My wife is characterless, how can i proof ??

Such allegations not proved in Family court, divorce petition dismissed can be a strong ground for filing S.498A against you.

When a husband goes to court and makes allegations that his wife has no character, he is fighting for justice if he is right otherwise he is indulging in character assassination.  It is defamation plus perjury.  This amounts to mental harrassment for a woman because it plays havoc on her mind if husband goes to court and talks disparagingly about her character.  Court proceedings are in the knowledge of society and it leads to defamation, and it causes hurt to the woman.  Hence it makes a case under S.498A on the grounds of mental harrassment.  Allegation is not a matter of right for people that they can make frivolously.  There can be legal consequences for it like perjury, defamation and damages.

Cruelty means :

any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

Cruelty means any wilful conduct which of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury to mental health of the woman. 

Hope you got the point.

chandrasekhar is wrong. cruelty should include unlawful demand of property. Filing a case is neither cruelty nor an unlawful demand. dont misguide the author.

498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.-- Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this section," cruelty" means

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.]

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Gentlemen.  There are two parts to the definition of cruelty.  Part (a) and Part (b).  Part (b) relates to dowry harrassment.   Part (a) relates to any kind of cruelty (or harrassment) which may not relate to dowry.

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so as u r contending, filing a case by husband is the conduct which is likely to drve the women to cause grave injury or danger to her health.

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not merely to her physical health......her mental health is also included.  In other words, the husband or relatives do not touch the women to beat her physically.  There is no physical violence at all.  But still she can have a case if they harrass her mentally and if she complains, the way they speak to me or behaving is affecting my mental health badly.

You are of the mistaken view that 498A means that it should include two aspects viz. A. that there should be dowry demand B. that there should be proof of physical violence.  However without even these two aspects also S.498A is applicable, you will know that if you read Part (a) carefully.  That is why I said if the Divorce case on the ground of allegations against her character is proved against the husband it could become a fit case for her to file a case under S.498A.  You may be knowing that if S.498A is proved against the wife, the husband can pray for divorce on the ground of cruelty.  Courts give judgments in favor of husband in such cases.  Similarly, if divorce case having this kind of allegations is proved against husband, it could become a ground for her to file a case under S.498A.  If the husband can get relief under HMA for false complaint lodged by wife under 498A, the wife also can get relief under S.498A if the allegations in divorce petition are proved against the husband.

The next question is, whether there was any cruelty or harassment by the deceased's husband or any relative and that too it was soon before her death. The argument put in is that neither there is any physical injury nor any evidence of cruelty from any neighbours or other independent persons; hence there is no cruelty or harassment. In our considered opinion, cruelty nor harassment need not be physical. Even mental torture in a given case would be a case of cruelty and harassment within the meaning of Section 304-B and 498-A IPC. Explanation (a) to Section 498-A itself refers to both mental and physical cruelty. In view of Explanation (a) the argument is, before it constitutes to be a cruelty there has to be wilful conduct. Again wilful conduct means, conduct wilfully done may be inferred by direct or indirect evidence which could be construed to be such. We find, in the present case, on account of not satisfying the demand of the aforesaid goods, right from the next day, she was repeatedly taunted, maltreated and mentally tortured by calling her ugly etc.

-----https://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/60202/

We are of the opinion that an illicit relationship of a married man with another woman would clearly amount to cruelty within the meaning of Section 498-A. Even assuming for a moment that this did not amount to cruelty within the meaning of Section 498-A it could still be used as a piece of evidence of harassment and misbehaviour of the appellant towards the deceased

https://www.stpl-india.in/SCJFiles/2010_STPL(Web)_942_SC.pdf

dont worry... since you hv left earlier job and are now earning a low salary... she herself will file for divorce sooner or later... 

I will tell you a joke.

Two musclemen politicians are inviting another fellow who has many friends and relatives in his district to come into politics.  "yaar tussi aajo politics mein!".  That fellow humbled by the request by such big people felt shy and replied, "Are saab!  Politics mein humraa kaa kaam hain....wahaa to bade bade kaanoon bante hain vo to humre bas ki baat hi nahi....wo to aap jaise akalmando kaa kaam hain...".  Two musclemen politicians laughed loudly and said:  "Arre tussi fikr na karoo....kanoon hum thodi banaate hai vo to humre clerk kaa kaam hain....elechan jeetnaa badi baat hain kaanoon vaanoon choti baat hain wo to koyi bhi clerk maheene mein do hajaar tanqa leke kardegaa....". 

