Everything You Need to Know About Section 498a of Indian Penal Code What is Section 498A ? IPC 498A is one of the sections of the Indian Penal Code inserted in the year 1986 to protect women from harassment on account of demand of Dowry and safeguard the interest and wellbeing of women in their matrimonial homes. . The law has loopholes, the section 498a of IPC is highly misused by wife/daughter-in-law or her relative. Most cases of 498a are false as they are mere blackmail attempts by the wife. 498a is not a law in fact it is abused section now a days. Necessity for Section 498aSection 498A was added in Indian Penal Code to safeguard the interest and well-being of women in their matrimonial homes when there were lot of hue and cry in the society against the alleged wife-burning incidents in late 1970s and early 1980s. The purport was to give women a shield against such harassment. In fact another section 304B in IPC an Section 113-A of Indian Evidence Act was also added at the same time.
Section 498a punishment As per the IPC, the offence under this section is punishable by imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable for fine.
Protection against section 498a IPC Unfortunately, there is no protection against the filing of 498a IPC. This section is cognizable. So despite of the pre-FIR mediation and counselling, if the woman wishes the FIR would be lodged. Depending upon the contents of the FIR, it has to be seen whether an application for Anticipatory Bail shall be moved or not.
Counter steps for misuse of IPC 498a Misuse of IPC 498a is very high. As per NCRB data, it is said that merely 1 – 2% cases end in conviction of the accused. Many studies have been done in this regard which also point to very high misuse. How the 498a is dangerous for the societyWhen it comes to counter steps of IPC 498A, it has to originate from her allegations only. Tax Evasion Petition against claims of very high dowry expenditure has been successful both with income tax and VAT, now GST, departments. In certain cases FIRs have been successfully lodged against the girl, jewellers and even investigating officers for providing false bills. Action has been taken against investigating officers if the arrests have been done in violation of 41A of CrPC.