On Tuesday, the Supreme Court raised concerns about the widespread misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which punishes cruelty by husbands and their relatives towards married women [Dara Lakshmi Narayana and Others v. State of Telangana and Another].

The clause, which was initially meant to shield women from domestic abuse and harassment, is occasionally being abused by certain women to coerce their husbands and their families into complying with their irrational demands, according to a bench consisting of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh. "Sometimes, recourse is taken to invoke Section 498A of the IPC against the husband and his family in order to seek compliance with the unreasonable demands of a wife," said the Court.

According to the Court, women are increasingly using the clause as a means of venting their personal resentment toward their husbands and their families. "In recent years, as there have been a notable rise in matrimonial disputes across the country, accompanied by growing discord and tension within the institution of marriage, consequently, there has been a growing tendency to misuse provisions like Section 498A of the IPC as a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife. Making vague and generalised allegations during matrimonial conflicts, if not scrutinised, will lead to the misuse of legal processes and encouragement for use of arm twisting tactics by a wife and/or her family," read the judgment.

The Court made these remarks while dismissing dowry and cruelty claims made by the wife against her husband and in-laws. The Court was hearing an appeal from the husband and his family members, challenging the Telangana High Court's decision not to dismiss the case. The wife had filed the cases against her husband and in-laws after the husband requested a divorce. After reviewing the arguments, the Supreme Court concluded that the wife had filed the cases to settle personal issues and was misusing legal provisions that were intended to protect her. 

"We are not, for a moment, stating that any woman who has suffered cruelty in terms of what has been contemplated under Section 498A of the IPC should remain silent and forbear herself from making a complaint or initiating any criminal proceeding. That is not the intention of our aforesaid observations but we should not encourage a case like as in the present one, whereas a counterblast to the petition for dissolution of marriage sought by the first appellant-husband of the second respondent herein, a complaint under Section 498A of the IPC is lodged by the latter," the Court observed while dismissing the case.

The appellants' representatives included Shubham Kumar, Anubhav Jain, Nayan Saini, Dhruv Goyal, Honey Verma, Rahul Mohod, Sanjay Gyan, Varnit Sharma, and Chand Qureshi. Advocates Devina Sehgal and S Uday Bhanu represented the respondents. This isn't the first time the Court has expressed concern about the misuse of Section 498A. Recently, the Court pointed out how this law is one of the most frequently abused.