The Supreme Court Today (April 15) upheld the validity of Section 498A IPC, rejecting claims that it’s unconstitutional. The Court said misuse must be judged case-by-case, not by scrapping the law.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India gave an important judgment saying that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which makes cruelty against a woman by her husband or in-laws a crime, does not go against Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
This decision came from a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, who were looking into a petition that claimed some women are misusing this law in family disputes.
The Court strongly rejected the plea that Section 498A is unconstitutional.
The Court clearly said,
“The court finds no reason to interfere. The plea that such provision (S.498A IPC) is violative of Article 14 of Constitution is wholly misconceived and misdirected. Article 15 explicitly empowers to enact a special law for protection of women, etc. This (misuse) needs to be examined on case-to-case basis.”
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that in many foreign countries, both men and women can take legal help in cases of domestic violence. But in India, only women are given that right under this section.
To this, the Supreme Court replied,
“We maintain our sovereignty. Why should we follow others, they should follow us.”
The judges also pointed out that every law can be misused, and courts have to carefully check each case to see if the law was wrongly used or not.
The Court also talked about how such laws are made to protect women from harmful traditions and unfair treatment in society. It added that such protections are necessary, though there can be misuse in some cases.
The bench said,
“There are cases of misuse of every law….do we want us to make sweeping statements? There may be instance where the women have been victimized. There might be cases where the provision would have been misused. So it duty of court to decide each case… based on its peculiar facts.”
It is also important to note that even earlier, many courts, including the Supreme Court, have mentioned that some women might wrongly use domestic violence laws to target their husbands and their in-laws.
But still, the law itself is not bad, and each case should be judged individually.
This decision from the Supreme Court makes it clear that Section 498A IPC is constitutional and meant to protect women, and if there is any misuse, courts will deal with it case by case.
CASE TITLE:
JANSHRUTI (PEOPLE’S VOICE) Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
Diary No. 2152-2025
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