Imprisonment Will End The Marriage; MP Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Dowry Harassment

Madhya Pradesh High Court has reportedly granted anticipatory bail to a husband accused of dowry harassment on the grounds that the imprisonment of the husband would mean a dissolution of marriage. Adding further, the Court maintained that if the marriage ends, there will be no possibility of resolving the issue through compromise.

According to an exclusive report by Hindustan Times, the wife had alleged that her husband demanded a gold chain of five tola and wanted a plot of land, currently in the name of her father, to be transferred on his name. She had filed an FIR in June accusing her husband of dowry harassment adding that he allegedly locked her up in a room, denied her medical aid, forced her to have sex and even unnatural sex.

The court ruled out the harassment complaint saying that there was no mark of injury in the woman’s body. It said that the allegations are “trivial” and are likely to happen in every marriage and that it can be resolved through compromises. Imprisoning the husband would end the marriage and the possibility of compromise too.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Woman Dies By Suicide, Had Alleged Dowry Harassment In Video

Increasing Dowry Harassment Cases and Decreasing Conviction Rate

The conviction rate of Dowry harassment and domestic violence cases in India has consistently been low. According to the NCRB data, in 2018, (the latest data available) the conviction rate of cases registered under Section 498A has decreased to  13 per cent, the second-lowest in 13 years. Out of 1,03 lakh cases registered, only 4982 cases were convicted.

In yet another case of March 2020, a man in Bengaluru was acquitted in the dowry harassment case against him on the basis of ‘Benefit of Doubt’. The man was accused by his in-laws for abetting his wife to die by suicide because his dowry demands weren’t met. But the High Court gave him the ‘Benefit of Doubt’ noting that neither the wife nor her parents registered any case of dowry demands before the wife’s death and that there was no evidence to prove the dowry harassment either. The court also noted that the couple was said to have a happy married life as they had two children and just because the accused is the husband of the deceased, he cannot be blamed.

In June 2020, Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to three-person accused of torturing and harassing a woman because of which she died by suicide. The judgement was based on the fact that neither the maternal family nor the parents of the woman registered any complaint of dowry harassment before her death. Although the deceased said in a dying declaration that she had registered a complaint against her in-laws for cruelty and torture, the court said that there was no evidence to prove it.

And then in Chhattisgarh, a Muslim man was acquitted of Dowry harassment allegations imposed on him by his wife under section 498 of IPC on the basis of lack of evidence. In September 2019, when the couple faced each other while collecting the acquittal notice from the court, the husband gave triple talaq to the wife in the court premises itself.

Also Read: Wife’s Refusal To Wear Sakha & Sindoor Signifies Refusal To Accept Marriage: Gauhati HC