How to win a false 498A case?
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides that ‘husband or relative of the husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty, shall be liable for imprisonment for 3 years with fine.’ The said provision was inserted in 1983 to protect a married woman from harassment and cruelty relating to dowry demand, including all types of physical harassment, mental torture, etc.
Motive behind the enactment of Section 498A
The provision was brought in force aiming to protect married women from domestic violence. In the case of Amar Singh v. the State of Rajasthan[i]– The Court defined cruelty for Sec. 498A of IPC where a husband starts taunting for not bringing dowry and calling her ugly. Such acts of taunting by the husband would constitute cruelty both within the meaning of Sec. 498A of IPC.
In another case of Inder Raj Malik v. Sunita Malik[ii]– The Court held that cruelty is the harassment of a woman to coerce her or any related persons to meet any unlawful demand for any property or any valuable security is cruelty.
Misuse of Section 498A
In the present scenario, there have been many cases where women have started misusing Sec. 498A whereby they file false cases against her husband and her in-laws and get the advantages of the alimony, or they do so if you refuse to give her divorce, or she is having an affair, etc.
The Supreme Court[iii] has given a name to Section 498A i.e. “Legal Terrorism”.The Court has identified the abuseof the very law mostly by the educated women for their self-centered necessities. A huge number of women abuse the arrangements of Section 498A for getting separation and remarrying or for claiming high alimony, etc.[iv]
Recently, the Apex Court observed in Kahkashan Kausar v. State of Bihar, 2022 that Section 498A of the IPC is being used to settle personal scores against husband and his kin. The court stated that previous decisions clearly demonstrate the misuse of Section 498A IPC and the increased tendency of implicating of husband’s relatives in matrimonial disputes, without analyzing the long-term ramifications of a trial on the complainant as well as the accused is an abuse of law[v].
The report[vi] shows 5.5 lakh cases of 498A/dowry were registered and 70% are acquittals as the wife is unable to prove her claims. This data clearly shows that women misuse the said provisions as a weapon to harass men and their family members to settle the scores. According to the National Crime Record Bureau report All India Crime Data, the 498A cases registered are increasing every year, and the conviction rate is falling drastically. The conviction rate is ¼ of the total crimes conviction rate.
Important stages
Investigation by police
The police will initiate the investigation and they will inform the charges against you; this will create panic amongst you and your family. Don\’t need to panic and be aware of your rights. The High Court of Delhi[vii], has laid down a model format to issue a Notice under Section 41A of the CrPC containing a warning stating that the failure to comply with the terms of this Notice may lead to arrest under Section 41A (3) and (4) of Cr. P.C.
Importance of Statement of Witnesses in 498A Acquittal
Police investigation starts by recording the statements of all the witnesses as per Section 161 of the CrPC and it forms a part of the charge sheet. Note that if the statements are taken from the wife’s family members/ relatives only then they are the interested witnesses and their statements have less weightage.
Further, the statement recorded by the police may be contradicted on the grounds whether the witness has made it before the police or not. In Syyed Husan v. State[viii], the court held that the correct way to prove a contradiction or omission is to ask the investigating officer (IO) about it in his evidence, whether or not a certain statement was made before him by a witness. The trial court’s ruling must be given after comparing the part of the statement recorded by the police and the one made by the person in the witness box. There should not be any contradiction between the two statements.
Filing of a charge sheet and framing of charges
Once the police investigation is completed it shall then file a charge sheet and if there is no evidence in support of 498A charges against you discharge can be sought before the court. Or, if there is a valid case against you then charges shall be framed against you by the court.
Evidence stage
Always assemble all the relevant proof against false charges of 498A. You can present evidence against cruelty done by your wife for example asking you to move away from your parents, threatening messages of filing a case against you, etc. Very importantly a verification that dowry wasn’t demanded before or post-wedding.
You can present medical records, eyewitnesses, WhatsApp messages, emails, etc. to prove your innocence. Cross-examination plays a very significant role and hence you need to act wisely, support your lawyer with all the relevant details and evidence available to you.
