Ill-treatment not for dowry, rules HC

BANGALORE: Scolding a wife for not doing household work properly, talking to strangers or objecting to sale of household property is not ill-treatment under Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code, according to the Karnataka High Court.

Acquitting G R Lokanath and others, convicted under 498(A) by the city fast track court for Saritha's death, Justice Arali Nagaraj on Monday observed that since the alleged ill-treatment was not in connection with any unlawful demand (dowry), it cannot be categorized under 498(A).

Counsel C N Raju told the court the allegations against the petitioners are not traceable under 498(A). Saritha, who had been married to Lokanath, met with a homicidal death on March 10, 2007. Her mother Siddamma filed a complaint against the relatives of her son-in-law that they had scolded her daughter for not doing household work, etc. Cases were booked against Lokanath and relatives under Sections 302 (murder) and 498(A). The trial court acquitted all the accused of the murder charge, but convicted them under 498(A).

toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Ill-treatment-not-for-dowry-rules-HC/articleshow/5262314.cms

Efforts needed to do away with dowry system: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Bracketing dowry with arranged marriages, home minister P
Chidambaram today said efforts have to be made to find a way to do away with
the practice that has been prevalent for ages in the country.

He also termed as "evil" the portrayal of a child bride in a TV serial.

Speaking at a seminar on dowry here, Chidambaram said in India, majority of
marriages are arranged. "As the failure of arranged and not-arranged
marriages in India was the same, we accept arranged marriages. But dowry is
a fact in arranged marriages," he said.

"We accept arranged marriage, but we reject dowry; but dowry is a
concomitant part of arranged marriage," the home minister stated.

Agreeing that there were no easy solutions to this, he said, "Unless you
state the problem clearly and then try to find an answer, this problem will
continue for ages to come".

"I have no easy answers, but educated people in the country should take a
lead in solving this problem," he said adding, that ultimately it was the
choice of an individual. If more and more people join the campaign, then the
evil will die down".

He said that it was a myth that dowry was present only in certain sections
of society. "It is prevalent in every section of society," he said.

"I am told that there is even a serial which shows a child bride. This is an
evil," he added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_efforts-needed-to-do-away-with-dowry-system-chidambaram_1316224

Abusing wife for talking to strangers not ill-treatment

Abusing wife for talking to strangers not ill-treatment

Abusing a woman for not doing household work or for talking to strangers or for objecting to the sale of household property doesn't come under the purview of ill-treatment as defined under 498(A)of IPC, the High Court of Karnataka has said.  Acquitting GR Lokanath and others who were convicted by the city track court in connection with the death of  Saritha, Justice Arali Nagaraj observed that since the alleged ill-treatment was not in connection with any unlawful demand (dowry), it cannot be categorised under 498(A). CN Raju, counsel for the accused, told the court that the allegations made against the petitioners are not traceable under 498(A). Saritha, who was married to Lokanath, met with homicidal death on March 10, 2007. Her mother Siddamma had filed a complaint against relatives of her son-in-law. Cases were booked under Sections 302(murder) and 498(A) of IPC. The trial court acquitted all the accused of the murder charge, but convicted them under Section 498(A) of IPC. Raju told the court that on March 10, 2007 Saitha's husband returned home to find his wife dead. The deceased's mother had filed a complaint, alleging harassment of her daughter by her in-laws and husband.   source : http://www.dnaindia.com/dnaprint.asp?newsid=1315742

Harassed husbands take out ‘victory’ rally after govt relief

Harassed husbands take out 'victory' rally after govt relief

The harassed husbands' association was celebrating the Centre's directive to states not to arrest husbands without proper checks The harassed husbands association took out a victory procession in the city on Monday following the central government's directive to states not to make immediate arrests in dowry cases. The Akhil Bharatiya Patni Athyachar Virodhi Sangh took out their 'vijay yatra' around 2 pm from Manav Mandir to Gandhiji's statue at Income Tax. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked state governments to issue directives to the police not to arrest the husband and his relatives without proper investigations in anti-dowry cases. The harassed husbands association president Dashrath Devda said, "Since the implementation of Section 498A of IPC across the country in 1984, it has been often misused by women for petty ends and to send their husbands and family members behind bars on false grounds." Outside court, the man and his family members are made to shell out a lot of money as part of the settlement, Devda said. "Our Sangh organised a lot of protests objecting to the gross misuse of Section 498A. Recently, the apex court said the section was misused. The court directive to the government that only after proper investigation should a man be arrested in anti-dowry cases is a blessing for harassed men," he said. "At present we have 48,000 cases of husbands being harassed by women. And every month we get around 250 such cases. Our organisation tries to help and save husbands harassed by their wives," he said.

