In a significant ruling that highlights the potential misuse of anti-dowry laws, the Delhi High Court has quashed a case of harassment against a man, critiquing the exploitation of legal provisions meant to protect married women from harassment. Justice Amit Mahajan expressed concern about the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, now replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, noting it has sometimes been used to gain leverage over husbands and their families rather than serving its intended protective purpose.
The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by a husband, represented by Advocate Sanchar Anand, who argued that his client was falsely implicated due to his wife’s alleged adulterous behavior. The allegations were described as “vague and general,” with the FIR lacking specific details such as dates or times of the purported harassment. This case stretches back to 2014 when the couple separated after the husband discovered compromising photos of his wife. Subsequently, a local court granted him a divorce on grounds of cruelty in 2019, a move initially intended to be mutual before the wife withdrew her consent.
Advocate Anurag Sharma, representing the wife, maintained that the divorce’s grant did not diminish the merits of the harassment case, pointing to the “categorical” allegations in the FIR. However, the High Court observed that the FIR contained sweeping claims filed years after the couple’s separation and divorce proceedings, which were initiated on the grounds of cruelty.
Justice Mahajan’s order emphasized the lack of specific allegations in the FIR, stating that continuing the proceedings would constitute an abuse of legal process. “In matters such as this, where vague allegations have been made against the petitioner, that too belatedly, in the opinion of this court, continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law,” the order read.
This ruling coincided with a recent Supreme Court directive cautioning lower courts against the misuse of domestic violence laws, noting an alarming trend where such legislation is used to drag family members into litigation based on generalized allegations without substantial evidence.
