The Delhi High Court noted the misuse of laws protecting married women from harassment, highlighting a trend of false accusations against husbands and their families during matrimonial disputes. While acknowledging genuine cases exist, the court found an FIR lacking specific allegations, dismissing it as an abuse of legal process and emphasizing the need for scrutiny beyond allegations.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has observed that the law meant to protect married women from harassment is increasingly being misused to harass husbands and their families. The court clarified that while genuine cases of harassment do exist, there is also a rising trend of false allegations being made for leverage in matrimonial disputes.
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Justice Amit Mahajan, in an order made public on February 13, stated:
“While the provision of Section 498A of the IPC was introduced with an object to combat harassment meted out to a married woman, it is abysmal to note that the same is now also being misused as a tool to harass the husband and his family members and gain leverage.”
The court noted that courts have increasingly seen cases where husbands and their families are implicated in false matrimonial litigation. Many such cases are filed “in the heat of the moment” on the advice of counsel, with events being exaggerated or misconstrued.
The court made these remarks while hearing a petition by a man seeking quashing of an FIR filed by his estranged wife, who accused him of harassing her for dowry and not returning her “stridhan”.
After reviewing the case, the court found no specific allegations with date, time, or particulars of the alleged harassment in the FIR. “Sweeping and omnibus allegations” were made without any concrete evidence. The court ruled in favor of quashing the FIR, stating that continuing the proceedings would be an “abuse of the process of law.”
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The court also emphasized its duty to examine the circumstances beyond mere allegations to prevent injustice. In this case, there was no evidence against the husband’s family, and the allegations appeared to be an afterthought and a counterblast to the divorce petition.
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