The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the Union government to enact a law aimed at protecting men from alleged harassment and persecution by their estranged wives.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra, in an order dated September 24, observed that the petition lacked the necessary substance to be entertained as a PIL. “A perusal of the petition indicates that except for reference to certain news-items, wholly cursory averments have been made in the petition seeking the relief, as indicated,” the bench noted.
The court concluded that no case was made out for treating the matter as a public interest litigation.
The PIL was filed by Chandrama Vishvakarma, who argued that existing legal provisions are skewed in favour of women, which allegedly enables some to misuse these laws to harass men and their family members.
The petitioner cited various news reports highlighting the plight of men across the country and referred to alleged misuse of laws related to dowry and rape cases, claiming that men were being falsely implicated. The petition further asserted that obtaining a divorce under current legal provisions is “very difficult,” and this exacerbates the problem.
Before approaching the court, the petitioner said he had written to the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Rajya Sabha Chairman, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh seeking action. However, no steps were taken in response, leading him to file the PIL as a “last resort”.
The PIL urged the court to direct the Union government to frame a law that would check alleged illegal persecution and harassment of men by their estranged wives.
The High Court found that the PIL did not present any concrete material, legal foundation, or specific instances that could justify judicial intervention through a public interest route. Consequently, the bench dismissed the petition, holding that the relief sought was not maintainable in the form presented.
