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Dear
Sir(s)/Madam(s)
Whenever
women organist ions are talking about number of FIR’s
u/s 498a (Anti Dowry Law), these organizations very ‘smartly HIDE” the fact
about the FALSE CASES. A report said that ONLY 2% cases are genuine under
this section and 98% cases are FALSE. Here we need to understand and accept the
truth about DOWRY LAW MISUSE.
1. (Pls refer : http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=12157)
It mentions: “Close to five crore
women in India suffer from violence in their homes and only 0.1 per cent of
them ever pick up the courage to report the abuse, reveals a new study, Section
498A, IPC : “Used or Misused?” conducted by the Delhi-based Centre for Social
Research.
The study
released here on August 30, 2005 sought to analyze whether 498A – a section
that aims to protect women from being subjected to cruelty from husband or
other relatives – is being used or misused. It
found that out of 100 cases ordered for investigation under 498A, only in two
cases the accused got convicted.”
2. (Pls refer http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=170603)
It mentions: Ajaib Singh, head of the Women and Child
Support Unit, says 70 per cent of the 1,000-odd cases that they receive every
year pertain to dowry, but only 20 per cent of these are genuine. ‘‘It is unfortunate
that more and more people are misusing the stringent provisions of the law out
of sheer spite.’’
‘‘People
generally make use this law to facilitate a divorce. And often, it’s the
lawyers who advise the women to implicate their in-laws under the provisions of
this Act,’’ says Shantosh Singh, chairperson of Women
Welfare Counselling Cell at Sector 17.
A
police officer narrated the case of a woman who had slapped a dowry case
against her husband and in-laws only because she wanted the family house to be
in her name.
Lawyers
also admit that the stringent laws against the dowry are misused to a great extent,‘‘There are only 10 per cent cases based
on truth, and people usually come to us and ask specifically to mention the
element of dowry in their divorce petitions,’’ says Amrikh
Singh Kalra, advocate at Punjab and Haryana High
Court.
‘‘Most
of the cases are fabricated and the element of dowry is exaggerated in
them. Basically women want to have a quick solution to their problems and the
laws against dowry provide the easiest way out,’’ says advocate Amarjit Singh Jattana.
3. (Pls refer: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169738)
It
mentions: Mahila Thana Station Officer Vijay Laxmi Pandey says, ‘‘In most cases, it begins with an ego problem which finally
leads to a threat of dowry complaint. We try our best to solve these cases by
providing a non-police station like atmosphere to counsel the couples.’’
According
to lawyer Rohit Kant, ‘‘The Section 498 A (3/4) Dowry
Protection Act and 406 of Indian Penal Code are the two Sections which come
handy in filing complaints against husbands. The vice-a-versa doesn’t work.’’
Hon’ble Supreme Court of
(Pls refer: (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050722/asp/nation/story_5020229.asp)
It mentions: The Supreme Court today warned
that misuse of anti-dowry laws could unleash a “new legal terrorism”.
“Merely because the provisions are
constitutional? that does not
give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreck
personal vendetta or unleash harassment,” the bench said.
The object of the laws are “to strike at the root of the
dowry menace” and the “provision is intended to be used as a shield and not
an assassin’s weapon, it said. If people cry “wolf” too often as a prank,
assistance and protection may not be available when the actual “wolf” appears”,
the court cautioned.
“The object of the provision is prevention of the
dowry menace. But many instances have come to light where the complaints are
not bonafide and have been filed with an oblique
motive. In such cases, acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out
the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Some times, adverse media
coverage adds to the misery,” the judges said
(Pls refer : http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/jan/3875.htm)
It mentions:
(
(
(
World
Health Organization (WHO) WARNS
The World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned ELDER ABUSE by
MISUSE of Dowry law.
(Pls refer: http://www.saveindianfamily.org/blogs/2005/06/26/elder-abuse-in-india
And http://www.who.int/hpr/ageing/MissingVoices.pdf)
It mentions: "In
For
your reference: Various TV Programmes aired by
various reputed TV channels are available at http://www.498a.org/video.htm
(Pls refer: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1539997,curpg-1.cms)
it mentions: Marital disputes are fast becoming a popular way to rake in the moolah and legally at that. Legal eagles in the city claim
that the abla nari now is
the one laughing all the way to the bank.
Confirming the trend,
lawyers at family courts say they are seeing a rise in cases where economically
independent women are exploring ways to make the most of their failed
marriages.
Says Ranjana
Dixit, advocate and president of the American Library Bar
Association (Family Courts), "A large number of cases coming to us are of
women seeking maintenance despite not being entitled to the same.
The law clearly states
that if a woman is economically independent, she cannot demand financial help
from her husband. But that does not deter women from making quick money through
marital disputes.
With marriage laws
titled in the women's favour, it's not difficult either.
An added advantage is the ignorance of the husband and his family about their
own rights."...
(Pls Refer: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/03june06/national.htm#2)
Is says: The participants, while decrying the
demand or acceptance of dowry, pointed out recent instances where sections
498A, 406 and 304B of the Indian Penal Code were abused by the brides’
relatives to harass the entire family of the groom.
