Thousands of men are arrested in India every year following complaints of dowry harassment by their wives. Very often, these complaints turn out to be false. In many cases, a vindictive wife rushes to the police when she doesn’t want to stay with her in-laws or for some other silly reason. Anyway, when confronted with such cases, the police swing into action with great promptness and arrest the hapless husband, his aged parents and innocent siblings (if the parents and siblings have been accused by the complainant).

A recent report in DNA (Daily News and Analysis) in this context is interesting. It deals with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, who has been charged with cheating, harassment and criminal intimidation by his Hyderabad-based ‘wife’ Ayesha Siddiqui.

The report says Malik was questioned by police in Hyderabad on the criminal case lodged by Ayesha’s family under sections 420(cheating), 498A (cruelty against married woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

The report adds that on being asked about the possible arrest of the former Pakistan captain, his lawyer cited a Supreme Court ruling and said, “Shoaib is co-operating with the police and hence, his arrest is not required at all.”

“The filing of anticipatory bail is not being discussed as his arrest is not warranted when he is co-operating in the investigation,” the lawyer said.

"For dowry harassment (Section 498A), it has to be physical violence to the extent of injuries and that ingredient is missing here,” Malik’s lawyer said, according to a report in The Times of India.

Without going into the merits of the case, one wonders why thousands of hapless men and their families are arrested with immediate effect when they are charged with taking dowry. The cops rush in with handcuffs without bothering to find out the truth. Malik was not arrested as if he co-operating with the police. Fair enough. But the average man in a similar situation is arrested though he may be lawabiding and co-operates with the police. Moreover, if there are no injuries, such complaints filed by mischevious wives under Section 498A do not stand ground (according to Malik’s lawyer as quoted by The Times of India). Why do these things not count when a man who does not have contacts in high places is arrested?

This is another example of the apathy of the Indian government and courts in India towards the common man. So much has been written about the misuse of Section 498A, but the government prefers to turn a blind eye to the situation. One wonders for how long…