Women have been subjected to mental and physical harassment for dowry for years. However, statistics from the Mumbai police show that such cases in the city have seen a steady decline from 2009 after a disturbing upward trend between 2006 and 2008. The number of cases registered under section 498(A) — cruelty to a woman by husband or relatives of husband) — of the Indian Penal Code fell from 389 in 2008 to 287 in 2011.

The success in bringing down harassment cases against women is attributed to a special cell of the Social Service Branch (SSB) of the city police. The cell resolves disputes among couples with the objective of bringing down cases of domestic violence against women.

"It is difficult to pinpoint a particular reason for the success. In a fast-paced city like Mumbai where people are under tremendous stress and there is lack of communication, such cases tend to occur frequently," said Nisar Tamboli, Mumbai police spokesperson and deputy commissioner of police.

Advocate Paresh Desai said cases of mental and physical harassment for dowry under the Domestic Violence Act are declining too. "This is because of counselling by the police to couples with differences in their relationship," he said.

Some policemen, however, claim that the statistics do not reveal the complete picture. "One cannot entirely believe the statistics as they may also include cases purposely filed by women against their in-laws,” said Sunil Deshmukh, assistant commissioner of police.

“Section 498(A) is often misused by women to create a fear psychosis among their in-laws so that they do not torture them. Also, the decrease in such cases must be marginal compared to previous years," said Deshmukh.

"The section is misused as many times, a woman, in a fit of rage, mentions every member of her husband's family in her police complaint to take revenge. It is very difficult to prove in court that the victim's in-laws demanded dowry. Therefore, in 90% of such cases, the accused is acquitted due to lack of evidence," said Desai who practices at the family court in Bandra.

Assistant commissioner of police Firoj Patel of the SSB said women with domestic problems related to harassment or torture should approach the police as timely solution can curb such offences.

Deshmukh said in harassment cases related to dowry, the police meet the couple face-to-face and counsel them to ensure their marriage lasts. "Earlier, we would first register cases related to section 498(A) after the victim approached the police. But now, we record the statements of all the people and verify facts to check whether it is a genuine complaint before registering an FIR," he said.

The deputy commissioner of police personally verifies the facts to ensure the complaint is genuine. "However, in several cases we found the complainant was misusing the law to settle scores with her in-laws. As a result, offences were registered against innocent people," Deshmukh said.