Inevitable repeal?

Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which was introduced to protect women from cruelty by husband and his relatives, is now being excessively misused by female partners

- KDP RAO

Last week, the tragic incident of suicide by a Bengaluru-based young professional, Subhash, due to harassment and extortion by his wife and in-laws, has outraged society at large over the blatant misuse of Sec 498A (IPC), now Sec. 85 of BNS. Apparently, as the suicide note reveals, "the terrible state of legal system", inter alia, had pushed him to the edge. The incident not only points to a serious malaise in the system of criminal justice but also indicates a malady in our institution of marriage.

The heart-rending story of Subhash conclusively proves that married male partners, too, suffer cruelty perpetrated by married female partners, and are forced to take their own lives in despair.

The parliament had amended IPC in 1983, inserting Section 498A for genuine reasons, as there were a huge number of cases of cruelty against married women, including 'bride burnings' in the 70s and the early 80s. To reinforce the law, the Indian Evidence Act was also amended, casting the burden of proof of innocence on the accused husband in cases of abetment to suicide by married women and death of a wife within seven years of marriage. Though the law worked as a deterrent initially, resulting in a remarkable decline in cases of bride burning, over time, it seems to have become increasingly a weapon against male married partners and their parents.