October 1,2017 :
SC stated that,"Abuse of the Section 498A (by women) would not make this court curtail ambit and scope of Section 498A enacted to protect the women from cruelty in the matrimonial homes."
Supreme Court's Three-Judge Bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra disagreed with SC's July 27 judgment which diluted rigour of Section 498A, Indian Penal Code which warrants the immediate arrest of a husband and his relatives in the dowry-linked complaint of cruelty.
In its earlier judgment, Apex Court Bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice U U Lalit had cited data from National Crime Records Bureau which indicated that widespread misuse of Section 498A by the women to get the husbands and their relatives arrested and harassed for years.
In Friday, Court decided that the abuse of Section 498A should not amount to curtailing ambit of the law.
The earlier two-judge Bench had ordered setting up of the Family Welfare Committees in every district which would examine veracity of each complaint under the Section 498A. It had stated that no arrest would be made till Committee gave a report endorsing the prima facie authenticity of complaint.
SC Bench comprising of CJI Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud expounded that, "At this stage, we are obligated to say that we are not in agreement with judgment in Rajesh Sharma v. UP case.
Apex Court further added that, "Prima facie, we feel guidelines laid down may be falling in legislative domain."
Court has issued notice to Centre and has Appointed Senior Advocate V Shekhar as the Amicus Curiae while posting the detailed deliberations for October 29,2017.
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