Why supreme court calls 498a as "Legal Terrorism"?

What an idea

People don’t know what Section 498A of the IPC is nor do  they know what to do when a 498A case is registered  against them. I hope to shed some light on what this law is really about, the effects it will have on you and your family and how to survive this ordeal.

What is 498a:

Passed by Indian Parliament in 1983, Indian Penal Code 498A, is a criminal law (not a civil law) which is defined as follows,

“Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The offence is Cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable. 

do visit 498a.org for real victim stories

How are you at risk and why it is dangerous for the society?

Your wife/daughter-in-law who's demands are not met can make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to a nearby police station. The husband, his old parents and relatives are immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars on a non-bailable terms. Even if the complaint is false, you shall be presumed guilty until you prove that you are innocent.

498a can only be invoked by wife/daughter-in-law or her relative. Most cases where Sec 498A is invoked turn out to be false (as repeatedly accepted by High Courts and Supreme Court in India) as they are mere blackmail attempts by the wife (or her close relatives) when faced with a strained marriage. In most cases 498a complaint is followed by the demand of huge amount of money (extortion) to settle the case out of the court. This section is non-bailable(you have to appear in court and get bail from the judge), non-compoundable (complaint can't be withdrawn) and cognizable (register and investigate the complaint, although in practice most of the time arrest happens before investigation). There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police has arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. In these cases unsuspecting family of husband has to go through a lot of mental torture and harassment by the corrupt Indian legal system. A typical case goes on for years (5-7 years is typical) and the conviction rate is about 2% only. Some accused parents, sisters and even husbands have committed suicide after time in jail.

498a is an extortion racket

In legal terms, 498A is an offence, which is:

•  Cognizable: Offences are divided into cognizable and non-cognizable. By law, the police are duty bound to

register and investigate a cognizable offence. 498A is a cognizable offence.

•  Non-Bailable: There are two kinds of offences, bailable and non-bailable. 498A is non bailable. This means

that the magistrate has the power to refuse bail and remand you to judicial or police custody.

•  Non-Compoundable: A non-compoundable case, e.g. Rape, 498A etc, cannot be withdrawn by the

petitioner. The exception is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where 498A was made compoundable.

In actual terms, 498A is an offence, which is:

•  Cognizable: The police will register a 498A case since it is required by law, but they don’t investigate but go on to arrest people because of the money to be made in bribes from both sides in a 498A case.

Non-Bailable: Since bail is at the discretion of the magistrate, all sorts of games will be played to have families

locked up while negotiations go on to settle the case. This may happen in cases where the magistrates are

allegedly corrupt or, the public prosecutor and the cops are in cahoots.

•  Non-Compoundable: Though 498A is non compoundable, the courts are allowing the withdrawal of the case

when the parties agree to reconcile or settle case. In real terms, if you pay up, the case goes away. If you don’t

you’ll get stuck with a criminal case that will go on for years.

Source:498a.org (do visit)