Top 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Section 498A IPC

Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code was introduced in the year 1983. This section was added to protect a married woman from subject to cruelty from her husband or her in-laws. The term “cruelty” here refers to any harm caused to the person both mentally or physically. Section 498A IPC protects a woman from harassment related to dowry or any marital issues. According to this section, the accused is subjected to 3 years of punishment or fine. Though this section was introduced to protect women from exploitation, it has got some disadvantages too, which we shall see in this article.

What is Section 498A IPC?

Here’s the text of the Article 498A IPC as mentioned in the Indian Penal Code:

Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.—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.

Advantages of Section 498A IPC

• Prevents the Exploitation of Women:

The exploitation of women has always been a critical issue since for years. One of the major advantages of introducing this section is protecting women from getting exploited.  If any woman is being subjected to cruelty as explained in the section, then it would be taken as a punishable offense. And whoever subjects her to cruelty shall be punished for three years or pay a penalty fine.

• Empowers the Women:

Section 498A seems to have empowered women in Indian. It has encouraged women to come forward and file complaints. Initially, women hesitated to raise voice against the harassment with the fear of not being heard.  With the increased number of cases under this section, women do not feel hesitated any more to register their complaints. Women are now voicing against her husband or in-laws rather than staying silent in such gravity situations.

• Effectively Controls the Suicide Rates:

Given increased cases of cruelty on women by her husband or her in-laws, 498A was introduced. The number of suicidal cases due to cruelty has decreased greatly after the introduction of 498A IPC. Before the introduction of this section, it was found that about 40% of women deaths were suicidal cases. Reduction of suicidal cases is one of the main objectives behind introducing this law, which has been carried out effectively.

• The Deaths due to Dowry have been Reduced:

If a person has caused dowry death to a woman, then he would be taken in custody or may be punished. Increase in the number of dowry deaths is a serious concern for Indian Law. Therefore, 498A was introduced to reduce the cases of dowry deaths. If a woman is mentally or physically abused for not bringing a dowry with her, she has all the rights to register a complaint and seek justice. This provides them with an option to seek their right to live instead of committing suicide.

• Makes the In-Laws More Responsible:

All the cases registered under this section and the punishment given to them has set an example for others. Husbands and his relatives are now becoming more concerned about their responsibility and non-negligible towards their duties. The section 498A IPC thereby ensures that every woman needs to be treated with respect and care.

Disadvantages of Section 498A IPC

Apart from having so many advantages for the women there, the article 498A IPC has a huge number of shortcomings which need to be addressed to soon. There are several disadvantages of this Act which are making the premise redundant. The top 5 disadvantages of the section 498A IPC are:

• Easily Misused:

Many women use this power as a weapon against their husbands and their relatives. There are many cases under 498A, which involves wrong allegation cases. Many times, the women put false allegations on her husband of being beaten or getting exploited to instill in them a fear. In many cases, the husband is the victim but still ends up getting punished, and his family is left at the mercy of an ill-minded woman.

• Lack of Investigation increases Blackmails:

There is no proper investigation made on the complaints registered by the woman. In most of the cases, the husband is directly taken into custody without even investigating if that allegation is right or not. Therefore, it cannot be guaranteed completely that all the cases registered by the women under 498A are entirely true. This is misused by the privileged women in most of the cases.

• Too Complex a Process:

From registering a complaint to availing justice, section 498A involves a complicated process. It includes a lot of paperwork to finish the formalities. Moreover, it includes a lot of time and efforts. This discourages many women as they feel uneasy taking their time out, go to the police station, and file complaints. Furthermore, they feel the whole process testing their patience level to get justice, which is a clear violation of the saying Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.

• Unreliable Evidence:

When women resister their case, many times, they are asked for evidence to prove their point.  In many cases, women fail to find evidence in to file the case. There have been many cases which are declined due to no evidence presented. Not only women, but it happens in the case of men too. If they want to prove the allegation put on them wrong, they are asked to bring the evidence. And failure to present the evidence may lead to non-consideration of the complaint. This makes the law heavily biased, which is against the fundamental principle of equality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

• Social Discouragement Enhanced:

In most of the cases, it was found that women gather all their courage to raise voice against the harassment but don’t file a case. The reason behind this is the discouragement of her family members, mainly in rural areas. Therefore, the real victims do not get to use the act at all while it is being misused by the privileged ones. The society is yet to accept this and hence shames the women raising their voices. Hence, due to a fear of social boycott, women are discouraged from taking any actions. 

Conclusion

Section 498A IPC has helped many women to get justice against the atrocities committed by their in-laws. However, it has got a few negative points too. Although women empowerment is a need of the hour, it is mandatory to make sure that no injustice is done to the men as well. A reformation in the act is required at the earliest to reap the benefits of this act by the last person of the pyramid.

