The Supreme Court has expressed concern at the growing misuse of the laws intended to save women from cruelty, asking for restraint in cases involving dowry harassment to avoid “unnecessary harassment of innocent people”. The observation by the Supreme Court comes amid a raging national debate over the suicide of 34-year-old Atul Subhash in Bengaluru. Before ending his life, Subhash had recorded an 80-minute video that accused his estranged wife, Nikita Singhania, and her family of registering several cases against him for extorting money.
The Supreme Court’s comments came while setting aside an order of the Telangana High Court, which had refused to quash a dowry harassment case filed against Subhash, his parents, and other relatives. The court observed that the allegations made by the wife were “vague and omnibus” and that many of the accused had nothing to do with the complaint and had been falsely implicated.
The court said the trend of implicating family members in criminal cases that arise from marital disputes, when no specific allegations are made against them, should meet a quick end. “Judicial experience shows that there’s often a tendency to implicate all members of the husband’s family during domestic disputes,” the court said.
The court also brought to notice that matrimonial disputes have increased lately and the wild allegations without concrete evidence may result in misusing the provisions. The judges clarified that the courts must be careful not to allow the misuse of the legal system and harassment to innocent family members.
The court said again that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, instituted to protect women against cruelty at the hands of their husbands or in-laws, is not intended to be used as an instrument of vengeance. Cruelty to women should be taken very seriously; however, it was felt that the court did not wish to mute the cries of the real victim but, rather, did not desire to allow legal provisions being used in contentious marital situations.
In his suicide note, Atul Subhash narrated how he married Nikita Singhania in 2019 after meeting through a matrimonial website. The couple had a son in the next year but soon developed disputes over dowry demands from Nikita’s family. Following the refusal of such demands, Subhash said his wife left his house in 2021.
He further said that after their separation, Nikita filed several serious charges against him and his family, which included murder and unnatural offenses. In the note, Subhash termed these accusations as false and explained in detail his father-in-law’s deteriorating health before his death.
In despair, Subhash expressed disappointment with the legal system and has written, “The harder I work, the more harassment and extortion my family will be subject to. The legal system will only embolden my harassers.” This shows the emotional turmoil with which he concluded that his absence will put a full stop to the harassment of his aged parents and brother.
