The Supreme Court (SC) cautions about the tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498-A Indian Penal Code (IPC) as a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family in Dara Lakshmi Narayana & Others v State of Telengana & Another [2024 INSC 953].
The provision of Section 498-A IPC has become the legal weapon for the wives / her relatives to settle scores with the husband/ his family because of ever growing marital discord across the country. The inclusion of Section 498A of the IPC was intended to curb cruelty inflicted on a woman by her husband and his family, primarily due to an unlawful demand for any property or valuable security in the form of dowry.
In this case, the wife had registered a domestic cruelty case against the husband and his family members after the husband filed a petition seeking the dissolution of the marriage.
The SC adds that it does not say that any woman who has suffered cruelty as per the Section 498A of the IPC should remain silent and forbear herself from making a complaint or initiating any criminal proceeding.
What it says is not to misuse it just to settle scores with the husband and his family members.
