NAGPUR : Men’s rights activists have always harped on the misuse of Domestic Violence Act and anti-dowry laws. They are now further upset about a proposed amendment to section 498A of Indian Penal Code, which makes it a compoundable offence. The activists feel that this will only lead to an increase in the number of false cases and abuse of the law.

NGO Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) has objected to the proposed amendment, while also making several suggestions that can help implement the law in a better way. SIFF describes as state sponsored extortion the move to favour feminists through biased laws without consideration of men’s abuse. The organization has demanded that divorce and dowry related cases be dealt with in a more accountable way.

“Even the government acknowledges the extensive misuse of dowry laws in the country. It’s not a new phenomenon. We have been bringing it to the attention of authorities for years,” said SIFF president Rajesh Vakharia . He added that the judiciary itself was responsible for this misuse, as it has focused on making the laws so women-friendly that it has ended up making it abusive towards accused men.

SIFF presented several examples to point out how the Criminal Procedure Code is broken blatantly by the police and judiciary in cases of marital discord and dowry. Despite the rules, police don’t provide any counselling before registering a case under both laws. Moreover, they arrest the accused and even their relatives against whom a complaint hasn’t been made, without a warrant.

Bail petitions of accused in these cases often take months to be cleared even if a man is willing to cooperate in the investigation. No action is taken against a complainant or her relatives even if they physically abuse the accused or his relatives. Even if cases linger on for years, judges take no action on women for not attending hearings.

“It is sad that instead of working to resolve these procedural hurdles, which result in abuse of men, the government is planning to make this law compoundable. It is already compoundable in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telengana. After the law was made compoundable, the misuse of this law increased manifold in these states,” said SIFF spokesperson Jyoti Tiwari .

PROCEDURAL DEFICIENCIES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT

Police do not issue notice of appearance on receiving complaint from wife, and often call accused husband to force a visit to the police station without sending official summons

Despite the rules, no marital counselling, due to lack of trained personnel, before official complaint is registered

Policeman don’t get punished for not following provisions of Section 41 Criminal Procedure Code, which demands issuing notice of appearance before arrest

Relatives of accused men, even those not named in complaint, are illegally detained by police and forced to give statements

Complainant woman or her relatives are never punished, even if they assault accused in presence of cops or judiciary

Bails petitions take months

DEMANDS

Drop move to amend 498A and make it compoundable

Make Section 498A bailable and non-cognizable

Form committees to monitor and review orders by judiciary, with representation of acquitted men

Make provision to punish police and judicial officers who do not follow law properly

Ensure men are not subjected to extortion and blackmailing in the name of mediation and counselling

