Fate of both spouses:: '498a without merits' vs 'false 498a'

The conviction rate of Section 498-A is very low.  In a few conviction cases also, if you go through all those cases decided by S.C. and H.C.s, where conviction was held, you find that in almost all cases, the wife died unnatural death.  What I mean to say is that if a case under Section 304-B read with Section 498-A read with Section 406 are charged against the husband and in-laws, where the wife has already met her unnatural death, the court comes to opinion that the prosecution failed to bring home the charge of Section 304-B but broght the  charge of Section 498-A charge and convict them under Section 498-A.  So, independently, it is very difficult to prove section 498-A case "beyond reasonable doubt".  The reason behind this is not that the charge is false. ( I do not rule out the  false Section 498-A cases).  The investigating team, the prosecution and conniving accused manipulate the judicial process and the victim is kept in dark.  The counsel for victim does not have any say in criminal proceedings as his role is limited to assist only prosecution and no power to appeal to High Court with limited jurisdiction of filing revision.  The judiciary sits like a duck knowing every thing that is going behind its back.  The per centage of acquittal cannot be a barometer to find out the truthfulness/falsehood of charges in criminal trial.  In Section 302 cases also a large number of acquittals are there, that does not mean there were no murders occured.  The investigation team and  prosecution simply failed to discharge their responsibility of proving the charge "beyond reasonable doubt".  By convicting the accused, police and prosecution cannot get any promotion.  But in acquittal, the investigation team and prosecution earn with both hands.      

Prabhakar,

Picking your last para from above reply and I quote "The investigation team and prosecution simply failed to discharge their responsibility of proving the charge "beyond reasonable doubt".  By convicting the accused, police and prosecution cannot get any promotion.  But in acquittal, the investigation team and prosecution earn with both hands. "


First  "The investigation team and  prosecution simply failed to discharge their responsibility of proving the charge "beyond reasonable doubt"."

1. So you mean to say that IO and APP are incompetent in India!

Second “By convicting the accused, police and prosecution cannot get any promotion."

1. Is it anywhere mentioned in Service Rules that with conviction IO and or APP will be getting promotions otherwise they will retire in same position where they were!


Third  "But in acquittal, the investigation team and prosecution earn with both hands. "

1. Here you are hinting on bribery / corruption is it not so that in 98% acquittals the IO’s and APP’s involved were hand in glove with Accused!

So if that is the admitted stand of yours then why even file S. 498a IPC in the first place even with your above version of TRUTH (true statements should be given to IO etc. I mean as you say na ki each complainant should only state truth and nothing else in her complaints and if complaint is found to be false like in Swastika case hinted by you in a separate thread then complainant like Swastika should be tried for perjury and nothing else)


See this is the duality in Advocates; means you are so one track in wife (client) centric passion that painfully you admit not to admit that S. 498a IPC is more or less false in majority of cases due to above 1 - 3 but being Advocate how can a Advocate admit the TRUTH publicly is the mute point here!

I agree with Mr Prabhakar ji and highly appreciate his comments

If percentage of acquittal cannot be a barometer to find out the usefulness of the law, still it is a deterent...............DV, DP, 498a in as-is-condition is still very effective as a deterrent from preventive perspective, and not yet adequate and not yet tightened to plug loop holes (which are not in those law but in the 'procedural/systemic' and 'adjudication' parts) and not yet simplified from the remedial perspective in the interests of women and the weaker sections in the domestic relations.

if prosecution, police etc etc come in picture and essentially drive the case after wife lodges complaints under 498a, dv etc case, why wife is held as culprit if she is not able to prove her plea merely due to lack of evidence?

Is it not unfair to women who's '498a, DV aquitted husbands' get the a ground for applying for divorce i.e. 'logding a false complaint against husband is cruelty'?

How to defend the wife's side if husband is taking this pretext to file for divorce after winning against 498a, dv cases?

