Dear 498 (False dowry) sufferer, find the below mentioned link.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sc-rules-out-automatic-arrest-in-dowry-cases/
Need Justice (manager) 03 July 2014
Dear 498 (False dowry) sufferer, find the below mentioned link.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sc-rules-out-automatic-arrest-in-dowry-cases/
sankar P (supervisor) 03 July 2014
Very Good News sir for the Indian Mens & their family..
All the best,
Many Thanks,
Best Regards,
Shankar.
Need Justice (manager) 03 July 2014
Its just a starting but judicial needs to take some more decision which will help the men for their betterment..
YUVRAJ PANCHAL (Mechanical Engineer) 03 July 2014
o arrest on mere allegations in dowry harassment cases: Supreme Court
Thursday, 3 July 2014 - 7:55am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
In a landmark judgment that will give huge relief to people facing arrest in dowry harassment cases, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said a person accused of an offence punishable with jail term, which may be less than or up to seven years, cannot be arrested by the police on the basis of mere allegations.
Expressing concern over misuse of anti-dowry law by "disgruntled" wives against their husbands and in-laws, the Supreme Court ruled that the police must give reasons for arresting an accused which would be judicially examined.
The apex court said the attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is "despicable" which must be curbed and directed all state governments to ensure that police do not resort to arresting in all offences punishable up to seven- year jail term including dowry harassment cases.
"The fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision," the court said.
The bench headed by Justice C K Prasad said, "No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent and wise for a police officer that no arrest is made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness of the allegation..."
It made clear that the police officer before arresting an accused has to be further satisfied that the arrest is necessary to prevent such a person from committing any further offence or there is apprehension that the accused would tamper with or destroy the evidence of the offence.
The bench observed that in the six decades of independence, police still use this as a tool of harassment, oppression and courts have passed rulings to curtail the power of arrest but it has not yielded desired result.
The apex court order came on a man's plea in a dowry harassment case from Bihar.
Referring to the National Crime Records Bureau 2012 statistics which showed arrest of 1,97,762 persons all over India for offence under Section 498-A of the IPC including 47, 951 women arrested, the bench said "it depicts that mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net....The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A of 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."
No arrests under anti-dowry law without magistrate’s nod: SC
Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN | Jul 3, 2014, 02.09 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said women were increasingly using the anti-dowry law to harass in-laws and restrained police from mechanically arresting the husband and his relatives on mere lodging of a complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
Citing very low conviction rate in such cases, it directed the state governments to instruct police "not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of IPC is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters (check list) provided under Section 41 of criminal procedure code".
Section 41 lays down a 9-point check list police to weigh the need to arrest after examining the conduct of the accused, including possibility of his absconding.
Expressing exasperation over rampant misuse of Section 498A, a bench of Justices C K Prasad and P C Ghose said if police arrested the accused, the magistrate should weigh the preliminary evidence against the Section 41 checklist before allowing further detention.
"The magistrate, while authorising detention of the accused shall peruse the report furnished by the police officer in terms of Section 41 and only after recording its satisfaction, the magistrate will authorize detention," the bench said.
It also said that this check-list for arrest and detention would apply to all offences, which are punished with a prison term less than 7 years. Punishment under Section 498A is a maximum of three years but it had been made a cognizable and non-bailable offence, which made grant of bail to the accused a rarity in courts.
But the court singled out the dowry harassment cases as the most abused and misused provision, though the legislature had enacted it with the laudable object to prevent harassment of women in matrimonial homes.
Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Prasad said there had been a phenomenal increase in dowry harassment cases in India in the last few years. "The fact that Section 498A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives," he said.
"The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In a quite number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested," he said.
The bench quoted "Crime in India 2012 Statistics" published by National Crime Records Bureau to say that nearly 2 lakh people were arrested in India in 2012 under Section 498-A, which was 9.4% more than in 2011.
