Editorial: Intolerable cruelty

It is perhaps just a coincidence that the Supreme Court’s latest caution on the misuse of BNS Section 498A dealing with cruelty to married women came just two days after the suicide of a Bengaluru man allegedly on account of harassment by his estranged wife and her family. Regardless, it underlines the need for the police and the lower courts to review their protocols so that they are not coopted into post-marital vendetta while ensuring that the law remains a viable legal remedy for women.

As happens in such cases, the Bengaluru man’s suicide has provided grist to the mill of partisan males on social media. Before taking his own life, Atul Subhash wrote a 24-page suicide note and made an 80-minute video in which he said his wife and her family enlisted the collaboration of a family court judge to fix him in several false cases that required him to make more than 80 mid-week court appearances for which he had to beg for leave from his employer. He claimed that she demanded Rs 3 crore to withdraw the cases and Rs 30 lakh for visitation rights to see their son. The serious allegations against the judge include the demand of a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to settle the dispute and that she actively participated in the emotional abuse heaped upon him by the wife’s family.

The Karnataka police have arrested the deceased man’s wife, mother and brother on charges of abetment to suicide. Hopefully, further proceedings in the case will be guided by facts and evidence rather media outrage. Two days after the Bengaluru suicide, the Supreme Court observed, while ruling on an unrelated case, that BNS Section 498A, originally intended to protect women from domestic violence, is increasingly being exploited to pressurise husbands and their families to meet unreasonable demands. While the apex court has consistently sounded this note of caution for more than 15 years, evidence on misuse of 498A is mainly anecdotal. As there are no statistics on it, we can only surmise its prevalence on the rebound. For instance, the conviction rate for cases under Section 498A has been significantly low, with figures hovering around 13%. A substantial percentage of cases are disposed of without trial, often due to compromises between parties.

On the other hand, cruelty to women in marriage remains a growing problem. According to the National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) Crime in India report for 2023, of the approximately 22.8 lakh crimes reported against women, nearly 7 lakh cases (about 30%) were filed under Section 498A. This makes domestic abuse a significant and persistent concern in India. About 3,72,700 cases are pending trial, and nearly 3,17,000 of these are likely to result in acquittal. This discrepancy illustrates the challenges in effectively addressing genuine cases of domestic violence while also acknowledging the increasing allegations of misuse.

The only way law-enforcement agencies can stay true to the spirit of BNS 498A while preventing its misuse is to follow the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court from time to time, mainly the Arnesh Kumar Guidelines of 2014. The guidelines require the police to follow a checklist before making an arrest in a 498A case. The accused must be notified before the case is initiated; the reasons for arrest must be stated, and the magistrate must carefully analyse them before granting or rejecting detention. Knee-jerk arrests and exhibitionistic responses to media outrage are not going to do justice to any party in a matrimonial dispute.