A marriage is a union of a man and a woman intended to last forever, filled with love and respect for each other and a commitment to embark on a journey hand in hand. With the responsibility of being the building block of a society, a couple starts a new life with aspirations and desires. A plenty of changes in their routine, social circle and familial demands create significant disturbances in their lives and in some cases makes it stressful. Changes in the behaviour of the spouses, the influence of extended family and friends and inability to cope with work-life balance often push the couples apart. Some marriages survive the test of time, but some don’t.
The general perception is that the Indian law is favourable to women and men suffer when a matrimonial conflict reaches the court or the police station. But the law per se doesn’t differentiate between the genders; it is the one who is at fault, is put at the receiving end, when the matter is brought in front of the Court of law and an effective representation is made. The Constitutional requirement of empowering and uplifting the weaker gender and to end certain practices of atrocities and social evils certain laws are in force such as Dowry Prohibition Act, provisions in the Criminal Law and Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, to name a few. However, these legislations were not intended to put every man in the dock, instead they point only at the malefactors.
An increasing awareness about the laws to protect women in the domestic relationships and from harassment within the matrimonial relationship has made way to wrong accusations of cruelty, harassment, violence by men. Ill intended, false claims themselves make a strong case of cruelty against men. Apart from this, men also suffer from day-to-day cruelty in the domestic lives. Read further to understand what remedies men have, when they encounter these challenges in their lives.
Facing a false dowry harassment case and going through the ordeal of running hither and thither for no fault of themselves, is a most gruelling situation people can be in. The fact that offence under 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable has been used as a weapon by disgruntled wives. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Crime Report of 2021 shows that under Dowry Prohibition Act, 418 cases were false out of 21287 cases in their final report. Irony is that the legislation with an objective to support and protect women has been misused by some women or their families; the ones who are enduring agony due to dowry demands continuing to do so. Any case that comes for trial must withstand scrutiny of law. The decisions of the judiciary are promising to those who are wrongly accused of certain deeds under matrimonial offences.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita Section 85 (Previously IPC Section 498A) goes as follows;
Husband or relative of husband offer 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.
Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita Section 86 (Previously IPC Section 498A)
Explanation for the purpose of section 85 ‘cruelty’ means
Other Provisions under which the Dowry Harassment/ Dowry Cases/ Dowry Death cases can be filed:
‘Cruelty contemplates the conduct of the husband who intentionally causes harassment to drive his wife to commit suicide or to cause injury to her life, limb etc. In the absence of any such circumstances, it is difficult to comprehend that such conduct of the husband amounts to cruelty as defined under Section 498-A of the IPC. There may be instances where an emotional lady may commit suicide the moment a word is uttered in anger or haste. Such instances do not comprehend cruelty,’ as held in the case of Sumangala v Laxminarayan Anant Hegde 2003 (2) Crimes 335 (Karnt).
Hence, to prove cruelty under Section 85 of BNS, the requirements are stringent in nature.
Will I get arrested by the Police?
The Judiciary has made a note of false dowry harassment cases being filed over the time and given guidelines in the landmark judgment of Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCR 128, the highlights of the said decision as follows;
‘Arrest brings humiliation, curtails freedom and casts scars forever. The need for caution in exercising the drastic power of arrest has been emphasized time and again by courts but has not yielded desired result. The attitude to arrest first and then proceed with rest is despicable. It has become a handy tool to police officers who lack sensitivity or act with oblique motive. No arrest should be made only because the offense is non-bailable and cognizable and therefore, lawful for police officer to do so. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on the mere allegation of Commission of an offence made against a person. Directions given in order to ensure that police officers do not arrest accused unnecessarily and Magistrate do not authorize detention casually and mechanically under Indian Penal Code Section 498-A and Dowry Prohibition Act 1961.’
Prior to this judgment, Police were authorised to make an arrest in Dowry Harassment/ Dowry Demand cases immediately.
Steps to take when you face a false dowry case:
Step 1 – Take the help of a Lawyer
When you receive a call/ notice from a Police Station or a notice from the court, it could be overwhelming to understand all at once. Consulting a lawyer who has experience in dealing with family matters, who has the know-how of the local legal procedures helps you to decipher the situation and could prevent a possible arrest. The facts and circumstances of the case and accusations made in the complaint by your wife/ her family require specific strategy to be framed to tackle the case, which can be achieved through a consultation with a lawyer.
If FIR (First Information Report) is filed or you are arrested by the police, your lawyer will guide you/ family to take anticipatory bail/ regular bail. It is important to restore your freedom before proving your innocence in the matter.
