NEW DELHI:
Supreme Court
has ruled that married women cannot use
police machinery
to hold husband to ransom and expressed concern over much abused
Section 498A
(cruelty to women in
matrimonial home
) of IPC getting replicated in
Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita
without a semblance of protection for husband and his relatives against frivolous complaints.
Quashing a 498A case filed by a woman against her husband, his parents, brother & sister, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, "Police machinery cannot be utilised for the purpose of holding husband to ransom so that he could be squeezed by the wife at the instigation of her parents or relatives or friends."
Writing the judgment, Justice Pardiwala Friday said, "Police machinery should be resorted to as a measure of last resort and that too in a genuine case of cruelty and harassment." The bench referred to SC's 2010 judgment highlighting abuse of Section 498A by married women in matrimonial disputes and the court's request to the law commission and law ministry for a relook at the provision.
Cruelty in matrimonial homes is defined under Section 85 and 86 of BNS, which would come into force from July 1. SC said, "Secs 85 & 86 are nothing but verbatim reproduction of Section 498A of IPC. The only difference is that the explanation to Section 498A of IPC, is now by way of a separate provision, that is, Section 86 of BNS."
In 2010, in Preeti Gupta case, SC had noted the abuse of Section 498A by women to implicate their husbands and in-laws in police cases and said that most of these cases emanated from trivial matrimonial disputes. It had asked the govt to take a "serious relook" at the provision as the tendency of over implication is reflected in a large number of cases.
SC said before BNS came into force, "we request Legislature to look into the issue as highlighted above taking into consideration the realities and consider making necessary changes in Sections 85 and 86 of the BNS."
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