The High Court recently expressed concern about the misuse of Section 498A (cruelty to married women) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), noting that although it was meant to protect married women it is now being used as a tool to harass husbands and their families.

The Court clarified that the Court is not blind to the deeply rooted social evil of greed for dowry, due to which numerous victims are subjected to unspeakable conduct and harassment.

However, he also noted that there was an increasing tendency to misuse Section 498A IPC by misrepresenting actual events to gain leverage.

"Courts have taken note of the increasing tendency of implicating the husband and his family in matrimonial litigation in a number of cases. While the provision of Section 498A of the IPC was introduced with an object to combat harassment meted out to married woman, however, it is abysmal to note that the same is now also being misused as a tool to harass the husband and his family members and gain a leverage. Such matters are now filed in the heat of the moment on advice of counsel by exaggerating and misconstruing actual events. That is not to say that genuine cases of harassment don’t exist," the ruling said.

"Abysmal that Section 498A IPC is being misused as a tool to harass the husband and his family members and gain leverage."

The Court made the observation while quashing a First Information Report (FIR) registered by a woman against her estranged husband and his family members on allegations of dowry harassment and cruelty.

The couple had married in 2011 but had lived separately since 2014.

The FIR was registered many years later in 2017 on allegations that the woman was harassed and tortured for dowry. She also claimed that the stridhan given by her already was not returned to her. She further said that she suffered a miscarriage due to the trauma of the cruelty.

The husband denied these allegations and moved the High Court with a plea to quash the cruelty case.

The Court allowed his plea and quashed the case.

It observed that the wife had made vague allegations after years of delay. The Court concluded that the continuation of the criminal case would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

“In matters such as this, where vague allegations have been made against the petitioner, that too belatedly, in the opinion of this Court, continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law,” it said.

It added that the woman's allegations appeared to be an afterthought and a counterblast to the divorce petition moved by the husband.