Step 2 – Write your version
Write down your narrative of the marital relationship with possible reasons that could have triggered filing a false case. Note down all the events that supports your claim that there was no demand for dowry, no cruelty/ harassment was perpetrated from your end.
Step 3 – Gather Evidence
Gather all the evidence to support your story; it can be messages, emails, receipts of payments made, medical records, etc that witnesses your innocence. There are chances that your spouse is using this provision to gain advantage in other cases such as divorce, child custody or maintenance. The proceedings of those cases also have the evidentiary value.
Step 4 – Attend the court proceedings
It is important that you attend the court proceedings in person along with your lawyer, whenever you are asked to do so. In criminal trials it is mandatory to be present whenever required to do so.
Step 5 – File counter cases
You may file counter cases for Defamation, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Intimidation and of the like, if you wish to do so. However, note that you must have credible evidence to support your claim.
Quashing FIR/ Case filed under BNS Sec 85:
Quashing a case means nullifying or declaring it void or invalid or putting an end to the legal proceeding. When there is an irregularity or defect in the procedure or prima facie grounds of false implication or proceedings not conducted fairly, a petition can be filed in the High Court of the jurisdiction to quash the case in question.
‘Criminal Procedure Code under Section 482 empowers the High Courts to quash a proceeding when it comes to the conclusion that allowing the proceeding to continue would be an abuse of the process of the court or that the ends of justice require that the proceeding ought to be quashed. The High Courts have been invested with inherent powers, both in civil and criminal matters, to achieve a salutary public purpose. A court proceeding ought not to be permitted to degenerate into a weapon of harassment and prosecution.’ As observed by the Supreme Court in State of Karnataka v L Muniswamy & Others (1977) 2 SCC 699
Therefore, this provision of law which is now Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS, 2023) can be utilised to seek remedy when you face a false dowry case.
Accusations of Domestic Violence can be made under Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) or under Criminal Law. Under DV Act the remedies provided are civil in nature, whereas proceedings are governed by the criminal procedure.
If the complaint is filed under the provisions of DV Act only, there will not be any arrest made immediately. But when the provisions of BNS are also drawn in, then there can be an arrest.
To file a Domestic Violence case under DV Act, the woman must be in a domestic relationship with her husband in a shared household. The remedies can be sought include monetary compensation, shelter, injunctions, protection orders, counselling or monetary relief. If you are a husband, falsely accused under such case,
All the false allegations made in such false cases would not stand a chance against strong objections made in the case. The wife claiming remedies also must prove through evidence that her allegations are true. While cross examining the complainant more proof can be gathered against the false accusations. Hence it is important to respond to the court summons and attend the court proceedings.
The word ‘cruelty’ is interpreted, analysed and defined by the courts depending upon many factors such as social status, background, educational status, community, upbringing, etc in each case. There is no specific law that is specifically enacted to protect men from cruelty by their wives. However, the provisions of the applicable matrimonial laws and criminal laws can be evoked to stop and punish the perpetrator when the truth is established. Some of the examples of cruelty against husband are as follows.
Remedies/ Reliefs available for Husbands:
The following sections of the matrimonial laws consider cruelty as one of the grounds to seek matrimonial relief by way of divorce.
Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Section 27 (1) (d) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954
Section 10 (1) (x) of the Divorce Act, 1869
Section 32 (dd) of the Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act, 1936
These sections are applicable for both the spouses equally.
The husbands can file criminal cases based on the following grounds when there is no substantial evidence for wives to prove their accusations.
A wife cannot claim maintenance if she’s willingly left the company of her husband and living separately. Section 144 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhitha (BNSS), 2023 (previously Section 125 of Cr PC) has its object only to a person who has the means to maintain but neglects the maintenance of his wife/ children or parents.
Sub- section 4 of the same section further tells that “A wife shall be disentitled to claim maintenance if she is living in adultery, refusing without sufficient reasons, to live with her husband or living separately by mutual consent.”
Is it compulsory to pay maintenance to my wife after divorce?
This question pops up often among the men before or while going through the divorce proceedings. The concept of maintenance is only to make sure there is no neglect of wife/ children when spouses decide to live separately either through divorce or otherwise. If there are reasons that can be proved to say that the wife has more resources to look after herself than her husband, if she is refusing to live in the shared household without any sufficient reason, if she is living in adultery with other man/ men, or both the spouses decided to live separately without any maintenance claims on either sides, a wife’s maintenance claim can be rejected by the court.
