Sowmya Guntooru 0

amend section 498A of the IPC as its being misused

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Dear Indians, section 498A of the IPC is being misused by many daughters-in law of this country to threaten their husbands and their families, thereby causing undue stress ....this law has been formed to protect women, but its ending up as a disadvantage to other women, namely, mothers and sisters in law, however good they may be. There have been many cases of misuse of this law and as a woman , i strongly feel injustice is being carried out by the same.when the nation's most hated terrorist ajmal amir kasab is being given fair treatment, why should our in-laws be put in jail without adequate proof? Aristotle says "law is reason free from passion"...are we truly abiding by this maxim? its not like in-laws are worse than terrorists!And whatever happened to the maxim" innocent until proven guilty"??please sign this petition to save yourselves from some cunning daughters in law, who , for personal revenge or gain misuse this law , thereby causing health problems and stress and harrassment to the families of their husbands.This law is in contravention to the founding principle of the IPC, which states that a 100 criminals can be set free, but no innocent person can suffer in jail! what an irony! Passed by Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code 498A, is a criminal law (not a civil law) which is defined as follows,

“Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The offence is Cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable. 

Please read the Act 46 of 1983 to understand 498a better.

How are you at risk and why it is dangerous for the society?

Your wife/daughter-in-law who's demands are not met can make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to a nearby police station. The husband, his old parents and relatives are immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars on a non-bailable terms. Even if the complaint is false, you shall be presumed guilty until you prove that you are innocent.

498a can only be invoked by wife/daughter-in-law or her relative. Most cases where Sec 498A is invoked turn out to be false (as repeatedly accepted by High Courts and Supreme Court in India) as they are mere blackmail attempts by the wife (or her close relatives) when faced with a strained marriage. In most cases 498a complaint is followed by the demand of huge amount of money (extortion) to settle the case out of the court. This section is non-bailable(you have to appear in court and get bail from the judge), non-compoundable (complaint can't be withdrawn) and cognizable (register and investigate the complaint, although in practice most of the time arrest happens before investigation). There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police has arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. In these cases unsuspecting family of husband has to go through a lot of mental torture and harassment by the corrupt Indian legal system. A typical case goes on for years (5-7 years is typical) and the conviction rate is about 2% only. Some accused parents, sisters and even husbands have committed suicide after time in jail.
To know more facts about 498a, search the Internet for 
“misuse of 498a”
“misuse Dowry laws”
”elder abuse India”
“harassed husbands”.

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