Insight :  Jisko akal nahi hain, wo doosron ke bhejaa istemaal karke apne kaam karvaa lenaa akalmandi samajhte hain.   Nobody can tell them you are a fool. 

Originally posted by : chandrasekhar.7203@ gmail.com,
	the wife also can get relief under S.498A if the allegations in divorce petition are proved against the husband.

But for filing such 498a (based on failed husband's divorce petition) she has to prove that it has caused her GRAVE MENTAL INJURY THAT HAS MADE HER SUICIDAL OR DANGEROUS TO HER LIFE / LIMBS (basic ingredient of 498a).

How will she justify this?

Obviosuly she can file any cooked case but husband won't  be convicted.

@Gaurav.

S.498A. Explanation to "cruelty"

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

Sum up :  any wilful conduct which of such a nature as is likely to cause grave injury or danger to mental health of a woman. 

I will give you the elements of offence in the above sentence by analysis method:

1. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive woman to commit suicide

2. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to cause grave injury to life

3. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to cause danger to life

4. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to cause grave injury or danger to limb

5. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to cause grave injury or danger to mental health of a woman

6. any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to cause grave injury or danger to physical health of a woman

Hence it is not necessary that the mental health of a woman should be affected so much that she tends to commit suicide or commits suicide.  Mere affectation of mental health is sufficient.  Suicide is a different element of offense as you can see in pt.1 above.

But you failed to explain how exercisicing a civil petition is understood to mental stress to a woman. Thats to me is a gross misunderstanding of a law.

And taking one instance into account you cannot redefine section 498a or cruelty. Your stand is very much subjective and in no way it shld be understood as a thumb rule for dowry act.

@Stalker.  Civil petition is a matter of right for anyone.  However if a civil petition contains such allegations which if brought into public domain would cause mental agony caused due to defamation it can be a ground for filing a case under S.498A if the allegations are proved to be baseless or false.  If the allegations are proved and divorce is granted then no problem.  If divorce is not granted.  The petitioner cannot defend himself saying, "civil petition is a matter of right, I can allege anything under sun, the draft is prepared by my Advocate, hence I am not liable for prosecution under IPC".  The petitioner has verified the draft and signed the draft.  There are allegations which are brought into public domain by way of filing a civil suit.  Everyone in the society are in the know that such and such man had brought civil suit of divorce against such and such woman for such and such reasons.  If the woman is innocent or proved innocent because the allegations are not proved in divorce petition, she can take entire record of divorce petition to PS and show what are the allegations made by husband against her. "Husband is saying like this about me and this is causing immense mental agony to me, my mental health is affected due to this".  The same she can present as evidence in court also.  "These allegations defamed me and my character, I suffered lot of mental agony because of these allegations and malicious proceedings against me, my mental health is affected because of these allegations and malicious proceedings by my husband, he initiated these proceedings against me with a deliberate wilful intention to assassinate my character in public eye, and talk everything negative about me in public so as to defame me, hence I request the authorities to prosecute him under 498A."

It is possible.  Please note my point.  Mere bringing of civil suit will not be a cause for maintainging police complaint under 498A.  It should contain such allegations which are false in nature and the same are also proved to be false in the civil court.  Then a case of 498A is maintainable.

Annaa!!!

These laws are pathetic. In such a case 498a should be called a "cruelty" section with a huge bracket ranging from cold,cough,headache to dowry death of a woman.

Why name it as a dowry law when the intension is to cover A to Z of wife claims? inka sanctity emuntaadi anna laws ante...SC kooda pitchekkinchestannadi...thuthh

gatlane untadi tammee law ante.  elikeste kaalikestaru, kaalikeste elikestaru. edutav tammi?

However, the relief for men is the courts use (a) part I mentioned above very sparingly.   The two case laws I mentioned were the cases where women committed suicides.  So when mental cruelty is to be considered, the yardstick the court followed so far is that the woman should commit suicide, so that a husband is convicted under 498A for mental cruelty.  However the position of law is different.  When the punishment is up to three years, someone who indulges in mental cruelty may be awarded a sentence of only three months instead of sentencing for two or three years.  But courts ignore this aspect that for smaller offences within meaning of 498A they can give smaller term punishment of three or four months too.  When this realization dawns upon them, then even mental cruelty complained by woman will receive conviction of say three or four months.