Petition praying for amendments in Section 498A of IPC.

we are already sent a mail particular dept

Here are some thoughts I have on 498a amendments to prevent its misuse and trim the powers given to Police to handle 498a cases (as Police is a bigger culprit in abusing Section 498a). Please comment. And I would like to request the legal community here to help me form the recommendations in legal language (if possible).

In CrPc/IPC relating to registering FIR:
1. A new paragraph should be added in the FIR under which the complainant signs an Oath stating that her/his complaint is true and that she/he knows, understands and agrees that it is a punishable crime (U/s IPC 182) to register false police complaint and/or give false information to police and the complainant agrees to be punished under Law if the complaint is found to be false.
2. When registering FIR for taking dowry under DP 3, the Police should mandatorily (self) register FIR (under DP 3) against persons who are disclosed for giving dowry. Dowry is indeed a two-way crime. It cannot be commited without the giver giving the dowry.
3. The FIR form should be extended to capture Education Details and Employment Status of the Complainant and Persons Accused (for future analysis on the misuse of the law by independent and educated section of the society living in Metros).

IPC 498a:

1. 498a should be scrapped all together. I fail to understand why DP Act is not sufficient to handle Dowry related crimes. And in cases, where there is death or physical injury, there are other appropiate IPCs to handle those. If abloshing IPC 498a is not a choice, it should be made Bailable. (it should continue to be a  Non-Compoundable crime; since making it Compoundable would give more power to Police to abuse the Law. Currently, 498a wives think that they would be able to extort money using police pressure and once the ($$) agreement is reached, they would withdraw the case. Hence to prevent misuse and uphold the spirit of the law (in rural areas, perhaps), this section should continue to be Non-Compoundable).

DP 3:
1. For F.I.R. under D.P. 3 for taking dowry, it should be made mandatory for the complainant to provide clear supporting evidences such as List of Presents as defined in D. P. Act, Purchase Receipts (original/duplicate), Bank Statement etc. to the police and the court within 30 days of registering F.I.R.
2. If no evidences are provided within 30 days to prove that the dowry was given (as alleged), the courts should be given power to quash the F.I.R. all together.

IPC 182:
1. I am not sure about this one - When facing 498a case, the persons accused should be able to file a counter case against 498a wife/family under IPC 182 IF STRONG CONVINCING EVIDENCES ARE PRESENT THAT THE 498A FIR AND ALLEGATIONS ARE FALSE. (Is it possible to do so right now? Or one has to wait till the trial of 498a is over and the complaint is found to be false?)

Other possible things State can do to help 498a Victims:
1. A monitoring authority (similar to vigilance department) should be formed at the central government to regularly audit case diary of Dowry/498-A F.I.R.s to ensure that the right due process is being followed by the police.
2. The Home Ministry/Director General of Police (DGP) of every state should issue circulars every 3 months on the mandatory requirements to be ensured for registering police cases and the process to be followed to prevent false police cases. A copy of the circular should be printed in the News Papers to inform the general public about the due process and to make them aware of their rights.

3. A Communications/Legal Department should be formed in Police Department consisting of non-police staff to handle all communications pertaining to the FIR with the complainant and persons accused. This deparment should give information to the person accused about their legal rights to handle the FIR and ensure that the Police is not violating any Laws while investigating 498a cases. Currently, the police staff has no clear understanding on dealing with 498a cases. Some officers believe that it is mandatory for them to arrest the accused the moment FIR is lodged. SC has clearly stated no of times that it is not mandatory for arresting 498a accused. Moreover Police staff has no information on SC/HC judgments and they continiously violate those judgments. A formal Communications and Legal department would ensure that - (i) the department works as per the Law, (ii) the department works as per the judgments and directives issued by SC and HC, (iii) the department provides official communication channel with the society and persons accused ensuring that proper information is given to the persons concerned and informing them about their rights to deal a police case (if any) against them and (iv) the department setup a website for each police station to list officers incharged, cases registered in the PS and the IO assigned on the case and status of the case and public information pertaining to the case.

Please share your comments. Thank you.

@ Ali - Yes, please send an appeal letter to the person mentioned in the above petition (Shri Rakesh Naithani, Joint Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi – 110 001 (Tel: 011-23035433(O), 23794328 (Telefax) and E-mail: rsc2pet@sansad.nic.in) latest by 30th December, 2010) to raise your concern about the misuse of this law, the agony and injustice you faced due to the same and your recommendations on needed changes in this Law. Please note you have to send the letter in Hindi and English.