Harassed husbands take out 'victory' rally after govt relief

sources : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=20091124200911240232147846845a6b&sectxslt=

Abinav Bindra supports International mens day

Men want their day, talk equality

International Men's Day, though yet to get official recognition from the United Nations, is slowly getting more votaries in its favour in India.

Sports icon and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra feels it's a good idea, "not just to have another Day but if it is to deal with specific problems of men. Why not?"

Everybody has issues; men too have issues that are specific to them and we must be "sensitive to those", he added.

Celebrated on different days in different parts of the world, it was the then Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev who first called for an international day to celebrate men in 1999 at the UN in Vienna.

In India, NGOs like Save Indian Family Foundation that advocate the cause of men — on a range of issues like false dowry claims, domestic violence, sexual harassment and torture — want to build international consensus for November 19 to be International Men's Day.

Fashion designer Rohit Bal is all for it. "Men always get a raw deal, particularly in times of segregation and divorce. Custody of children go to women.  I think, in any country, both sexes need to be treated equally." He added: "This is not a demographic problem but a human problem. We should definitely have an International Men's Day."

Fashion designer Jattinn Kochhar said: "The Indian government should establish an International Men's Day though the day and date could be decided. I will give it full support."

"On the one hand, we talk of women's empowerment which is very good. But then a small percentage of men get slaughtered as the government, police and law are with women," he added. 

This year, the day coincides with International Philosophy Day. Head of the department of philosophy at Hindu College, Devasia M. Antony, said: "An interesting but (un)welcome coincidence, one may think so! A glance at philosophical writings show most philosophers were and are men. A case of clear gender bias indeed! One hopes the emergence of more women philosophers would radically alter the way philosophy is taught and practised."

UN Information Centre director Shalini Dewan said: "As far as the UN is concerned, men were not the discriminated gender."

Email to author : smohapatra@hindustantimes.com

Sources : http://www.hindustantimes.com/cinema-news/newdelhi/Men-want-their-day-talk-equality/Article1-352611.aspx

Re: [sif-core] Re: [SaveIndianFamily] ‘Step to protect men from wives’ fake complaints not enough’

Please comment on the articles. This will be a nice way to contribute.

On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 12:11 PM, Myth Kumar <fightin498a@googlemail.com> wrote:

1
 SIFF prepares to mark International Men's Day on Nov 19
<http://www.saveindianfamily.org/about-us/siff-news/862-siff-prepares-to-mark-international-mens-day-on-nov-19.html>
2

 'Step to protect men from wives' fake complaints not enough'

<http://www.saveindianfamily.org/about-us/siff-news/861-step-to-protect-men-from-wives-fake-complaints-not-enough.html>
-----------------------------
Myth Kumar
Bangalore.

<http://followmeonnet.blogspot.com/>
"Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools ever
known were learned men."


On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 12:04 PM, Atit Rajpara <atit.rajpara@gmail.com>wrote:

>  'Step to protect men from wives' fake complaints not enough'
> *Aaditi Jathar* Posted online: Tuesday , Nov 17, 2009 at 0523 hrs
> *Pune : **Centre's directive to states say no arrests be made without
> proper
> investigation*
>
> Taking cognisance of the increasing number of false complaints being filed
> under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Central Government
> recently issued directives to the state governments not to make any
> immediate arrests but conduct thorough investigations before taking any
> action. However, family court lawyers and activists feel that unless women
> are punished for lodging false complaints, this directive would not help.
>
> "Though the directive is welcome, unless the women are punished by law for
> filing false cases under Section 498A, its misuse cannot be stopped," said
> Mahesh Kalge, a representative of Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), who
> runs a helpline for men in distress caused by domestic disputes.
>
> Mahesh (name changed), an IT professional from Chinchwad, had to spent a
> week in the lock-up after his wife filed a harassment complaint with the
> police.
>
> "In most cases, the investigating officer immediately arrests the husband,
> mother-in-law and sister-in-law, as per the statement given by the wife.
> However, when the allegations prove false, the investigating officer is
> never held at fault. It is time the judiciary take this into account," said
> Mahesh.
>
> "This directive, if implemented strictly, will surely put a tab on the
> misuse of this section. Of the total cases filed under this section in one
> year, 85 per cent turn out to be bogus," said advocate Shailaja Kelkar,
> matrimonial counselor who practiced in the family court for 20 years. There
> should be a provision in the law where husbands can sue their wives for
> making false allegations. Women take to filing such false complaints with
> an
> eye on compensation or husband's property, Kelkar observed.
>
> In a letter to state chief secretaries, the Ministry of Home Affairs has
> asked the state governments to issue directives to the police not to arrest
> the husband and his relatives without checking the genuineness of the
> anti-dowry complaint.
>
> The MHA wants the arrests to be the last resort and has asked the state
> police to ensure that the law doesn't become a tool in the hands of
> disgruntled women to settle scores with their husbands and in-laws.
>
> Source :
>
> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/step-to-protect-men-from-wives-fake-complaints-not-enough/542632/0
>
>

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Sent from Karnataka, India

Re: [SaveIndianFamily] ‘Step to protect men from wives’ fake complaints not enough’

1	SIFF prepares to mark International Men's Day on Nov 19
2	'Step to protect men from wives' fake complaints not enough'

-----------------------------
Myth Kumar
Bangalore.

<http://followmeonnet.blogspot.com/>
"Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools ever known were learned men."

On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 12:04 PM, Atit Rajpara <atit.rajpara@gmail.com> wrote:

 'Step to protect men from wives' fake complaints not enough'
*Aaditi Jathar* Posted online: Tuesday , Nov 17, 2009 at 0523 hrs
*Pune : **Centre's directive to states say no arrests be made without proper
investigation*

Taking cognisance of the increasing number of false complaints being filed
under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Central Government
recently issued directives to the state governments not to make any
immediate arrests but conduct thorough investigations before taking any
action. However, family court lawyers and activists feel that unless women
are punished for lodging false complaints, this directive would not help.

"Though the directive is welcome, unless the women are punished by law for
filing false cases under Section 498A, its misuse cannot be stopped," said
Mahesh Kalge, a representative of Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), who
runs a helpline for men in distress caused by domestic disputes.

Mahesh (name changed), an IT professional from Chinchwad, had to spent a
week in the lock-up after his wife filed a harassment complaint with the
police.

"In most cases, the investigating officer immediately arrests the husband,
mother-in-law and sister-in-law, as per the statement given by the wife.
However, when the allegations prove false, the investigating officer is
never held at fault. It is time the judiciary take this into account," said
Mahesh.

"This directive, if implemented strictly, will surely put a tab on the
misuse of this section. Of the total cases filed under this section in one
year, 85 per cent turn out to be bogus," said advocate Shailaja Kelkar,
matrimonial counselor who practiced in the family court for 20 years. There
should be a provision in the law where husbands can sue their wives for
making false allegations. Women take to filing such false complaints with an
eye on compensation or husband's property, Kelkar observed.

In a letter to state chief secretaries, the Ministry of Home Affairs has
asked the state governments to issue directives to the police not to arrest
the husband and his relatives without checking the genuineness of the
anti-dowry complaint.

The MHA wants the arrests to be the last resort and has asked the state
police to ensure that the law doesn't become a tool in the hands of
disgruntled women to settle scores with their husbands and in-laws.

Source :
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/step-to-protect-men-from-wives-fake-complaints-not-enough/542632/0

'Step to protect men from wives' fake complaints not enough'

Aaditi Jathar Posted online: Tuesday , Nov 17, 2009 at 0523 hrs

Pune : Centre's directive to states say no arrests be made without proper investigation

Taking cognisance of the increasing number of false complaints being filed under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Central Government recently issued directives to the state governments not to make any immediate arrests but conduct thorough investigations before taking any action. However, family court lawyers and activists feel that unless women are punished for lodging false complaints, this directive would not help.

