Misuse of Dowry Laws

Press Release : Shoaib Case Created Dangerous Precedent

2010-04-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

*Subject:* *Section 498a must be scrapped by Indian Parliament on April 16th, otherwise Shoaib's case will create a dangerous precedent.*

Shoaib Malik reportedly gave 15 Crores (approx 3 million USD) to Ayesha Siddique for putting an end to their dispute after she files a complaint under section 498a of IPC. So, it is clear that the whole drama was for money and nothing else from the very beginning.

Out of court settlement under threats of jailing under section 498a are unconstitutional misuses of powers given to police. Marital disputes are civil disputes. They have to be solved in a civil court or a family court.

If marriage disputes are crimes, then marrying in itself is a crime.

Whether Shoaib's marriage was valid or not, it was up to family court at Hyderabad to decide. Now, the police have acted as courts; dispensed justice by being actors in the dispute, in the settlement process and even created a hostage situation that forced Shoaib to give divorce, without
anyone verifying, if his telephone marriage was valid or not in the first place.

Today, there is a growing tendency to convert every marital dispute into a criminal offense of cruelty or dowry harassment. Instead of using family courts, men are dragged to police stations or crime against women cells. When a marriage breaks, there will be pain and a lot of tears for both men
and women. These side effects of marriage dispute must not be considered as crime against women.

The duty of Indian police is to fight crime. It is not their duty to work as agents of women to issue threats of arrest, jailing or seizure of passports to facilitate exorbitant alimonies.

At a time, when gay sex and premarital sex is considered legal by Government, it is unfortunate if all marital disputes are considered as crime against women by men and instead of solving these disputes in Family Courts, police threats and draconian laws are used to force out of court
settlement.

This is same as legalizing extortion by trampling the very process of justice.

Who is not afraid of jail, seizure of passports and defamation in society? Criminal Laws must not be used as instruments of blackmail. Government must scrap section 498a of IPC as soon as the parliament resumes on April 16th for budget session, so that this entire extortion racket can stop.
Government has to do this before passing another other laws or amendments or taking any other policy decision.

Scrapping section 498a will put an end to all this extortion under police threats. While the existing Dowry disputes and Domestic Violence disputes can be taken care of by dowry prohibition act and domestic violence act.

Indian Supreme Court warned of legal terrorism due to misuse of section 498a and said, "The role of the investigating agencies and courts is that of a watchdog and not of a bloodhound. It should be their effort to see that an innocent person is not made to suffer on account of unfounded, baseless and malicious allegations."

President Pratibha Patil said, "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. It is unfortunate if laws meant to protect women get abused as instruments of oppression."

The solution for Government is to:

1) Scrap Section 498a of IPC

2) Decriminalize marriage disputes and put an end to involvement of police in counseling or monetary settlement of marital disputes.

3) Stop using of Crime against Women (CAW) cells as Marriage Counseling centers.

4) Refer marriage disputes to Family Courts.

The situation faced by Shoaib is not unique. It is faced by thousands of men across India every year. For example, Rajesh Mishra (name changed) is a software engineer in Bangalore. When he told his wife to stop abusing, as he could no longer tolerate it, she threatened to file section 498a to get him and his parents arrested unless he agrees for an out of court settlement of 1 Crore (Rs.10 million) and a divorce. Rajesh did not even had that much money and he suffered further abuse for many months till he approached a men's rights organization.

Men, who do not succumb to the blackmail and extortion, often get jailed along with their parents, brothers and sisters. In 2008, 37,000 women and about 140,000 men were jailed under section 498a. Often, additional sections of IPC were put on them later to force them into exorbitant out of court settlements. This has to end and family courts have to take over.

Thanks and Regards

Public Relations Officer
Save Indian Family Foundation, Bangalore

Shoaib Malik finds support from NGO working for 'harassed' husbands

2010-04-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, Apr.6 (ANI): Amidst the muddle surrounding his marriage with tennis ace Sania Mirza, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik has received an unexpected support from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which fights for 'harassed husbands'.

