Section 498A IPC: The Tug-of-War Between Preventing Misuse and Ensuring Justice for Women
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Judiciary - Judicial Activism/Overreach; Key Legislations - IPC/BNS, CrPC); Social Justice (Women's Issues, Domestic Violence).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Society): Role of women and women's organization; Social empowerment.
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity, Governance, Social Justice): Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary; Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections (Women).
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions.
Key Highlights from the News
Indian Penal Code (IPC) - Section 498A (Cruelty by Husband or Relatives) – Supreme Court approved new guidelines to prevent misuse. (Now Section 85 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
New Guidelines:
After an FIR is registered under this section, a "cooling period" of two months should be given for compulsory measures like arrest, to allow for reconciliation.
During this time, the complaint should be referred to a Family Welfare Committee (FWC).
The article strongly criticizes these guidelines, stating that they violate the victim’s right to prompt access to justice and unduly interfere with the police's operational freedom.
The article points out that several safeguards already exist to prevent misuse, such as a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR and strict procedures before arrest (Arnesh Kumar guidelines).
In 2017, the Supreme Court issued similar guidelines in the Rajesh Sharma case, but a larger bench withdrew them in 2018 in the Social Action Forum case due to widespread criticism.
Therefore, the author argues that this new judgment needs to be reviewed.
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