"Though the directive is welcome, unless the women are punished by law for filing false cases under Section 498A, its misuse cannot be stopped," said Mahesh Kalge, a representative of Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), who runs a helpline for men in distress caused by domestic disputes.

Mahesh (name changed), an IT professional from Chinchwad, had to spent a week in the lock-up after his wife filed a harassment complaint with the police.

"In most cases, the investigating officer immediately arrests the husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, as per the statement given by the wife. However, when the allegations prove false, the investigating officer is never held at fault. It is time the judiciary take this into account," said Mahesh.

"This directive, if implemented strictly, will surely put a tab on the misuse of this section. Of the total cases filed under this section in one year, 85 per cent turn out to be bogus," said advocate Shailaja Kelkar, matrimonial counselor who practiced in the family court for 20 years. There should be a provision in the law where husbands can sue their wives for making false allegations. Women take to filing such false complaints with an eye on compensation or husband's property, Kelkar observed.

In a letter to state chief secretaries, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the state governments to issue directives to the police not to arrest the husband and his relatives without checking the genuineness of the anti-dowry complaint.

The MHA wants the arrests to be the last resort and has asked the state police to ensure that the law doesn't become a tool in the hands of disgruntled women to settle scores with their husbands and in-laws.

Source : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/step-to-protect-men-from-wives-fake-complaints-not-enough/542632/0

Fast track courts to come up for domestic violence cases: Law Minister

Fast track courts to come up for domestic violence cases: Law Minister
11/14/2009

Union Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily said fast track courts will be developed immediately for meting out speedy justice to women in domestic violence cases.

Speaking at the inauguration of the third national conference on the Implementation of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Mr Moily said, 'Whatever proposals are forwarded to the Law Ministry by the National Commission of Women, we will accept them readily. We will also implement fast track courts immediately to mete out justice in domestic violence cases.' Calling the 2005 Act on domestic violence revolutionary, the Minister said the law further needed to be firmed up in providing custody for the accused and payment for child care.

He also expressed concern over the need to address the resource constraints that were hindering the implementation of the Act.

'I will talk to the Planning Commission about it,' he said.

'We also need to sensitise the judicial system in bringing women judges in all courts. We will also deploy the legal fraternity in the campaign on domestic violence against women,' he concluded.

He lamented that domestic violence had not received the kind of opposition smoking or other wrong activities had got and said cases of women and children will get priority in all courts of the country from the district level to the Supreme Court.

Saying that laws could not stop at home or family, Mr Moily said the judiciary and his Ministry would ensure that domestic violence was firmly dealt with.

UNI

 

Sources : http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?606a3b69-0963-4381-84fe-299ac4132253

Stop playing safe, Addl DGP tells investigating officers

PUNE: CID's additional director general of police S P S Yadav attributed the poor rate of conviction in the state to pressure under which police

investigation officers tend to submit charge-sheets even in cases where a final report should be submitted due to lack of evidence. The practice of just submitting charge-sheet as a safe playing technique should be curbed by the higher echelons of Maharashtra police, he said.

Adopting scientific measures and making use of latest techniques in investigations has helped the state criminal investigation department (CID), Pune, secure 60 per cent conviction rate in 2008 as against 9.4 per cent by the state police units, said Yadav.

Addressing policemen after the release of state's yearly crime report at the state reserve police headquarters at Wanowrie, Yadav said the crime registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has gone up by 5.4 per cent in 2008 as compared to the previous year, but the crime committed under the special and local laws has declined considerably.

The crime which registered rise are: counterfeiting coins and currency notes (+ 50 per cent), riots (+17.5 per cent), murder attempt (+13.7 per cent), dacoity (+13.3 percent), thefts (+10.9 percent) and robbery (+9.4 percent). The crime on the decline include planning dacoity (-32.3 percent), dowry deaths (-10.6 percent) and culpable homicide (-1.8 percent).

Yadav said that property offences have gone up by 9.26 per cent and percentage of detection in such cases was 34 per cent, but the rate of illegall transaction of money under such offence was 9 per cent.