Buzz up!The Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) has come in support of Shoaib, who has been accused of 'fraud' and 'cheating' by a Hyderabad based girl, Ayesha Siddiqui, who claims to be Shoaib's first wife.

The SIFF has demanded immediate withdrawal of case filed against Shoaib, and scrapping the Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under which complaints have been lodged.

A statement issued by the NGO said scrapping the particular section of the IPC would not harm women, as real victims of dowry harassment or cruelty have access to the Dowry Prohibition Act and Domestic Violence Act to seek protection and justice.

"What crime did Shoaib commit that he is victimised in this way?How can someone force a marriage on a man? If Shoaib and Ayesha were married, where are the pictures of marriage? Moreover, whether Ayesha Siddiqui's claims are false or true is up to a family court or civil court to decide and give a judgement. Where do police come into picture?" the statement said.

The NGO said that marriage disputes before, during and after marriage were civil disputes and they had to be tried under a civil court. (ANI)

Press Release: SIFF demands scrapping of Section 498a

2010-04-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

*Subject: SIFF demands scrapping of Section 498a, even as Pakistani
cricketer Shoaib Malik gets implicated in it.*

Save Indian Family Foundation, a men's rights organization, creating awareness about the Legal Terrorism spread by misuse of marital laws like Section 498A, Domestic Violence Act, etc. voices its strong concerns in the matter of a case under Section 498A being filed against Pakistani Cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Marriage disputes before, during and after marriage are civil disputes and they have to be tried under a civil court. It has become a regular habit for women and their families to invoke section 498a for every petty dispute in marriage.

It is dangerous if every marriage or relationship dispute is considered a crime by the Government and it sends police to interrogate, counsel or settle these marital disputes. "What crime did Shoaib Malik commit that he is victimized in this way?", ask SIFF activists.

Bow down before your wife's 'diktat', SC tells husbands

2009-05-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: If you want to buy matrimonial peace just do whatever your wife says!

This is not some piece of advice from a marriage counsellor, rather it is from the country's apex court.

A vacation bench of justices Markandeya Katju and Deepak Verma observed, "Bibi joh boltee hai woh sunno (listen to whatever your wife says), as otherwise it could land you in trouble. Because if you do not listen to her, you will suffer the consequences."

"Hum sab bhogi hai (we are all sufferers)," the bench said in a lighter vein.

The bench further said that a husband has to accept the suggestion of a wife irrespective of the fact whether it is sensible or not.

"If your wife asks you to put your face that side, put it that side. If she says, put it this side, then put it this side. Otherwise you will face trouble. Hum sub bhogi hai," the bench remarked again.

The interesting suggestions from the apex court evolved on Tuesday during a matrimonial case involving an Air Force official Deepak Kumar who complained that his estranged wife Manisha had ruined him and his family by implicating them in false criminal cases including sodomy.

The couple got married 17 years ago but matrimonial disputes surfaced between the two soon after marriage.

A district court in Chandigarh dismissed Deepak's plea for divorce as Manisha opposed it, but a single judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted decree of judicial separation.

On an appeal from Manisha, a division bench granted the decree of divorce as the marriage "had irretrievably broken down" besides directing Rs 10 lakh maintenance amount from Deepak to her.

Aggrieved by the high court's order Manisha filed the appeal in the apex court challenging the decree of divorce.

Deepak's counsel argued that Manisha even though had implicated her husband and his family in a host of criminal cases was yet opposing the divorce despite the marriage breaking down irretrievably.

The vacation bench however, posted the matter for further hearing to July last week as there was no urgency in dealing with the matter.

"You have waited for 17 years, so wait for a few more days," the bench said while switching over to the next item on the agenda.