In the case of Mandeep Sharma v Kiran Sharma, AIR 2002 J&K 90, the evidence disclosed that the wife remained employed as teacher in a school in 1997 and thereafter her name did not find place in the records of the school which was run by her mother. The matrimonial court found it unbelievable that the mother who was a matriculate woman was running a full-fledged school and daughter who happens to be better qualified, being B.Ed. trained teacher, stood at home. The High Court did not find any infirmity with the finding of the matrimonial court, based on evidence on record that the wife was not entitled to relief of pendant lite maintenance for herself and litigation expenses.
Multiple Claims of Maintenance:
Maintenance can be claimed by a separated wife under different applicable matrimonial laws as well as Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhitha, 2023. They do not create any additional rights but only an enforcement of existing right of maintenance. Once maintenance order has been granted in the favour of a wife in one of the courts, she is not entitled to claim additional maintenance under other provision in any other court/ forum. When a woman’s right to maintenance has been adjudicated by an appropriate court, and if she is seeking enhancement of maintenance already granted, she will have to appeal based on the previous order not by filing another case in another court.
The case of Sudeep Chaudhary v Radha Chaudhary 1999 SC 536 has set a precedent that maintenance granted under one law to be adjusted against the amount awarded in another proceeding.
The courts consider welfare of the child to be paramount while deciding on the Child Custody cases. There is no room for the rights of the parents over the child’s wellbeing. While exercising parens patriae jurisdiction, the courts consider welfare of the children is the sole and single yardstick by which court shall assess the comparative merit of the parties contesting for custody. The child needs attention and affection from both the parents. This need of the child coupled with a conducive environment enriched with financial stability, assurance of provision of education, safety and health factors and social interaction/ circle of the parent decides who shall have the custody of the child.
Father is a natural guardian of a child. Separation of the parents bring about the need to decide which parent will continue to take responsibility of upbringing the child. Often it becomes a game of ego and status leading to the neglect of the child. A mother of a child below 5 years of age usually gets the custody, but not under all circumstances. Gender of the child and opinion/ wish of an older child also considered while granting custody orders. The parent who can provide comparatively better upbringing/ welfare stands a chance to get the custody. The other parent can seek visitation right on a periodic basis or during school holidays of the child.
The concept of Joint Custody also gaining momentum, where both the parents are capable of providing a good upbringing and both are in consensus with each other in dividing the time without affecting the child’s educational, co-curricular and social needs.
A father has equal right to claim child custody, visitation right or joint custody of his child/ children.
In K M Vinaya v B R Srinivas (Civil Appeal No 4461/ 2015) the Supreme Court’s judgment can be seen to have an understanding how a joint custody can work with the parents.
“(i) The minor child…….will live with the appellant mother from Monday to Friday. On every Saturday from 8:00 AM till Sunday 8:00 PM the appellant mother will send the child to the custody of the respondent father and he shall return the child to the mother by 8:00 PM on every Sunday.
(ii) The aforesaid arrangement is for a period of first three weekends in a month and in the last week of the month the child will remain in the custody of the appellant mother for the purpose of updating his studies.
(iii) Both the parties are directed to see that the child shall be made available for the respondent father during summer vacation/winter vacation/ Xmas vacation. The child shall spend first half of the vacation periods with the father and the second-half periods of the vacation the child will remain in the custody of the mother.
(iv) The custody of the child during the festivals, birthdays etc. will be shared between the father and the mother on a mutually agreed basis.
(v) We also further direct the parties to bring up the child in the joint custody and guardianship in future.
(vi) As agreed by both the parties, they shall take steps and withdraw all the proceedings pending before the courts below and withdraw all the allegations made against each other by filing necessary affidavits by both in all the proceedings.
(vii) It is agreed between the parties that the father can have access to the son through mobile phone, landline or Skype, during the weekdays at a mutually agreed time. Similarly, the mother will also have access when the boy is with the father.
We further observe that appealing to mother it’s sending the son to the house of the respondent father as directed above the mother must make necessary arrangements to send required books and other materials to see that the child when he is in the custody of the father in the weekends, the study of the child is not affected.
We also make it very clear that the respondent father has to feed during the study of the weekends, if there is any tuition to be attended by the minor child, the arrangement for the same may be made by the father.
We further hope and trust that the parents will see that the welfare of the child and his growth and development must be only criteria to be kept in their mind, they shall not conduct themselves in any manner to the prejudicial interest of the child.”
To understand, further clarification on False Dowry/ False Domestic Violence Cases and if you are in a difficult situation: We are here to help
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