The crime against women surged by 5.4 percent and in the last five years it has increased by 36.5 percent. The crime against women which are on rise include molestation (+9.47 percent), dowry (prevention) act (+8.89 percent) , rape (+7.37 percent), subjecting women to cruelty (+6.43 percent), sexual harassment (+5 percent) and kidnapping (+3.21 percent). The conviction rate in respect of crime involving husband and relatives is down by 3.55 percent; dowry and suicide abatement is down by 9 percent and 8 percent respectively. These figures call for introspection by investigation officers and supervisory officers, he said.

Talking to media persons, Yadav said violent crimes like murder, attempted murder, culpable homicide, dowry deaths, kidnapping, rape, arson, riots, dacoity and robbery has escalated by 11 per cent. Violent crime constitutes 10.95 per cent of the total IPC cases and its percentage per lakh population is 19.42 percent. These crimes poses a serious challenge to crime prevention machinery particularly in rural areas like Beed, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Aurangabad rural, Parbhani, Latur, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalna and Solapur rural.

Crime against members of SC/ST communities have increased by 71 percent and 24 percent respectively in the last five years. The rate of conviction under the Prevention of Atrocities Act was 4.8 percent and Prevention of Civil Rights was 2.1 percent. Although the death sentence awarded in the Khairlanji case is a pointer to the success of police investigation, the overall result of investigation of crime against the weaker sections is far from satisfactory.

The CID has called for formation of special juvenile police units in every district and commissionerates consisting of child welfare officers as crimes relating to minors have increased in the age group of 16 and 18 years.

As many as 12,957 people died in road accidents and 49,656 people were injured in road accidents in 2008. The CID report says that the unit commanders can ill afford to ignore the significance of various traffic planning measures required to be taken in their respective jurisdiction for controlling accidents.

Earlier, Mumbai police commissioner D Shivanandan released the CID's annual report titled: "Annual crime in Maharashtra-2008". The function was attended by state police academy director Sridevi Goel, city police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, joint commissioner of police Rajendra Sonawane and mayor Rajlakshmi Bhosale

 

source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Stop-playing-safe-Addl-DGP-tells-investigating-officers/articleshow/5231403.cms

Cruel marriage law being misused, so don't rush to arrest: Centre to states

Maneesh Chhibber Posted online: Tuesday , Nov 03, 2009 at 0843 hrs

New Delhi : For years, there has been loud debate and even orders from courts to do away with or, at least, amend Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with the offence of matrimonial cruelty. This clause is considered to be rampantly abused, with several examples of husbands and their families being arrested without a preliminary inquiry on allegations of harassing their wives for a range of reasons, including dowry.

Now the Ministry of Home Affairs has written to all state governments, advising them that arrest for an alleged offence under Section 498A should be the "last resort," not the first step.

In a communication sent to the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all states and the Administrations of the Union Territories on October 13, the MHA has cited misuse of the clause.

"In some cases, every member of the husband's family has been arrested, irrespective of whether they had a role in inflicting cruelty on the married woman or not. In some cases, the provisions have been used to settle personal scores. Cases have been reported where momentary anger has resulted in invocation of Section 498A, which resulted in the arrest of the members of the family shutting down any possibility of reconciliation in future and total collapse of the marriage. Even where there is a divorce proceeding, the case under Section 498A continues to persist because of the offence being non-compoundable," the letter says.

Section 498A, incorporated in the IPC in 1983, provides for adequate punishment for any cruelty inflicted on a married woman by her husband and his relatives. The maximum punishment under the Section is three years and/or fine.

The MHA letter, incidentally, says that in light of judicial pronouncements, an attempt was made earlier to find a via media by amending Section 498A to make the offence compoundable. "However, this could not be pursued because of the opposition from women organisations," the letter says.

Incidentally, in its judgment in Savitri Devi vs Ramesh Chand and others in 2002, the Delhi High Court observed: "...the misuse of the provisions of Section 498A...is hitting at the very foundation of marriage itself and has proved to be not so good for the health of the society at large."

This was echoed by the Supreme Court in Sushil Kumar Sharma versus Union of India and Others. "The object of Section 498A is to prevent dowry menace. But...many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and...filed with oblique motive. It may become necessary for the legislature to find out ways how the makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with."

In 2003, the Justice Malimath Committee, submitted a report to the MHA on reforms in the Criminal Justice System, recommended that the Section be made bailable and compoundable to give a chance to the spouses to come together.

Source : http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/536560/