1 Ministry of Home Affairs
North Block
Central Secretariat
New Delhi – 110001

2 Ministry of Law and Justice,
4th Floor, A-Wing,
Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110 001

3 National Crime Record Bureau
East Block-7, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066


SUB: Protest petition on the behalf of Need of the Men Rights Commission & other Individuals/Men forum against the Guidelines prepared by Social Action Forum in name of uniform policy of registration of FIR, arrest and bail in cases under Section 498-A of the IPC prayed in PIL/W.P ( C) No-73/2015 pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India

Sir,
1 Need for men rights commission is group on social networking site comprising of more than 1600 members, 498-A Victim group have 7500 members and Stop misuse of Biased laws have 800 members and various Individuals/associated groups showed their discontent by way of this protest petition against the guidelines framed by the Social Action Forum( in short ‘Forum’) for making uniform policy of registration of FIR, arrest and bail in cases under Section 498-A of the IPC . The Forum framed the guidelines as per the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in PIL/W.P ( C) No-73/2015 and notices were issued to the Union of India through their respective Ministries
2 The above named groups members/ or related individuals by the way of this protest petition would be appreciated that grievances of the above group members/individuals which runs approximately 10,000 in number or even more should also be placed on records to the concerned Ministries while making counter or supporting the guidelines of the Forum otherwise grave injustice would be caused to the thousands of affected individuals and their family members across the country if they have been unheard fairly
3 It has been well observed by Hon’ble Courts, executive bodies that frivolous complaints made under 498-A IPC has been filed with oblique motives just to harass the husband and his relatives. It is respectfully submitted that the FIR registered under 498-A IPC at the instance of the complaint made by married woman who deliberately roped the unmarried sisters/brothers, grandparents of the husband only for settling personal scores. The subsequent police investigations and protracted criminal trials at far distance place has not only spoiled the mental peace, harmony of the of the family members but also escalates the suicides cases among the married men which has been escalating year by year
4 The following suicide cases which has been committed by married men during last 9 years, which has been reported by National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home affairs
Number of Suicide Victims by “Married” Marital Status
YEAR MEN WOMEN
2013 64098 29491
2012 63343 31921
2011 62433 32582
2010 61453 31754
2009 58192 31300
2008 57639 30224
2007 57593 30064
2006 55452 29869
2005 52483 28188

The above data clearly reflects that suicides cases among the married men has been increasing every year .Yet nothing has done on any reliable study about the misuse of the provisions of Indian law, causing suicides to married men
5 Various media reports obtained from Internet( news clipping & videos attached) which clearly showed that police has committed various atrocities during the investigations and has even roped 2 month aged baby & 7 years child in its FIR/charge sheet filed before the court. The Provisions of 498-A has grossly misused that many husband/their relatives has committed suicides during the course of criminal trial. Some extracts from news papers are reproduced as below with their links ( to check the genuinity of the news). Many incident donot get media coverage and hence unreported

I Baby Got bail

21/06/2009 news published in Mid Day, Mumbai
aby Got bail-in which Two-month-old gets dragged into a dowry harassment case filed by her father's first wife. In a case straight out of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the Mumbai Sessions court last Wednesday (June 17, 2009) granted anticipatory bail for what must have been their youngest applicant ever a two-month-old baby…

The above article can be downloaded by visiting the following undermentioned link
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jun/210609-Zoya-two-month-old-girl-anticipatory-bail-dowry-harrassment-case-youngest-accused-Mumbai-news.htm

II Seven-yr-old faces dowry charges
Published On: May 26, 2007
A seven-year-old has been charged in a dowry case in Bihar. Santosh, a class four student has paid the price for a crime he did not commit.
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/seven-yr-old-faces-dowry-charges/13976

III 07/07/2013 The Times of India
Women named in dowry harassment jump before train
Depressed over a case of dowry harassment lodged against them, a woman and her 30-year-old daughter committed suicide by jumping before a train in Bikaner on Saturday. The case had been registered by the woman's daughter-in-law last month
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-07/jaipur/40420237_1_police-officer-bikaner-railway-tracks

IV PSI shoots himself dead with service revolver
Nov 20, 2009, 03.08AM IST
Page 1 of 4

AMRAVATI: A police sub inspector, presently posted at Akola Control Room, shot himself with his service revolver in the wee hours of Thursday at Amravati.

 On Wednesday night, at around 1.50am, Datir shot himself with his service revolver and died on the spot. Sources said that he had a dispute with his wife, who had lodged a complaint against him in 2006 at Akola police station. After this complaint, offences had been registered against PSI Datir under 498 section of IPC. It is also learnt that his wife had filed a case against him and demanded alimony from him. The hearing in this case was scheduled on Thursday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/PSI-shoots-himself-dead-with-service-revolver/articleshow/5249121.cms


V DECCAN HERALD

Treated cruelly by wife, techie ends life

Last updated: 12 August, 2009

Allegedly hounded by a greedy and cruel wife, who was fully supported by her parents, a 32-year-old techie ended his life by consuming a full bottle of anti-depressant tablets here on Monday.