The hon. Judge has explicitly made comments that 'there are no merits vide lack of material evidence'. Also It doesn't explicitly say however that plaintiff had maliciously lodged such complaints or approached judiciary/police with unclean hand with avengeful motives etc etc

The entire IPC is not Section 498-A and section 498-A is not the entire IPC.  The people passionately are  arguing against Section 498-A on the basis of a large acquittals; try to answer this following question.

Why there are so less convictions and a large acquittals in the cases of S.302 (murder), S.306 (abetment of suicide), S.307 (attempt to murder), S.354 (outraging the modesty of women), S.376 (rape), S.392 (robbery), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) etc. of IPC.  Shall we demand  for repeal of  the entire IPC as there are less convictions and more acquittals.  The broad reasons for acquittals in criminal cases are discussed by the hon'ble Supreme Court  and various High Courts in several cases.

1.     The burden of "proving the guilt beyond reasonable doubt" is very heavy and prosecution often fail to discharge this responsibility.  The reasons for this are bonafide as well as malafide.  The bonafide reasons are such as,  not equipped with latest technical, scientific techniques and instruments, such as DNA tests etc. There is no bifurcation of law and order maintenance team on one side and criminal investigation team on the other side.  The criminal investigation team is not famous for its sharp brains. The criminal investigation team shall always be provided with the latest judicial trends so that they equip themselves while investigating the case how to bring the truth to home.  There is no co-ordination between the prosecution and investigation team till the filing of charge sheet.  Later on prosecution takes over the case and does not bother to train prosecution witnesses to withstand the onslaught of defence counsel.  These are only illustrations and there are innumerable reasons that why prosecution fails in the courts.

2.      There are malafide reasons.  The investigation team puts a wrong person behind the bars, fully knowing that the person is totally innocent and he does not have any thing to do with the crime.  It is done to prove to the media and public how quickly they  investigated the case and sometimes by just arresting the wrong person gets a good CR in the personal records.  Whether the person is innocent or not would be known only after three or four years and by that time earlier good CR takes that particular police personnel to higher rank.  Secondly, even though they catch a right criminal, by accepting the gratification, they dillute investigation procedures, manipulate forensic reports and material objects and some times do not produce the material prosecution witnesses in the court saying that the witness is not traceable.  There are several loopholes in all these things.

That is why, I say that mere acquittal of accused does not prove that the charge is false and the accused is innocent.  While dealing with criminal law, one should not just study Section 498-A and it requires broader study to understand the Indian criminal justice system and the plus and minuses appear in the system.  Mere reading S.498-A and comment at length will not do justice to indian criminal justice system.

INJUSTICE TO FEMALES STILL EXISTS , BUT FALSE 498A CASES HAVE OVERSHADOWED EVEN REAL 498A . REASON BEING WHEN A LADY SEES NO CHANCE OF WINNING DIVORCE CASE SHE FILES 498A TO INSULT MALE SIDE. AND WRONGLY THINKING THAT A FALSE 498A WILL NOT BRING ANY repercussions on her. IPC has provisions to take care of these false 498a well . only thing is willingness and stamina of  male side to teach false 498a a lesson. rather than repeal of 498a instructions shud be passed by home ministry to all law enforcement agencies the evidence which shud be required before booking a FIR in 498a and punishing gulity police officers who apply wrong sections without giving a thought . this is the best treatment.

many a times IO are so idiots they apply criminal sections in civil acses . their main aim is to extract money for removal of false sections.

i m a sufferer and i know how these false 498a cases have harmed the cause of real 498a cases. false 498a shud be punished with perjury and other sections as adv by adv prabahakar.

but to it also applies only those false 498a shud be punished where it is proved beyond a reasonable degree of doubt that law was misused only to harass, and not because there was insufficient evidence against male.

even 2% of false 498a ladies getting convicted will deter false cases being registered in future.

now a sensible reply by dabangg lady.......

Dear Dabangg Lady,issueless, fair, 5'4" Beautyful,

thanks....You better  know know how these false 498a cases have harmed the cause of real 498a cases. false 498a shud be punished with perjury and other sections as adv by adv prabahakar.

If all of the women living in india follows this type of a thinking ,then a real victim of 498a can get a justice in a better way.