas, women are not safe from dowry deaths.   Demanding that the complainant of S.498-A shall be punished if they fail to prove their allegations by not providing maintenance available to them in civil law and denying them custodial rights of children and outrightly granting divorce to the husband - all these are to discourage that particular sections of women, who are victims of violence described in S. 498-A is anticonstitutional, dictatorial and male chauvanism.  The people who know criminal law will laugh at by hearing such horrible demands.   

NO NO AM NOT GOING TO REPEAL IT, BUT CAN'T SAY, WHAT PERLIAMENT WILL DO.

I Thank and agree with Adv. Prabhakar. In all criminal cases conviction rate is very low (it varies betwn 1 to 2 %), so, like this every section of IPC  rather whole IPC will get repealed. Instead of that we look at and find out the reasons for such low conviction rate.

S.498-A must be implemented with true spirit.

agree shud not repeal it. this may lead to large scale unemployment.

Oh, yes Mr Prabhakar there is no comparision as you say and criminal law experts will laugh when comparision are done. What about comparision of yours in "compensation" when you brought in Bhopal Compensation and Labour Law and Daily Wage Act and said women's compensation awards are pathetic ! You have a long way to go to push women's Law and now Family Law experts are laughing at your take.  I agree to @ Swatirswatir why releal S. 498a there will be mass scale "unemployement".........

Further to above Mr Prabhakar there is legal opportunity to trapeze to Orkut forum (4194 members) based on below PM (unedited);


From : Jatinder Singh

Respected Sir / Madam,

As as responsible citizen of India I would like to inform you that there is strong opposition to way the dowry law is & serious questions are being asked and debated in country.

Please have a look at the forum in Orkut which is for elimination of dowry without any victim.


Lets Eliminate Dowry System (4,194 members)
https://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=18239121In these discussion it came clear that there are / was no victim of dowry harasement in so many peole but many sufferers of misuse of law.

Criminal law is made to punish the culprits & save innocents.

It is very sorry to state that it is just opposite in case of dowry law.

This law is against constitution too as innocent citizens of India have their constitutional rights curbes.

Corruption in police is rampant and this law needs to be relooked in view of changed circumstances.

This law results in innocents being punished & blackmailers making best use of this law by threatening false case.

It is duty of State to protect its citizens and law is for protection and not extortion as it happens with dowry law. Legal extorion is happening and it is duty of state to stop this.

Please ensure that no law abiding citizen of India is treated like a criminal just because of matrimonial dispute. Dispute is normal in any relation but that cannot be reason for whole of his family to be behind bar or treated like criminals.

Union of India must change this law in the interest of justice.

I again request you to save the innocents from misuse of this law.

Thanking you in anticipation that something would be done for innocent law abiding citizen of India,

Jatinder Singh

I agree 498A should not be repealed.

Lately there has been a lot og hue and cry  about this because many people complained that this section gives undue advantage to woman.

I have a solution.

So what about this. Lets make  a new section lets say 498Z( or something similar sounding) - which would read  exactly like 498A with couple of replacements - woman/wife  would be replaced by man/husband and vice versa.

By  doing this man and woman will get equal rights and new employment opportunity  will also get created. 

ya agree with avinash ji too. all above will agree with him.

I agree too but in India it is very diffcult to change the gender biased laws because we still have AA BALA NAARI and Ministry of WCD ('Wife' and Child Development)