Apex Court to reconsider order diluting IPC section on abused wives

The Apex Court has agreed with senior advocate Indira Jaising for a detailed relook into its earlier judgment diluting the strictness of Section- 498A of the Indian Penal Code that many believed was abused by some women to create revenge on estranged husbands and in-laws. Taking into consideration instances of such similar abuse, a bench comprising of Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit had last year reserved police from affecting the immediate arrest of husbands and in-laws on filing of complaints from women about cruelty in the matrimonial home and instead ordered establishing of committees to examine the complaint, counsel the couples and try for reconciliation. The bench had said and warned against any arrest till the committee gave its report and that “ Every complaint under Section- 498A received by the police or the magistrate be first referred to and looked into by such committee” . IPC SEC- 498A CJI-led bench agrees for common hearing on 2 pleas However, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said in October last year that this judgment could affect the rights of women, protecting which was the objective of the legislature while inserting Section- 498A in the IPC. On Friday, Jaising informed the bench of CJI Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud that on Thursday, a bench led by Justice Goel had referred the earlier case to the CJI for hearing along with the present petition filed by NGO Nyaydhar, a group of woman advocates of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, seeking to sharpen the language of Section- 498A to make it even more stringent to protect women from abuse in matrimonial homes. The CJI-led bench agreed for a common hearing on the two petitions and posted them for hearing on July 9. It said the exercise would involve examining the statement and object behind the enactment of Section- 498A, the views of the Supreme Court and high courts in the past on this provision and whether constitutional courts could set up committees to regulate and restrict the legislative intent behind a provision of law meant to protect the rights of women in matrimonial homes.