Learn The Truth About Domestic Violence Act- An Overview In The Next 60 Seconds.

The position of women in Indian society has never been stable. Their journey started from enjoying equal rights in the ancient period to struggle against discrimination in the medieval time and fighting for their rights in the modern era.

Women have been facing abuses since long back. They have not only suffered emotionally, mentally, verbally, religiously but also physically. This all often takes a wrong turn and women end up suffering from marital rape, dowry death, suicide, acid attacks, beating, female genital mutation, etc.

According to former Union Minister for Women, Renuka Chowdhary 70% of women in India are the victims of Domestic Violence.[1]

These practices became so prevalent and entrenched that the Government of India took a step forward and implemented an Act on 13 September 2005 for the protection of women from all kind of violence. The Act came to be known as The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

Domestic Violence – Definition

The word ‘domestic violence’ has been defined in Section 3 of the PWDVA, 2005. The definition has a significant amplitude and covers all types of abuses against women. It covers physical, sexual, verbal and emotional, and economic abuse.

The sections read as follows-

For this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it—

1. harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well‑being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, and economic abuse; or
2. harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or
3. has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or
4. Otherwise, injuries or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.[2]

The framework of the definition has been taken from ‘UN Declaration on Violence Against Women and a Model Code’.

Read More Here: Domestic Violence Act

Who can file a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act?

Any ‘aggrieved person’ as per Section 2(a) of the Act can seek relief.

“Aggrieved person” means any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent.[3]

• It is very clear from the definition that only a female victim can be an ‘aggrieved person’.
• The victim should have a ‘domestic relationship’ with the respondent. According to Section 2(f), the domestic relationship includes a relationship by means of living together or sharing household and is related to each other by consanguinity, marriage, relationships in nature of marriage, adoption, etc.

The victims of Live-in Relationships are also protected under the Act. This right has been recognized in various judgments like Khusboo v. Kannimal[4]; Chanmuniya v. Virendra Kumar Singh Khushwaha[5].

Against whom the complaint can be filed?

Section 2(q) defines ‘respondent’ as follows:

“Respondent” means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act: Provided that an aggrieved wife or female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may also file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner;

Therefore, from the above definition, it is very clear that the victim can file a suit against her husband who commits such act against her or any other male partner with whom she is in a live-in or the relatives of the husband/male partner, i.e. the in-laws.

Who may or may not be included in the ambit of relatives is of utmost importance and differs from case to case.

This was upheld in Sandhya Wankhede v. Manoj Bhimrao Wankhede[6].

Relief that can be sought by the victim under the Act

The Act recognizes many reliefs to empower a woman to tide over an emergency.

If the victim obtains relief under this law that does not mean she is barred from approaching courts under the personal law. The PWDVA is a secular law and runs parallel to personal laws.

The Act provides the following reliefs-

• Counseling (Sec. 14)

The magistrate before whom the parties are presented may direct either the parties or the party who requires to the counseling process.

• Protection Orders (Section 18)

The magistrate can issue protecting order against the respondent. This is generally done to keep the victim in a protective shell so that the respondent doesn’t reach out to her for causing violence.

A  Protection Officer, preferably a woman, is appointed by the concerned government to file a domestic incidence report.

• Residence ( Sec. 19)

The Magistrate can restrict the respondent from the place of the victim. Further, the respondent cannot evict the victim from the place of the residence.

• Maintenance (Sec. 20)

Under Section 20, the respondent may be directed to provide monetary compensation to the victim for any loss she has accrued, be it property loss, medical loss or any other financial loss.

• Child’s Custody (Sec. 21)

The custody of the child should be in the victim’s hand. The father of the child may be provided visiting rights.

Retrospective effect of the Act

The Delhi HC in its 2012 decision of V.D.  Bhanot v. Savita Bhanot [7]viewed that “even a wife who had shared household before the DV Act came into force would also be entitled to the protection of this Act”.

Therefore, giving the aggrieved party the right to file a suit even for the acts which have been committed before the enforcement of the Act.

Citation

[1] ‘India tackles domestic violence’ (BBC News, 26 October 2006) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6086334.stm> accessed 3 February 2019

[2] The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, s 3

[3] The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, s 2(a)

[4] Khusboo v. Kannimal (2010) 5 SCC 600.

[5] Chanmuniya v. Virendra Kumar Singh Khushwaha 1 SCC 141.

[6] Sandhya Wankhede v. Manoj Bhimrao Wankhede (2011) 3 SCC 650.

[7] V.D. Bhanot v. Savita Banot(2012) 3 SCC 183