Sailor set to test political waters, raises dowry issue

2009-05-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI:
Captain Sudhir Kumar is thrilled with the kind of support he has been getting, specially from women. Far from the regulated, almost regimental life he is used to, Kumar is sweating it out in the Delhi sun and getting a taste of Indian politics. He is contesting the general elections from the New Delhi constituency as candidate of the little known Bharat Punarnirman Dal (BPD) and is addressing issues that nobody seems to have paid much attention to till now safety at sea for Indian sailors is just one of them.

Kumar, presently working with the merchant navy, has been associated with BPD since its inception in 2006. The volunteers comprise ex-IITians, MBAs and engineers and the target audience is the middle class voter. That is precisely why Kumar chose to enter the battle from a strongly contested zone. "I represent the common man who is fed up with dirty politics. All my voters are decision makers. The New Delhi constituency has the maximum number of people who can make a difference to the legal and administerial way of functioning in the country,'' says Kumar.

The party, that is fielding 11 contestants all over the country, is strongly focussed on family affairs and Kumar is arguing hard against the present dowry laws. "I have been campaigning long hours and going for padyatras too. The response has been phenomenal, specially from women who have connected to the issues I have raised. No civil or uncivil country punishes 10-30 relatives for a crime that is no crime. A marital dispute is between the husband and wife and unless there are bigger issues attached to it, should be dealt with in a civil court and not a criminal court,'' says Kumar.

Kumar is on leave from his job at present, having come to Delhi only 20 days ago to start his campaigning. "I am an honest person and need a job to support my family,'' he laughs, adding that if he is elected, he would have no option but to quit. "I know the competition I am up against but it doesn't deter me at all. I would be happy if I am able to get my message across to the people and make some difference to their lives,'' he adds.

Because of his strong connections with Africa he has been posted there for several years Kumar is also advocating strong ties with the continent. "India is going to be facing a severe shortage of food grains in the next five years or so. Africa can be our food basket and we need to develop our relations with them,'' he says.

Far from the usual promises of roti, kapda aur makan, Kumar has an entirely new agenda up his sleeve which includes urban rebuilding of Delhi, domestic harmony, judicial reforms and freedom of media and private radio.

No more Interpol Red Corner Notices in 498A

2009-04-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Interpol stops issuing notices
April 22nd, 2009

Hyderabad

April 21: Interpol, which issues Red Corner notices to arrest criminals all over the world, has stopped issuing notices pertaining to Section 498(A) (dowry harassment) cases registered in India. There are about 3,000 requests for red corner notices from Indian government pending with Interpol.
The inspector-general of CID, Mr S. Umapathi, said there are as many as 120 cases from Andhra Pradesh pending with Interpol for the past eight months.
Sources in the CBI said Punjab tops the list with nearly 300 cases.
According to sources, there is no law pertaining to dowry harassment in US and other developed countries and hence the Interpol is in dilemma whether they can issue Red Corner notice based on the Indian law.
“The mater has been discussed with US embassy officials recently. However, there was no improvement in the status,” Mr Umapathi said. “There was no delay in other criminal cases,” he added.
The external affairs ministry had sent several representations to Interpol explaining the seriousness of the cases booked under Section 498 (A). However it failed to get any positive response from them.

Save family, save nation, vote for Sudhir Kumar

2009-04-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

April 20, 2009 was a big day for Save Indian Family movement. One more milestone has been achieved on this very day. Sudhir Kumar Anand, the SIFF commando, has taken the movement of saving indian families against legal terrorism a big step forward . His nomination for Lok Sabha election from New Delhi constituency, through Bharat Punarnirman Dal (BPD), the party formed by IIT/IIM pass outs, was accepted by Election Commission on this day.

Vote for Family

Man pining for separated son commits suicide

2009-04-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

In a tragic turn of events, a Canadian national of Indian origin committed suicide when he couldn't bear the separation from his child. It seems, in the present case the suicide victim, Syed Makdoom left behind a suicide message on his cellphone blaming his wife for this unfortunate situation and abetting his ordeal. He also has a personal blog - which sadly won't be updated any more - where he documents his personal life and plea for help. Unfortunately there is no systemic response for a man's plea for help.
May Peace be upon him.