"Nearly a quarter of those arrested under this provision in 2012 were women i.e. 47,951 which depicts that others and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net. Its share is 6% out of the total persons arrested under the crimes committed under Indian Penal Code. It accounts for 4.5% of total crimes committed under different sections of penal code, more than any other crimes excepting theft and hurt," it said.
"The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A 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 bench said illustrating the misuse of Section 498A as a tool to harass husband and his relatives.
Describing arrest as a humiliating experience apart from curtailing the freedom, the bench said police have not shed their colonial hangover despite six decades of independence and were still considered "as a tool of harassment, oppression, and surely not considered a friend of public".
The need for caution in exercising the drastic power of arrest had been emphasized time and again by courts but has not yielded results, the court said and tasked the magistrates to check illegal arrests.
SC says no to 'automatic' arrests under 'dubious' dowry law
Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times New Delhi, July 02, 2014
The police can no longer “automatically” arrest the accused under the “dubious” anti-dowry law, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, expressing concern over the misuse of Section 498A of IPC by disgruntled wives against in-laws and husbands.
The court asked state governments to ensure that the police didn’t go on an arresting spree -- as was the practice -- in dowry harassment cases.
The attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest was "despicable" and must be curbed, it said. The police would have to give reasons and proof to magistrate before making an arrest, the court said.
A bench of justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad and justice Pinaki Chadra Ghose said Sec 498-A was introduced to combat harassment of women at the hands of husbands and his family. “The fact it is a cognisable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives,” the bench said.
Driving home the point, the court, quoting crime statistics, said nearly a quarter of those arrested under Sec 498A in 2012 were women, most of them mothers and sisters of the husbands.
Added to the Indian Penal Code in 1983, 498-A provides for maximum imprisonment of three years and fine while the maximum sentence under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is two years with a fine.
“As the arrest curtails freedom, brings humiliation and casts scars forever, ...we believe that no arrest should be made only because the offence is non-bailable and cognisable,” the court said, asking the police to shun their colonial mindset.
Magistrates, too, would have to put on record that the reasons given by the police justified detention, the court said said. The failure to do so would invite departmental action and amount to contempt of court.
The order came on a petition filed by a man from Bihar seeking anticipatory bail in a dowry harassment case filed by his wife.
Concerned over its abuse, the Law Commission and Parliament’s standing committee on home affairs had recommended that offences under Section 498A IPC be made compoundable i.e. husband and wife should be allowed to settle the dispute between themselves.
YUVRAJ PANCHAL (Mechanical Engineer) 03 July 2014
No arrest on mere allegations in dowry harassment cases: Supreme Court
Thursday, 3 July 2014 - 7:55am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
In a landmark judgment that will give huge relief to people facing arrest in dowry harassment cases, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said a person accused of an offence punishable with jail term, which may be less than or up to seven years, cannot be arrested by the police on the basis of mere allegations.
Expressing concern over misuse of anti-dowry law by "disgruntled" wives against their husbands and in-laws, the Supreme Court ruled that the police must give reasons for arresting an accused which would be judicially examined.
The apex court said the attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is "despicable" which must be curbed and directed all state governments to ensure that police do not resort to arresting in all offences punishable up to seven- year jail term including dowry harassment cases.
"The fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision," the court said.
The bench headed by Justice C K Prasad said, "No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent and wise for a police officer that no arrest is made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness of the allegation..."
It made clear that the police officer before arresting an accused has to be further satisfied that the arrest is necessary to prevent such a person from committing any further offence or there is apprehension that the accused would tamper with or destroy the evidence of the offence.
The bench observed that in the six decades of independence, police still use this as a tool of harassment, oppression and courts have passed rulings to curtail the power of arrest but it has not yielded desired result.
The apex court order came on a man's plea in a dowry harassment case from Bihar.
Referring to the National Crime Records Bureau 2012 statistics which showed arrest of 1,97,762 persons all over India for offence under Section 498-A of the IPC including 47, 951 women arrested, the bench said "it depicts that mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net....The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A of 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."