Shubhankar Katyayan was married to Nandini, 27, also a software engineer, for the past two years. Their marriage was registered and solemnised here. Although the two hailed from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, they had been working in Bangalore after their arranged marriage.

 
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/19204/treated-cruelly-wife-techie-ends.html

VI Hyderabad professor killed sons before ending his life

The author has posted comments on this article TNN | Oct 7, 2014, 03.54AM IS
HYDERABAD: .Guruprasad, 44, an assistant professor at ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Donthanapally, had committed suicide by jumping in front of a train near James Street railway station on Saturday afternoon. Guruprasad and his wife Suhasini got divorced in 2013. On Saturday morning, he went to Suhasini's house at Anandbagh in Malkajgiri to visit his two sons, Vittal Virinchi, 9, and Nanda Vihari, 5. He took the boys out at 9am and was supposed to drop them at their mother's place by 1pm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hyderabad-professor-killed-sons-before-ending-his-life/articleshow/44548133.cms

VIII 2- and 4-year-olds accused in domestic violence Plaint
By Hemanth KashyapHemanth Kashyap, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Dec 28, 2014, 04.00 AM IST
A woman lodged a domestic violence complaint not only against her estranged husband and his family but also against his sister's two children, aged two and four.

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/crime/2-and-4-year-olds-accused-in-domestic-violence-plaint/articleshow/45663827.cms?

 

IX Primary School teacher accused of dowry harassment commits suicide in Police custody

http://zeenews.india.com/hindi/sangam/uttar-pradesh/teacher-accused-in-dowry-case-ends-life-in-police-custody-261513

X Senior Medical Officer accused of dowry harrasment commits suicide at Ansol Distict of West Bengal

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Court-lens-on-police-role-in-doctor-suicide/articleshow/46855735.cms

 

6 On seeing the NCRB data, Police register the cases under section 498-A IPC which has been escalating year by year and charge sheeting rate is 93.6%

Cruelty by husband or his relatives (Sec. 498-A IPC)
YEARS CASES REGISTERED
2009 89,546
2010 94,041
2011 99,135
2012 1,06,527
2013 1,18,866

Disposal Of IPC Crime Cases By Police During 2012
Crime Head CRUELTY BY HUSBAND OR HIS RELATIVES (Sec. 498A IPC)
3 Total No. Of Cases For Investigation Including Pending Cases from previous year 147329
4 Cases Withdrawn By Govt. 613
5 No.Of Cases in which Investigation was refused 155
6 No. Of Cases Charge Found False / Mistake O Fact Or Law Etc. 10235
7 No. Of Cases Final Report True Submitted 5980
8 No. Of Cases Charge Sheets Submitted 87633
9 Total {(6)+(7)+(8)} 103848
10 No of case pending Investigation at the end of the year 4326
Charge sheeting rate: 93.6%

7 Simultaneously, it cannot be ignored that conviction rate of such cases is just 1.6% which only reflects that Police exaggerate the trivial issues and give the shape of matrimonial bickering to dowry harassment case. The Police though is state subject and comes in concurrent list but responsibility of effective & moral policing lies on respondents as thousands of crores of public funds got wasted in frivolous litigations and appeals. The accused named in FIR/Charge sheet are worst affected as they have to sell out the properties, entire saving in defending their cases which are filed at different stations

8 Disposal Of IPC Cases By Courts During 2012
Total No. Of Cases For Trial

Including Pending Cases from previous year 4,26,922

Cases Withdrawn By Govt. 613

Compounded Or Withdrawn 8162
No of cases in which Trial was completed
Convicted 6916
Acquitted 39138
Pending Trial at the
end of the year 372706
 


Percentage Of IPC Cases Disposed By Courts During 2012

Percentage Of Cases To Total Cases For Trial
In Which Trials Were Completed
Convicted 1.6%
Acquitted 9.2%

Pending Trial at the end of the year 87.3%



9 The provisions of 498-A IPC are grossly misused by married woman and her family members and used as weapon for blackmailing, extort money and for settling personal scores against husband and relatives of husband. Despite of strict observations made by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and various High courts no effective measures has taken for its amendment. The provisions of 498-A has unnecessarily linked with dowry deaths. It sis submitted that even after introduction of 498-A there was no declination in dowry death however married men suicides numbers has been escalating year by year. Because of its misuse, many innocent families including their unmarried sisters/brothers and old aged parents has been roped in protracted criminal trials who do not have any criminal antecedents. Unmarried sisters and brothers marriage prospects destroyed. Many lost their jobs due to frequent appearances in criminal trial at distant places. Their career, social and mental peace get extirpated at the instance of complaint made by married woman or/and her family members. The husband his family members has to face the protracted criminal trial which lasts for several years (List of the Individuals/groups supported this petition are annexed at the end of the petition with their comments which is not exhausted)