Final stage of the argument
This is a very important stage; both the parties’ counsels give closing remarks after presenting the evidence.
Guidelines by the Supreme Court: Relief against police harassment
In the case of Arnesh Kumar v. the State of Bihar[ix]– The Apex Court passed certain guidelines regarding the arrest of the accused persons. It specifically stated that there should be no arrests based on the offense are non-bailable and cognizable and the arrest should be preceded by initial investigations by the officer to assess the genuineness of the complaint.
In another case of Rajesh Sharma and Ors. v. the State of Uttar Pradesh[x]– The Apex Court laid down guidelines to prevent the misuse of Sec. 498A of IPC and it has specified that this provision of the Penal Code is being misused by women nowadays. There were several guidelines including that the complaints under Section 498A and other connected offenses may be investigated only by a designated Investigating Officer of the area. Personal appearance of all family members and particularly outstation members may not be required.
Counterclaims against false charges of 498A
A husband being falsely accused can file a countersuit depending on the facts, for instance:
- File a countersuit under Section 500 of the IPC i.e. for defamation; you can file a suit claiming that your wife is trying to malign your and your family’s reputation by putting false accusations.
- A criminal case can be filed under Section 120B of the IPC if the husband finds that his wife is criminally conspiring against him and his family members.
- If false information is given to the police by your wife then you may precede u/s 182 of the IPC. The police officer will write a complaint and will forward it to the concerned officer and criminal proceedings shall start.
- A case can be brought under Section 191 of the IPC against the wife if she is bringing false evidence on record of the court.
- Where a case is already pending against you in the court you may initiate criminal proceedings under Section 211 of the IPC that deals with ‘false charges made with intent to injure’. An application under Section 340 CrPC is to be filed before the court where the trial is going.
- A counterclaim under Section 506 of the IPC for criminal intimidation can be filed if a wife threatens her husband or his family members.
Protection against false charges of 498A
- Anticipatory Bail: If you have got hints that your wife is going to file a FIR under Section 498A against you and your family then apply for anticipatory bail immediately. ‘Anticipatory bail’ means seeking bail in anticipation of arrest, a petition can be filed for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the CrPC. The Court implies certain conditions while granting anticipatory bail and you need to comply with it.
- Quash of FIR: You can appeal to the High Court having jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC. You may claim that the allegations were vague/ general and bogus as no specific details were given. Relatives have been implicated falsely and they do not even reside under one roof with you, etc. Produce the relevant evidence supporting your claims.
The court noticed that the appellants did not even reside at the place of mishap. Hence, the Court acquitted them and held that the Court must guard against false implication of the relatives[xi].
- Conjugal Rights Restitution: If your wife has left the matrimonial home without any reasonable cause then you may file a case for restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The object of adding Section 498A to the Penal Code is to prevent the menace of cruelty and dowry harassment but there have been many instances that have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with oblique motive. In such cases, the innocent man and his family have to undergo trial for no reason. Just because the provision is constitutional and intra vires do not mean that it can be used by unscrupulous persons to wreck their vendetta. Hence it is important to find out ways how to deal with bogus charges.
[i] AIR 2010 SC 339
[ii] 1986 CrLJ 1510
[iii] Sushil Kumar Sharma v. Union of India, (2005) 6 SCC 281.
[iv] False dowry charge ground for divorce, Supreme Court rules – The Times of India
[v] https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sec-498a-being-used-to-settle-personal-scores-against-husband-his-kin-sc-7763471/
[vi] http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/Crime%20Statistics%20-%202016.pdf
[vii] Amandeep Singh Johar vs State of N.C.T. of Delhi and Anr.
[viii] AIR 1958 Bom 225,
[ix] AIR 2014 SC 2756
[x] AIR 2017 SC 3869
[xi] Bibi Parwana Khatoon v. State of Bihar (2017) 6 SCC 792