No arrests under anti-dowry law without magistrate’s nod: SC
Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN | Jul 3, 2014, 02.09 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said women were increasingly using the anti-dowry law to harass in-laws and restrained police from mechanically arresting the husband and his relatives on mere lodging of a complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
Citing very low conviction rate in such cases, it directed the state governments to instruct police "not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of IPC is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters (check list) provided under Section 41 of criminal procedure code".
Section 41 lays down a 9-point check list police to weigh the need to arrest after examining the conduct of the accused, including possibility of his absconding.
Expressing exasperation over rampant misuse of Section 498A, a bench of Justices C K Prasad and P C Ghose said if police arrested the accused, the magistrate should weigh the preliminary evidence against the Section 41 checklist before allowing further detention.
"The magistrate, while authorising detention of the accused shall peruse the report furnished by the police officer in terms of Section 41 and only after recording its satisfaction, the magistrate will authorize detention," the bench said.
It also said that this check-list for arrest and detention would apply to all offences, which are punished with a prison term less than 7 years. Punishment under Section 498A is a maximum of three years but it had been made a cognizable and non-bailable offence, which made grant of bail to the accused a rarity in courts.
But the court singled out the dowry harassment cases as the most abused and misused provision, though the legislature had enacted it with the laudable object to prevent harassment of women in matrimonial homes.
Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Prasad said there had been a phenomenal increase in dowry harassment cases in India in the last few years. "The fact that Section 498A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives," he said.
"The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In a quite number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested," he said.
The bench quoted "Crime in India 2012 Statistics" published by National Crime Records Bureau to say that nearly 2 lakh people were arrested in India in 2012 under Section 498-A, which was 9.4% more than in 2011.
"Nearly a quarter of those arrested under this provision in 2012 were women i.e. 47,951 which depicts that others and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net. Its share is 6% out of the total persons arrested under the crimes committed under Indian Penal Code. It accounts for 4.5% of total crimes committed under different sections of penal code, more than any other crimes excepting theft and hurt," it said.
"The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A 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 bench said illustrating the misuse of Section 498A as a tool to harass husband and his relatives.
Describing arrest as a humiliating experience apart from curtailing the freedom, the bench said police have not shed their colonial hangover despite six decades of independence and were still considered "as a tool of harassment, oppression, and surely not considered a friend of public".
The need for caution in exercising the drastic power of arrest had been emphasized time and again by courts but has not yielded results, the court said and tasked the magistrates to check illegal arrests.
SC says no to 'automatic' arrests under 'dubious' dowry law
Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times New Delhi, July 02, 2014
The police can no longer “automatically” arrest the accused under the “dubious” anti-dowry law, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, expressing concern over the misuse of Section 498A of IPC by disgruntled wives against in-laws and husbands.
The court asked state governments to ensure that the police didn’t go on an arresting spree -- as was the practice -- in dowry harassment cases.
The attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest was "despicable" and must be curbed, it said. The police would have to give reasons and proof to magistrate before making an arrest, the court said.
A bench of justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad and justice Pinaki Chadra Ghose said Sec 498-A was introduced to combat harassment of women at the hands of husbands and his family. “The fact it is a cognisable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives,” the bench said.
Driving home the point, the court, quoting crime statistics, said nearly a quarter of those arrested under Sec 498A in 2012 were women, most of them mothers and sisters of the husbands.
Added to the Indian Penal Code in 1983, 498-A provides for maximum imprisonment of three years and fine while the maximum sentence under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is two years with a fine.
“As the arrest curtails freedom, brings humiliation and casts scars forever, ...we believe that no arrest should be made only because the offence is non-bailable and cognisable,” the court said, asking the police to shun their colonial mindset.
Magistrates, too, would have to put on record that the reasons given by the police justified detention, the court said said. The failure to do so would invite departmental action and amount to contempt of court.
The order came on a petition filed by a man from Bihar seeking anticipatory bail in a dowry harassment case filed by his wife.
Concerned over its abuse, the Law Commission and Parliament’s standing committee on home affairs had recommended that offences under Section 498A IPC be made compoundable i.e. husband and wife should be allowed to settle the dispute between themselves.
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