Congress & BJP govts have both refused to legislate on Marital Rape. Reinforces my belief that India doesnt have any genuinely liberal party— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 11, 2016
Points to ponder:-
If marital rape gets imposed in India, it ll be grossly misused by women to settle scores with their husbands for trivial issues.
For Protection of Women from Domestic Violence India already has DV Act 2005 enacted by Parliament of India to protect women from domestic violence.
How to determine the marital rape remains the biggest issue. Are we going to put video camera in every couple's bedroom to determine whether it was consensual sex or a forced sex between the couple.
Section 498-A of the IPC is there to protect women from the hands of her husband and his relatives.Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offense.According to Indian Penal Code (IPC) 498A - "Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty - Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. "
According to “Crime in India 2012 Statistics” published by the National Crime Records Bureau, section 498A itself accounted for 6% of all arrests, though the conviction rate was merely 15%.The dismal conviction rate proves the point that most of the cases filed under 498-A are false or frivolous.
#MaritalRapeDebate So fond of western laws, then why Rape, DV only for Women? In West they are #GenderNeutral (even Sexual harassment law)— Abhay Chakradhar (@AbhayChakradhar) March 12, 2016
Why supreme court calls 498a as "Legal Terrorism"?
25 reasons “Why IPC 498A is Anti-Social?”
1 It is handled under the Criminal law for marriage related matters and not under Civil Laws.
2 Non-bailable warrant does not require proof before arrest. No investigation necessary. This exposes the vulnerability of the accused taking away their basic human rights.
3 Even those who were not part of the 'day-to-day' family life could be named and arrested on one complaint, which can also include pregnant women and children.
4 Accused is presumed guilty until proven innocent. No where in the world it is so.
5 Gifts are sometimes misunderstood as dowry. Who decides that the gift exchanged were 'gifts or dowry'?
6 It is non-compoundable which means that the complaint can’t be taken back that hinders any scope of reconciliation between the couple.
7 After a man is accused of 498A, he will not take his wife back later.
8 Old parents who lived with dignity and respect have to live with the stigma of harassing their daughter-in-law for the rest of their lives.
9 Groom’s relatives don’t find a suitable bride after they are accused under 498A
10 Most of the cases are filed because the husband refuses to throw his parents out of the house at the wife’s demands.
11 Husband’s job is at risk when he is accused under 498A who could even be the only breadwinner of the family.
12 The health of the old parents dangerously deteriorates after they are arrested in a 498A case.
13 Some even commit suicide for not able to withstand the depression and frustration of been falsely accused.
14 Old parents after 498a case become very apprehensive and advice their son not to marry again.
15 The family ends up paying a very high price to settle the case, the money that was saved for the parent’s health.
16 Most often the lawyers tend to take the family for a ride to extract as much money as possible.
17 The possibility of a woman over-reacting on a trivial matter in the family is never considered as a reason of complaint.
18 A woman tries to get divorce proceedings faster by filing a 498a case even if no dowry was demanded.
19 The witnesses (neighbors) tend to support the woman for not getting into a police case. They even fear of been accused by the woman if they don’t support the woman.
20 Some women marries an NRI and slaps a 498A case only to extort large sum of money
21 Even after knowing that the complaint can be false, police tend to support the woman and asks the man to settle the case with a financial compensation.
22 The case can easily linger in the court for years and only the groom’s family has to pay the price.
23 498A case can be filed even after the divorce, which only means that the accuser wants to demand money legally apart from maintenance.
24 There is no prohibition clause in the 498A law that would stop women to misuse it.
25 It is nearly impossible to file a case of defamation on the accuser because the police will not register the case and it would be hard to prove it.
