We must prevent misuse of Section 498A without jeopardising interests of women: Justice Neela Gokhale

A handful of misconceived complaints under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises cruelty to wives, should not be used to "paint the entire drawing board in one colour," Justice Neela Gokhale of the Bombay High Court said on Friday..Such a perspective will affect the cases of genuine victims whom the law intends to protect, the judge said.Addressing a lecture organised by the Interactive Lawyers Association for Women at the Bombay High Court on the topic 'Section 498A: Use and misuse', she observed, “I don’t think that any women… save and except few would actually go through a litigation process only to harass her husband and in-laws. Why would she do that?”She explained how an over-emphasis on such complaints affects the credibility of genuine cases. “What happens… 11 matters come to us… out of that, 10 matters come where the ingredients are not met but 11th one is genuine…how do we look at this? It is human mind psychology which is at work… the 11th case should have been number 1 but there are 10 which are not. So this is the greatest fear - that the interests of genuine victims are jeopardised. The way we look at genuine cases is changed because of the over-implication. This is extremely unfortunate.”.In her speech, she said that cruelty and violence under Section 498A were "very, very real," citing a 2023 government report stating that 30 per cent of married women report have experienced emotional, physical and sexual violence by their husband or close relatives..She noted that many victims still hesitate to report abuse due to societal expectations. “The social embarrassment of all this is that ‘doli me bithaya hai to arthi me hi aayegi (Once she is sent in a palanquin, she will return only on a bier/coffin)’ That concept is still a hurdle for women coming out and reporting all this,” she said.On the misuse of the provision, she said that the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 498A in Sushil Kumar Sharma v. Union of India (2005), but had cautioned against its misuse. “The provision was intended to be used as a shield against dowry harassment and not as a tool to get what otherwise she could not get,” she said..On the impact of unsubstantiated complaints, Justice Gokhale said, “Tomorrow, if the husband goes for quashing and we quash it, and then husband goes with this order to the family court and says ‘look at this… she has made all these allegations’… the perception is that she is troubling [him]… she is a serial complainant… her prospects for maintenance, even if she has to receive it, may get affected.”At the same time, the judge also questioned why a woman would file a false case. “As a woman, I don’t see any reason unless there is any underlying necessity or requirement. Then that is termed as misuse. Of course, it’s misuse, because 498A ingredients have not happened,” she said..The real challenge, she observed, was striking a balance. “The most important question before us is how to balance this… the misuse of the section without jeopardising the interests of women.”She urged the legal fraternity to guide clients realistically. “We as members of the Bar and Bench should rise to the occasion to give appropriate legal advice to her and not just implicate her in a number of cases.”Justice Gokhale concluded by cautioning against minimising the issue of domestic violence. “Chiding a woman for an occasional mistake she made per se does not amount to cruelty, but continuously taunting her… insulting her on flimsy and false grounds, definitely is. So this is where you have to understand the difference between cruelty and minor discords. Cruelty justifies 498A. It should be taken seriously and must be taken to its logical end.”