10 The Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides adequate safeguards to punish those who indulge in false complaints. Section 182 ( False Information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person) provides imprisonment upto 6 months or fine upto Rs 1,000/- or both for giving false information to the public servant. Section 211. False charge of offence made with intent to injure) IPC, inter-alia, provides imprisonment up to 2 years or with fine or with both for falsely charging any person with having committed an offence, knowing that there is no just or lawful ground for such proceeding or charge against the person. Section 358 of Cr.P.C provides provision for compensation to the persons groundlessly arrested. There is no specific provision in I.P.C for false complainant of 498-A of IPC as result false complaints are regularly been filed up in lining with the state police officials. No formal enquiry was made by Police officers/I.O while registering complaints & filing Charge sheets in courts. The Police officers/I.O filed the final report u/s 173 Crpc, even without hearing/or recording the version of the opposite side and left the stake at the mercy of the courts. The fair judicial mechanism also requires fair and transparent investigation which has not been done in any of the case. The Police never visited the site place and complete the investigation in closed room of their police station by just recording the statements of the married woman and her family members which lacks even the territorial jurisdiction for handling the complaints and file the final reports in their Judicial Magistrate courts. The Criminal trial get instituted on their final reports purely in mechanical manner which lasts for several years

11 243th Report of Law Commission of India Dated 30Th August 2012 too emphasized that there is no empirical data produced by the Govt to reveal the extent how long it will be misused

1.3 Several enactments and provisions have been brought on the statute book during the last two or three decades to address the concerns of liberty, dignity and equal respect for women founded on the community perception that women suffer violence or deprived of their constitutional rights owing to several social and cultural factors. Meaningful debates and persuasions have led to these enactments. The insertion of Section 498A IPC is one such move and it penalizes offensive conduct of the husband and his relatives towards the married woman. The provision together with allied provisions in Cr. P.C. are so designed as to impart an element of deterrence. In course of time, a spate of reports of misuse of the section by means of false / exaggerated allegations and implication of several relatives of the husband have been pouring in. Though there are widespread complaints and even the judiciary has taken cognizance of large scale misuse, there is no reliable data based on empirical study as regards the extent of the alleged misuse. There are different versions about it and the percentage of misuse given by them is based on their experience or ipse dixit, rather than ground level study
11. Diagnosis of the problem and reasonable solution
11.1 That Section 498A has been misused in many instances admits of no doubt. This has been taken judicial notice of in several cases. The Parliamentary Committee has also adverted to this aspect. The inputs received by the Law Commission and the representations made to the Home Ministry also confirm this fact. However, there is no reliable data to reveal the extent of abuse or misuse. The data/information reveals that urban and educated women are mostly coming forward to file the complaints under this section. The data also reveals that in most of the cases, apart from the husband, two of his relations (especially in-laws) are being prosecuted………….

12 The Information obtained under RTI from Ministry of Home Affairs RTI reply dated 17 January 2014 Letter No 16/6/2014-Judl.Cell

“The Law Commission of India in its 243rd Report on Section 498-A of Indian Penal Code , 1860 recommended for certain amendments to the provision of CrPC/IPC. As the Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure are in the concurrent List of the Constitution Of India and are implemented by the State Governments. The comments of some state Governments are awaited. A decision in the matter will be taken after receipts of the comments of the State Governments”

“Amendment to Law is made on the basis of the recommendations of the Law Commission and various commissions/committees set up in this regard and thereafter the consultation of the State Governments and other stake holders. Presently, the Report of the Law Commission has been referred to the State Government for comments. A final decision in this matter will be taken after receiving the comments of the Stakeholders in this regard”

Ministry of Home Affairs ( Judicial Cell) No: 16/6/2014-Judl.Cell
dated October 2014
“Judicial division of the Ministry of Home Affairs deals only with the legislative aspects of the Code of Criminal procedure and the Indian Penal Code. These are the concurrent list to the constitution of India and implemented by State Governments/UTs by their law enforcing agencies. No data regarding the affective implementation of the provision of law is maintained in this Ministry. As regard to the amendment of the provision of law is maintained in this Ministry. As regard amendment to the provision of the law , it is stated that law commission in its 243rd Report on the section 498-A of the Indian Penal code , 1860 recommended for certain amendments to the provisions of Cr.P.C/IPC. Necessary action for such amendment is being taken in consultation with the stakeholders”