Once a complaint is lodged under section 498A/406 IPC,
whether with vague, unspecific or exaggerated allegations, it becomes an easy
tool for harassment of the other party. "Make section 498A bailable", read a placard while another said: "Rishton ko Tootne
Se Bachao, Dahej Kanoon Mein Badlav
Lao (save relationships from breaking, change dowry laws)."
(Pls
Refer: http://www.india-today.com/itoday/18051998/law.html)
It
mentions: A growing
number of women are misusing anti-dowry provisions to harass their husbands.
The law has rebounded in a way never
anticipated by legislators. Says K.C. Jain, an advocate who's dealt with over
300 matrimonial cases: "It's supposed to protect women, but nowadays, the
law is being used against the husband and his family."
Women's
organisations feel that a woman resorts to 498A only
when she finds all avenues of justice closed. "Sometimes," says Padma Seth, adviser to the National Commission for Women,
"a woman is left with no other way to make her appeal heard." By law,
Priya is entitled to half her husband's estate. It's
a claim that could take a couple of decades to settle in the normal course. Whisper
"dowry harassment" and things move fast: arrests are made, summons are sent by the police and reputations torn apart.
If the complaint is dismissed, the woman is back to square one. She has
nothing to lose. Often, lawyers egg on their clients to use this section to
get a better settlement; fix errant husbands; send taunting mothers-in-law
scurrying for cover; get leverage for the custody of children; demand property
rights. "You have to bolster laws relating to women to avoid this,"
says Geeta Luthra, another
advocate.
Advocate Kamini Jaiswal warns that with cases such as these surfacing, the
patience of the judges is running out, and it is the genuine victims who will
suffer eventually. But then, adultery laws too are discriminatory. Adultery is
punishable by imprisonment but only when the husband files a complaint. The
wife has no corresponding right -- not surprising, since most laws on
matrimonial matters were framed in the 19th century and no one has bothered to
update them. Maintenance is another matter that has women activists
grinding their teeth. Under Section 125 of the CRPC, a Hindu woman is entitled
to a maximum of Rs 500 a month. Custody of children
often goes to the father. The concept of marital rape is non-existent and often
even reports of domestic violence, which come under the general provisions of
the IPC, are not taken seriously. Says Nivedita M.V. Monga, project officer with the Multiple Action Research
Group: "Even the police tend to say, 'Yeh to ghar ki baat
hai (This is a family matter)'."
(Pls refer: http://crm.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=99efd9853a5a5168e4dadb8b633bf1a7)
It
mentions: It is a
simple procedure to file a 498A complaint, and the police must follow up on the
complaint, notes Peco Chakravatru,
an NRI online columnist, “Filing a 498A is as easy as ordering an idli sambar. Actually, it is
easier — the proprietor could refuse to give you an idli
sambar but the police cannot refuse.”
Abuse of anti-dowry laws
has become serious enough that the United States Department of State has
published the following travel warning on its Web site,
http://travel.state.gov, about “Dowry/Visa Demands” for travelers to
(Pls
refer: http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20060319/1059.htm)
It
mentions: According to K.C. Dwivedi,
deputy commissioner of police of the Crime Against
Women Cell, some married couples hatch a plan to harass and threaten the
husband's parents in order to get a share of the wealth and also to force the
elderly parents to live separately.
Kiran Walia, chairperson of the Delhi Commission of Women, a
government body, said: 'It is shameful and disgraceful that children are using
the anti-dowry law against their own parents.'
Sachit Dalal of the
Save Indian Family Foundation, an NGO, said there were many cases of the
anti-dowry law being misused by people. 'These cases are just some more
examples.'
(Pls refer: http://www.mynation.net/mynews/
)
The
list of the news and articles lists are endless.
A
couple of such links are also available at www.498a.org/news
The
news magazine ‘Frontline express’ published Suicide
Statistics.
(Pls Ref: http://www.498a.org/contents/general/frontline_suicide.pdf)
Whenever women organist ions and Indian
society talking about suicide by women, they HIDE the suicide rate of men. SUICIDE RATE OF MEN IS QUITE HIGH AS
COMPARED TO WOMEN, Then
how come EVERY WOMEN SUICIDE IS ASSUMED AS “DOWRY DEATH” and all the family
members are arrested WITHOUT ANY INVESTIGATION and EVERY MEN SUICIDE IS NOT
EVEN PROSECUTED. Why don’t we arrest the
in-laws of husband if they harass the husband?
1.
Whenever
we talk about NRI marriage fraud, why DON’T WE TALK ABOUT Dowry law misuse?
Even the
It
mentions: A number
of U.S.-citizen men who have come to
Copy
marked to :
1 Hon’ble Prime
Minister of
2 Hon’ble
President Of
3 Hon’ble
Ministers and Members of parliament
4 Save Indian Family
(www.saveindianfamily.org - The
biggest Self help group In
5 Save Indian Society (www.mynation.net)
6 Dowry Law Misuse Forum (www.498a.org)
5 Some of the top police officers of
6 News agencies and media agencies
7 NGO’s like Asha Kiran (www.asha-kiran.org)
8 Purushakk
9 Protect Indian Family
10 National
Commission of Women (NCW) and women welfare organisations
and NGO's.
11 Various activists who are opposing the
MISUSE of LAWS by women.
Thanks & Regards
Sachit Dalal