A case of dowry has been registered against a dead man.

On October 5, 30-year-old banker Rakesh Pilania jumped from his apartment in an upscale Gurgaon locality. His family alleges that he committed suicide out of fear of being implicated under Section 498A of the IPC (cruelty against wife by husband or his relatives).

His wife, meanwhile, registered a dowry harassment case against her husband and his family a day after Rakesh died.

Though Rakesh is no more, proceedings under Section 498A would continue against his family.

Over the years fake dowry cases have seen a sharp rise, with harassed husbands rushing to mediation centres, and calling helplines for men in distress

Experts say Rakesh’s case brings to the fore the misuse of section 498A and its grave consequences, including suicide.

“In this case, the FIR seems to be an attempt at evading action for abetment to suicide. Even after the man’s death, his family would have to face a legal battle,” says Deepika Bhardwaj, a journalist and filmmaker, currently working on a documentary on possible misuses of the controversial penal section.

This week, there was another case in Rohtak, where a man committed suicide allegedly due to threats from his daughter-in-law of being implicated in a dowry case. The man was found dead with a suicide note hanging from his neck where he alleged he had to take the extreme step because of the harassment he faced.

“A lot of men are committing suicide hoping their families would be spared after their death. But that does not happen always. The case in Gurgaon is an example. Now, the parents would not only mourn the loss of a family member but would also fight a criminal case. I know of a few cases where the dowry and domestic violence case has been filed after the death of the husband without an iota of evidence,” Bhardwaj said.

The case was registered against Rakesh and his family at a police station in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh. In the FIR, the woman and her family alleged that Rakesh was mentally ill and he tortured her mentally and physically. They also said he demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh. Rakesh’s parents, however, say he was depressed due to the constant fear of being implicated in a fake dowry case.

“This took his life. But even his death could not deter her from registering a case against us. This clearly shows the police did not carry out proper investigation before lodging an FIR,” said his father Anand Prakash Pilania.

“The woman and her family concealed the information that Rakesh committed suicide. They are now trying to evade the case of abetment of suicide against them. On the day of the incident, she was nearby. They knew Rakesh took his life. They had come to the hospital where Rakesh was taken and had threatened us to not initiate any legal action,” he added.

Over the years fake dowry cases have seen a sharp rise, with harassed husbands rushing to mediation centres, calling helplines for men in distress, and even approaching the Delhi Commission for Women with complaints of being threatened and tortured by their wives.

Referring to crime statistics, the apex court said 1,97,762 persons were arrested in 2012 for offences under Section 498A, and nearly a quarter of those arrested under this provision were women, showing that the mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in the arrest net.

In July 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that the attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is “despicable” and must be curbed. It 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.

“We direct all the state governments to instruct its police officers not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of the IPC is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest,” a bench headed by Justice C K Prasad said.

Ved Prakash Mangla, the advocate for Rakesh’s family, said: “The complainant were well aware of Rakesh’s death. The case was registered without any inquiry. The FIR was registered as a counter defense for getting anticipatory bail against the wife’s family.”

When contacted, Rakesh’s wife told Mail Today: “I am not in a condition to talk to you about this.”