CJI Balakrishnan admits to misuse of dowry laws

2009-01-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

1 Feb 2009, 0323 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELHI: Dealing a blow to women's rights activists who have been stringently defending the Section 498A provision of the Indian Penal Code, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan on Saturday said that in some cases this section -- that deals with matrimonial cruelty -- was being `grossly misused'.
Elaborating on false cases being filed in recent times, the CJI said that relatives not involved with a matrimonial dispute were unfairly implicated. "In some cases, 498A is grossly misused,'' he said. Balakrishnan was speaking at a seminar, `Marriage laws -- issues and challenges', organised by the National Commission for Women.
The IPC section allows for immediate arrest of the husband and in-laws by the police on the basis of a woman's complaint and has been controversial. Several pro-male organisations have been protesting against the section saying that the law is being misused by women for selfish gains and should include a penalty provision against its misuse. But women activists have been lobbying for no change in the law.
Faced with adverse comments from the CJI, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Girija Vyas said that it was lack of awareness that led to false cases under 498A. "I would not like to use the term misuse. There is lack of awareness amongst people that is exploited by lawyers and police. We feel there is no need to review the law,'' Vyas said.
CJI Balakrishnan added that it was because of cases of misuse that the recent amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code had been enacted by Parliament. He, however, added that while the amendments were acceptable they should have been discussed threadbare in Parliament before being passed. "The amendments are good. They have given relief to those arrested on false accusations. The police has to give reasons before they arrest anyone. Unfortunately, Parliament passed the legislation without discussion,'' Balakrishnan added.
Commenting on the CrPC amendments, Vyas said that there had been demands from NGOs that the law be reviewed and the Commission was examining the matter.

Cops book wife for man’s suicide

2008-11-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

6 Nov 2008, 0302 hrs IST, TNN

NAGPUR: Five days after Vitthal Dodke, a resident of the Ayodhya Nagar, committed suicide, Sakkardara police have registered offences against six persons, including his wife, for allegedly abetting the man to end his life. Police have already dispatched units to arrest the accused, but till Wednesday evening, none had been taken into custody.

Behind the scenes, one may say that it was due to the efforts put in by members of the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), an organisation consisting mostly of men tortured by their wives, which did the trick. Otherwise, the police had not registered offence against anyone despite the fact that Dodke had mentioned in his suicide note that his wife had driven him to commit suicide.

Offences under section 306 of the IPC have been registered against six accused identified as Dodke’s wife Saroj, her family members Ashok Kshirsagar, Prakash Kshirsagar, their father Natthuji Kshirsagar and his wife, as well as one Ramkrishna Pimpalkar. The offences were registered late on Wednesday evening.

However, despite this, members of the SIFF, led by Rajesh Wakharia, organised a demonstration outside the Sakkardara police station on Wednesday morning, to protest the inordinate delay by the cops to register offence against the accused. The situation was diffused after the policemen informed them that they had already sent squads to bring in the accused.

Dodke had committed suicide by hanging himself at his home. His body had been discovered at on October 31. During primary investigations, police recovered a suicide note in which Dodke had said that his wife was pressurising him to have his parental house transferred in her name, and had been threatening to lodge false complaints at the local police station and have him and his family arrested if he did not comply with her demands.

Incidentally, this is the third case in a year in the city of a woman being booked by the police for allegedly driving her husband to suicide. In a similar incident in Ajni a few months ago, a city corporator and her family had been booked by the police after being accused of abetting her husband to commit suicide.

SIF launches anti-dowry movement

2008-10-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Mother dies of shock as son, husband arrested in 498A

2008-10-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Anti-dowry laws being misused: Court

2008-10-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, October 10
The Delhi High Court, while granting bail to a man accused of harassing his wife for dowry, leading to her death, has observed that anti-dowry laws were increasingly being misused by women.

