CHENNAI: In a worrying trend, the number of women filing false rape complaints against husbands and in-laws is on the rise in the country.As many as 31,292 cases of alleged cruelty by husbands and in-laws, filed by women under Section 498A of the IPC between 2011 and 2013, were found false or mistake of fact or law after police investigation, said minister of state for home affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha recently.The number of false cases under Section 498A has increased over the past few years - 10,193 in 2011, 10,235 in 2012 and 10,864 in 2013.Similarly, a total of 1,207 cases of insult to the modesty of women (Section 509 of the IPC) were found untrue after police investigation.The number cases under Section 509 has also increased from 386 in 2011 to 482 in 2013.According to the recent NCRB data, there is a gradual increase in the number of rapes reported in India - from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013.It is also revealed that most victims are aged between 18 and 30 years (15,556) and 14 and 18 years (8,877).Sources say false cases are being filed to settle scores and also when relationships go sour.Activists say increasing number of false cases defeats the very purpose of the stringent rules enacted to protect the safety of women.“The increasing number of false cases would be a hindrance for genuine women who are fighting for justice,” said a women rights activist.In December last year, the Supreme Court observed that false cruelty cases under Section 498A is ruining marriages. “When you file complaints under Section 498A, be circumspect and truthful. Do not drag old parents if they had no role in causing any harassment to you. You unnecessarily involve old people in your complaint, you end up ruining the marriage” said a bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and A K Sikri.Chaudhary said ministry of home affairs had issued two advisories to the states to curb misuse of Section 498A of the IPC.They advise “the states on judicious and cautious application of dowry laws so as to ensure that no innocent person be victimized. Moreover, the victim of false case can also invoke Section 182 of the IPC (False information with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person) which provides for imprisonment for a term which may extend six months or with fine or both,” he said.