Nowadays, you must have seen that 498A i.e, dowry-related cases, which were made for the safety of women are now being used as a weapon because there are many cases in which women misuse the provisions of 498A and they not only harass their husbands but also his whole family.
So, how can we save ourselves from the fake 498A cases and what are all the things we should pay attention to? Not only those things which are looked at after the case is filed, but we will also discuss the things which must do so the case doesn’t get filed in court.
Hi, I am Supriya Gill, a lawyer. The intention of this article is not to tell how to save men and/or harass women, but it is only because nowadays we can see many cases where some women file false cases, so how to save ourselves from these false 498A cases.
Things you can do before the Complaint under Section 498A is filed
When a girl get married, every parent of a girl child gives her some things, some money some gold, which is called Stree Dhan. And there is a difference between stree dhan and dowry.
As long as we are talking about Stree Dhan, usually, it is seen that whenever a 498A FIR is filed, if the case is filed with false intention then always the hyperbole things are mentioned.
To avoid this, during a marriage when stree dhan is given it should be written on paper and also photographs should be taken, from both sides i.e. from the groom as well as the bride’s side it should be approved.
So that one thing is sure in the future, if unfortunately, the 498A case comes in between husband and wife, then there is a security of not getting into fake claims.
Various solutions to protect yourself against false 498A case
1. Anticipatory Bail
If you feel that the 498A case has been filed against you or in this anticipation i.e, you are scared that police will arrest you, then you should contact your lawyer so that you can apply for your Anticipatory bail in the Session Court.
Once you obtain the anticipatory bail, Police will not arrest you.
2. Quashing of FIR
If 498A FIR has been filed and if you feel that all the claims are false, then you should go to the Hon’ble High Court because on the basis of Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code,
if the Hon’ble High Court thinks that the FIR is based on false truths and its only intention is to harm your reputation or any other wrong intention then the Hon’ble High Court can access power under Section 482 of CrPC and can refute the FIR, which in law, is FIR Quashing.
In the Geeta Malhotra vs State of U.P. case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has said that usually, it has been seen that whenever a woman files a 498A case, then not only her husband but also her mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, in fact, those sisters-in-law, brother-in-law who does not even live in the same house has been filed over them also.
In this case, Hon’ble SC has said that in this situation, or any situation, other than the husband there is no other person mentioned how they harassed you for the dowry, then in this situation, Hon’ble HC should quash the FIR and give them relief.
3. Section 340 CrPC
It is mentioned in Section 340 CrPC that if the case is filed against you on the basis of a false allegation or fake affidavit then you can also file an application under Section 340 of CrPC against the counterparty.
If you think that the FIR filed under 498A has hyperbole statements or the case of domestic violence filed against you has any hyperbole statements then you should file an application under Section 340 CrPC.
When you submit this application the effect is seen in the cases because if on your application, the Court orders any action then you may say that the effect will be on every case filed against you.
4. File application of Section 9
When there is a case of 498A on you and you think that they are wrong/fake then your defence should be on one statement i.e, I want to live with my wife and I want to be with her, due to this your case will be on the stronger side.
And for this, Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, i.e. if you are a Hindu, file application under Section 9 and if you are from a different religion then there is an application on the restitution of conjugal rights.
File that application so that in front of the Court you can present your side that you want to live with your wife and you have never harassed her for dowry.
5. File a Complaint
If you think that FIR is filed on false allegations, then you have to go to the related SP or Commissioner as well as your State’s DGP, CM, wherever you can write a complaint, write it and submit it via cc
and if your mother and sister are also included in this case, when they were not involved at all, on behalf of them write a letter to the women commissioner.
After writing all these letters, you should file an RTI. After filing this, all your representation, and complaints you have sent will be tracked, because on your representation although they have no compulsion of answering it, the RTI that you have filed they have to answer you in 30 days.
Due to all these complaints, some kind of pressure is built on the opposite party which is proved to be very effective.
6. Approach Higher Court
Usually, it is seen when an order is passed by the Hon’ble Court concerning maintenance or anything else, the first thing you should do is to challenge it.
Challenge is always done in the Higher Court i.e if the Magistrate has passed the order got to Session Court and if Session Court has passed the order, go to High Court.
If you appeal in a higher Court, there are more chances that if your case is on the stronger side you may get a stay order.
A stay order means that the Cort actions will not be operational, which means if you have the order to pay maintenance but you get the stay order from the Higher Court then you do not have to give any maintenance.
In family and marital issues, the court suggests that instead of separating or taking a divorce, there should be reconciliation. This is why all these issues are sent to mediation.
You should try that this issue should go to mediation so that fake cases should come to light. You should always have one defence and one strategy from your side that I want to live with my wife.
Maintenance
It is usually seen in these cases that the wife always asks for maintenance then it is based on Section 125 CrPC or DV Act or in any other law.
Whenever the Court grants maintenance they look at the income sources and earnings from both husband and wife side. So, if you pay attention to how much your wife earns, and keep a record of it, it will help you a lot.
Or if you know how much your wife earns you can always have a defence that my wife has written the wrong value on the maintenance paper about her earnings and she earns this much, so it’s not my right to give her maintenance.
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