Justice Aruna Suresh observed last week: “It seems that the anti-dowry laws are being increasingly misused. The ground realities persuaded this court to recommend to the authorities to have a look at the situation and legal provisions.”

Directing the accused to furnish a bail bond of Rs 40,000 and a surety of the same amount in the trial court, Justice Suresh said the court did not find any incriminating evidence against him in connection with his wife’s death.

The court accepted the accused’s submission that neither he nor his parents should be blamed for his wife’s death.

He along with wife and son were staying in a separate house, away from parents.

He said they were married since 2003 and were staying in Aman Vihar in north-west Delhi, and his parents and other family members were staying in Rohini.

He said that the dowry harassment allegations were baseless.

As per his submission, his wife fell unconscious while watching television in January and he took her to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

He claimed that the exact cause of her death was not confirmed in the post-
mortem report.

However, the report said she died due to seizure. — IANS

Press release of The Book-Wrong Gender biased Laws

2008-10-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

(NEW DELHI) The Gender Human Rights Society is publishing this extraordinary book, Wrong Gender biased Laws which is a compilation of various press releases, detailed booklet(s) about the proposed Sexual harassment in the Workplace law of 2007, Domestic violence law, Dowry law/ IPC 498a survival guide, mens human rights demands, etc.

This book is expected to provide some much needed weapons , to forces fighting against radical feminists and to those fighting against the unscrupulous wives and their parents who misuse the gender biased laws. It also attempts to explain why the current gender biased laws as well as the new ones proposed by the radical feminists are a recipe for social disaster. Whether they achieve their goal will be hotly contested by the readers. But one thing is sure: Their endeavor is long overdue.

High Court rap on dowry law misuse

2008-08-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Strongly criticising the use of anti-dowry law as a “weapon of harassment”, the Delhi High Court has expressed concern over the growing trend of married women charging virtually every member of the husband's family on frivolous grounds.

The court said from now on, family members of the man facing dowry harassment charges — father, mother, brother and sister — can be arrested only after prior approval from Deputy Commissioners of Police of the zone concerned. The court also said "no case under section 498 A of the IPC (dowry harassment) should be registered without the prior approval of DCP/Additional DCP.

Justice Kailash Gambhir was critical of the increasing trend of the complainant wife's family colluding with police officials to harass the entire family of the husband.

The judge said the main accused (husband) will be arrested only after thorough investigation and with the prior approval of an ACP or DCP.

Justice Gambir issued the guidelines while hearing a joint anticipatory bail application filed by the in-laws of a woman in a matrimonial dispute case lodged by their daughter-in-law. Directing the police to scrutinise complaints filed by the wife carefully, the court said the FIR should be registered if there is strong possibility of physical or mental cruelty against the complainant woman.

In addition, the police should make all efforts for reconciliation before the registration of FIR, the court said in the guidelines.

Besides the police, the court issued guidelines to NGOs, lawyers and trial courts, saying they have a greater responsibility in this regard.

SIF Times website launched

2007-05-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

SIF proudly announces the launch of monthly magazine "SIF Times" which is available both in e-magazine and print formats. SIF Times has its own website now http://www.siftimes.com/ . Congratulations to SIF family for this achievement.

Effects of Fatherlessness (US Data)

2007-05-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

1) BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS/ RUNAWAYS/ HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS/CHEMICAL ABUSERS/ SUICIDES
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Source: Center for Disease Control)
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.)
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes (Source: Rainbows for all God's Children.)
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)

