New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil has cautioned against the misuse of pro-women laws such as IPC Section 498A that deals with dowry harassment and sought better implementation of others to create a gender-just society.

“Instances exist whereby protective legal provisions for the benefit of women have been subjected to distortion and misuse to wreak petty vengeance and to settle scores. Some surveys have concluded that 6 to 10 per cent of dowry complaints are false and were registered primarily to settle scores. It is unfortunate if laws meant to protect women get abused as instruments of oppression,” she said.

Patil was addressing the National Conference of Lady Lawyers and Lady Teachers on Justice for Women at Yavatmal in Maharashtra. Though much has been done to create a gender-just society in terms of enacting laws, their implementation left much to be desired, she said.

“The intent of some laws has suffered because of poor and faulty implementation. The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act is a living example. Enacted in 1996, it saw the first conviction in 2006 after 10 long years. Such disturbing revelations need prompt remedy,” Patil said.

She called upon women lawyers to take the lead in dealing with “female foeticide” which she termed “one of the most pernicious and inhuman forms of crime”.

“Another disquieting trend has been that women themselves have not been innocent of abusing women,” she said. “At times women have played an unsavoury, catalytic role in perpetrating violence whether against the daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law or female domestic helps.”

Laws made to prevent women from harassment should not become instruments of oppression, she said, calling upon the legal fraternity to ensure that provisions designed to prevent exploitation and suppression of women are “fairly invoked” and “honestly implemented”.

“The bottomline, therefore, is the fair invocation of legal provisions and their objective and honest implementation,” she said.

Though several laws have been enacted in the post-Independence era to usher in a gender just society, these would have to be better implemented, she said.

In this context, she referred to a host of laws such as the Special Marriage Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, Sati Prevention Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Factories Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act and provisions in the IPC to deal with obscenity etc.

She also referred to the recently enacted Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which “addresses the right of women to live in a domestic atmosphere not violative of woman’s dignity”.

“The Hindu Succession Amendment Act deleted the gender discriminatory clause to rectify the gender imbalance in inheritance rights. The 73rd and 74th Amendments, by providing ensured representation for women in urban and rural local bodies, have enabled public decision-making by the hitherto marginalised and suppressed humanity of women in India,” she said.

Details of Dowry Law Cases for the year 2007 (Source - NCRB)

From the record it is evident that more than 94% of the 498A cases filed by Living women are only for extrotion and Blackmailling and innocent people had been arrested only against the false and fabricated alligations without any evidence, which President of India is trying hard to hide by saying 6 to 10%.

Law Makers and Indian Goverment are fooling the Common people promoting the Extrotion, Blackmailling and arrest of innocent people, age old parents, pregnent sisters. Even Supreme court of India had already termed the Misuse of 498A as "Legal Terrorism", but President of India also failed to answer, what action Goverment has taken till date to Stop this Legal Terrorism in India in the name of Women Protections laws?

Click Here to get the Summary Data and Analysis.

It's a clearly evident that the only cases that have gone to trial are 498A filed along with 304B i.e. where the wife is not alive. Whereas in approx 94% of cases people have proven their innocence in the Court; and the fact remains that they were arrested without any reason/evidence as 498A/304B is non-bailable and do not need any evidence to arrest any Tom, Dick or Harry.

When we compare only 498A cases, especially for living women without any 304B in dowry related law, 87% people are arrested and among that 85% have proven thier innocence in  the courts. Which means the courts have found hardly 2% of the wives' complaining as genuine. Maximum convictions are under 498A which are filed along with 304B, and where the person  has proven his innocence in 304B, but as he had already gone through a Jail term while under trial, the courts convicted them under 498A as by default on assumptions based view only, just to justify thier Jail term during trial, so that they can't claim any damage from the Goverment.

Whereas if the cases were true and the verbal statement of the complainant were found to be true, the conviction would have been 100% !

Still in this special law more than 94% people have proven their innocence, where as in other normal IPC sections the conviction rate is more than this one, then why is there a need for this special law?

The Answer: To unlease a Legal Terrorism and allow the Wives' family to earn money from Husband's Family as a wholesale free license and openly Blackmail and extort money in front of Police/Court/Media and the same not to be termed as a crime.

We wonder Whose life is in More Danger in India : Men or Women?