13 The information received by way of RTI has furnished the following information

A Haryana state:
Vide Letter No: 2742/CAW-5 dated 19/3/14 has informed that Necessary comments/Suggestions has been send to the Govt of India, MHA, New Delhi vide office memo No> 10133/CAW-3 dated 06.08.2013

1 Recommendation of Law Commission on Section 498-A of IPC:

The Law commission in point No 19.6 of Report No 243 has recommended that the offence under section 498-A should remain non bailable it has been suggested in the report that s safeguards against arbitrary and unwarranted arrests lies in strictly observing the letter and spirit of the conditions laid down in Section 41 and 41-A of Cr.P.C relating to the power of arrest and sensitizing the police on the modalities to be observed in cases of this nature. The need for custodial interrogation should be carefully assessed. Over-reaction and inaction are equally wrong. Police should take necessary steps to ensure safety of the complainant and to prevent further acts of the harassment
The Department agrees with the recommendations the law commission that the offence should be non bailable

B GOVERNMENT OF KERALA:

Home (C ) Department , Thiruvananthapuram dated 09.01.2014 vide letter dated. 91191/C2/2012/ Home forwarded their comments to Joint secretary(Judicial) that the offence under section 498-A of IPC should remain non bailable in order to curb the misuse of the same

C Government of Maharashtra:

Vide letter No WCDD/WD/RTI/3491 dated 10/06/2014 the women and Child Department has not forwarded any comments regarding this points to the Government

D Government of Punjab:

Vide letter No 491/WC dated 20/05/2011 informed Govt of India that its better to made it as bailable enclosing the copy of report on consultation paper cum questionnaire with regard to 498-A of the IPC prepared by Punjab State Law Commission

3) Do you think that making the offence bailable is the proper solution to the problem? Will it be counter productive?

Yes, the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs had sent a copy of letter received from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat regarding amendment of section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. This Commission had sent its comments on the matter in which it was started that the provision is being largely misused to cause unaware, unexpected and harsh treatment and loss of liberty to the innocent members/relations of the in-laws family of the women. This commission recommended that Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code be suitably amended to male it bailable. Every law is required to be made neutral to protect the interest of any innocent, be it man or woman. The offence should be made bailable. There appears to be less chance of amendment becoming counter productive as it gives equal opportunity to the accused in laws to put their view of their problem before the investigation officer so as to enable him to save the marriage by reconciling differences but at the same time keeping in mind that the wife may not suffer further humiliation in any manner and complaint loses its value. The need is to sensitize the police force on such subjects and only experienced officer may be entrusted with such investigation.

E Govt of Tamil Nadu:
Vide Rc No 104205/RTI-II(2)/2014 Dated 07.08.2014 has informed that necessary information may be obtained from the Government

F Govt of Telangana
Vide letter No. G1/49/RTI-Act/2014 dated 05-07-2014 has informed “ yes, recommendations were made to law commission of India with regards to amendments to the provision of Cr.P.C/IPC

14 Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in ARNESH KUMAR VERSUS STATE OF BIHAR & ANR. CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1277 OF 2014 (SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRL.) No.9127 of 2013) Date: 2 July 2014 has observed
“The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A, IPC is as high as 93.6%, while the conviction rate is only 15%, which is lowest across all heads. As many as 3,72,706 cases are pending trial of which on current estimate, nearly 3,17,000 are likely to result in acquittal”

The Ministries of Home Affairs on the basis of the Judgment passed by Hon'ble apex court has issued  advisories to the Chief Secretaries of the various states across the India vide its letter dated 11 June 2014. Almost all of the states has implemented it and arbitrarily arrests by police may have brought down and  has brought uniformity of registration of FIR, arrest and bail in cases under Section 498-A of the IPC. Yet some of the organizations feel that it has diluted the anti dowry laws as they are associating the dowry death cases with plain 498-A cases without even appreciating that large number of cases are filed with oblique motives and to harass the husband and his family members.

Delhi Police commissioner office  has already curb down its misuse in 2008  by issuing the circular 330/2008 on the basis of the Delhi High court Judgment as result the arbitrarily arrests in 498-A cases has been skewed down from 2009 onwards where the approval of DCP ranked officer was must before arresting any one in 498-A case. The Hon'ble supreme court judgment in Arnesh Kumar (Supra) is welcome step which ahs issued guidelines to all the law enforcement agencies & lower judiciary across the India while dealing with 498A- case. Any change of the advisories in name of dilution of laws will creates more terrorization and panic among the Indian families and will surely spoiL the Indian traditional system of marriage and joint family system because of rapid misuse across the country
Regards
Members of Groups & Individuals
Need for Men rights Commission,
498-A victims
Stop Miuse of Biased laws