2) JUVENILE DELINQUENCY/ CRIME/ GANGS
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26, 1978)
70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992)
California has the nation's highest juvenile incarceration rate and the nation's highest juvenile unemployment rate. Vincent Schiraldi, Executive Director, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, "What Hallinan's Victory Means," San Francisco Chronicle (12/28/95).
These statistics translate to mean that children from a fatherless home are:
5 times more likely to commit suicide.
32 times more likely to run away.
20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders.
14 times more likely to commit rape
9 times more likely to drop out of high school.
10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances.
9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution.
20 times more likely to end up in prison.
Juveniles have become the driving force behind the nation's alarming increases in violent crime, with juvenile arrests for murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault growing sharply in the past decade as pistols and drugs became more available, and expected to continue at the same alarming rate during the next decade. "Justice Dept. Issues Scary Report on Juvenile Crime," San Francisco Chronicle (9/8/95). "Crime Wave Forecast With Teenager Boom," San Francisco Chronicle (2/15/95).
Criminal behavior experts and social scientists are finding intriguing evidence that the epidemic of youth violence and gangs is related to the breakdown of the two-parent family. "New Evidence That Quayle Was Right: Young Offenders Tell What Went Wrong at Home," San Francisco Chronicle (12/9/94).

3) TEENAGE PREGNANCY
"Daughters of single parents are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, 164% more likely to have a premarital birth, and 92% more likely to dissolve their own marriages. All these intergenerational consequences of single motherhood increase the likelihood of chronic welfare dependency." Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Atlantic Monthly (April 1993).
Daughters of single parents are 2.1 times more likely to have children during their teenage years than are daughters from intact families. The Good Family Man, David Blankenhorn.
71% of teenage pregnancies are to children of single parents. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

4) CHILD ABUSE
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that there were more than 1,000,000 documented child abuse cases in 1990. In 1983, it found that 60% of perpetrators were women with sole custody. Shared parenting can significantly reduce the stress associated with sole custody, and reduce the isolation of children in abusive situations by allowing both parents' to monitor the children's health and welfare and to protect them.

5) POVERTY
"The National Fatherhood Institute reports that 18 million children live in single-parent homes. Nearly 75% of American children living in single-parent families will experience poverty before they turn 11. Only 20% in two-parent families will experience poverty." Melinda Sacks, "Fatherhood in the 90's: Kids of absent fathers more "at risk"," San Jose Mercury News (10/29/95).
"The feminization of poverty is linked to the feminization of custody, as well as linked to lower earnings for women. Greater opportunity for education and jobs through shared parenting can help break the cycle." David Levy, Ed., The Best Parent is Both Parents (1993).

6) KIDNAPPING
Family abductions were 163,200 compared to non-family abductions of 200-300. The parental abductions were attributed to the parents' disenchantment with the legal system. David Levy, Ed., The Best Parent is Both Parents (1993), citing a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice (May 1990).

Consequences of Fatherlessness

2007-05-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Only one in six divorced fathers sees his children once a week or more. Almost 40 percent of children who live with their mothers haven't seen their fathers in at least a year. The bottom line is, fathers are vanishing from the social landscape, and as the following facts compiled by the National Fatherhood Initiative demonstrate, father absence has dramatic and extremely serious effects on us all:
Seventy-two percent of all teenaged murderers grew up without fathers. Sixty percent of rapists were raised in fatherless homes. Seventy percent of the kids now incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities grew up in a single-parent environment. Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school as their
classmates who live with two parents.Fatherless children are eleven times more likely than are children from intact families to exhibit violent behavior. Children whose fathers are absent consistently score lower than the norm in reading and math tests. Three of four teen suicides occur in single-parent families. Children who live
apart from their fathers experience more accidents and a higher rate of chronic asthma, headaches, and speech defects. Eighty percent of the adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes. Compared to girls raised in homes where both parents are present, the daughters of single parents are 164 percent more likely to become pregnant before marriage, 53 percent more likely to marry as
teenagers, and 92 percent more likely to dissolve their own marriages.

