The Hindu : National : Women’s groups oppose dilution of Dowry Act

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Women’s groups oppose dilution of Dowry Act

Aarti Dhar

There are allegations that false cases are being filed

NEW DELHI: Women’s groups have expressed deep distress at the government’s proposal to amend Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to make it bailable on the grounds that false cases were being filed under this section.

In a memorandum submitted to the Union Women and Child Development Ministry, the groups pointed out that Section 498 A was incorporated after a sustained and long struggle. However, dowry-related torture and domestic violence continued to escalate, but very few complaints resulted in conviction mainly because of poor implementation of the law as well as the presence of loopholes in the Dowry Act. “We feel that any dilution of Section 498 A will further weaken the efficacy of the law to deal with the issue,” the memorandum said.

Women’s groups have said the police take an extremely long time to even register the complaint, if they do at all. Even when their complaints are registered, neither is a proper investigation carried out by the police nor evidence, which may be vital to the case, gathered. Victims and their families have also complained that the police and sometimes the courts seem to be biased against them and treat their case as an ordinary domestic squabble. Importantly, there are complaints of corruption by the police.

Complaints under Section 498 A should be dealt with as complaints under other serious crimes, and on a case-to-case basis. “It is relevant to mention that several laws in our country are being misused by certain sections in our society. However, no one talks of amending these laws,” the memorandum said while appealing to the government not to take any steps to dilute this provision and instead certain aspects of dowry laws should be strengthened to ensure that women can live a life free from violence.

The signatories to the memorandum are All-India Democratic Women’s Association, All-India Women’s Conference, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, Guild of Service, Joint Women’s Programme, Muslim Women’s Forum, National Federation of Indian Women, War Widows Association and Young Women’s Christian Association.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National