A growing body of evidence establishes a high correlation between fatherlessness and violence among young men (especially violence against women). The absence of a biological father increases by 900 percent a daughter's vulnerability to rape and sexual abuse (often these assaults are committed by stepfathers or the boyfriends of custodial mothers).
Jeffery M. Leving's book: Fathers' Rights

Avoid frivolous anti-dowry cases, HC tells trail judges

2007-03-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, March 13: The Delhi High Court today gave a word of advice to trial judges to avoid frivolous anti-dowry cases in which the criminal justice system is used as a "tool" to settle personal scores. "The trial court must take into account the entirety of the case, all documents which are brought to its notice and thereafter decide whether there was a case made out or the court was being used as a
tool," Justice S N Dhingra said.

Detailing its role in such cases, the Bench held that "where charges are framed by the lower court without considering the material and charges amount to gross misuse of criminal justice system and the trial is an abuse, it becomes the duty of the High Court to intervene". The court was hearing a plea by one Sangeeta Kalra to quash a criminal complaint filed by her father in June 1999, accusing her
husband and in-laws of harassing her for dowry. Interestingly, Kalra had written a letter, which was produced on record, addressed to her husband a few days after she left her matrimonial home expressing her love for him.

Focussing on this letter, the Bench concluded that Sangeeta Kalra had "changed colour" and lodged the police complaint, within the space of a few days, merely to harass her husband and her in-laws. "She who showered praises on her husband for his love and affection, suddenly made allegations of dowry demand and cruelty," the court
remarked. "It seems that the complainant (Kalra), who left the matrimonial home due to failure of physical relationship and resultant dissatisfaction, later on thought of implicating every member of the family in an anti-dowry and cruelty case," the Bench observed.

Indian Domestic Violence Law Has Fascist Overtones

2006-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Sumanth from SIF exposes the grave consequences of the new DV Act. Indian Institution of Marriage is now on the rocks. Soon days will come when Indian women will beg Indian men to marry them. Soon Indian government will have to establish more courts, hire more judges, and build more jails, to harass, humiliate, blackmail and kill Indian men, and their families. Congratulations to Indian lawmakers for this Diwali gift. Soon India will be as "Western" and modern, as they dream and desire.

False dowry case: woman told to pay damages

2006-08-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

SIF congratulates Hon'ble Justice Ms Jatinder Kaur Walia for this landmark judgement:

Ludhiana, August 6
The Additional Civil Judge, Jagraon, has directed a Bathinda-based woman to pay Rs 3 lakh as damages to her husband and his relatives for lodging a false dowry harassment case against them.
Ms Jatinder Kaur Walia, Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), has ordered Harpreet Kaur of Gumti Kalan village to pay the damages with interest to her husband and relatives for causing mental harassment, malicious prosecution and financial loss and loss to reputation by lodging a false FIR, on the charges of dowry demand and harassment.

Read complete story here-
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060807/ldh1.htm#2

Till dowry do us part

2006-02-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

India Abroad (Feb 17, 2006) reports about large-scale misuse of IPC 498A by Indian daughters-in-law.
http://www.498a.org/contents/Publicity/indiaAbroadArticle_021706.pdf

SIF thanks George Joseph for writing such elaborately about this blood-cancer in Indian society.

Channel 7 Exposes Unscrupulous Females who misuse 498A

2006-02-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

Channel 7, an Indian TV Channel aired a 30 minutes program on thousands of families, who face utter misery due to some vicious women who file false cases of Section 498a on these families. Parveen Walia and his team at Delhi protest every alternate saturday against this Law Section 498a which is creating misery for thousands of innocent elders, mothers and sisters.

Listen to audio of this program at
http://www.saveindianfamily.org/blogs/2006/02/07/channel7-onmisuse-498a/

SIF Activists meet Parliamentary Committee

2006-02-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

The ground level activism of the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIF) took a sudden surge today as SIF Members in Bangalore were invited to join other NGOs for a meeting with "PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, LAW AND JUSTICE" at Hotel Grand Ashok. Today morning, they met MPs including Dr. P. C. Alexander and Mr. Ram Jethmalani. They got 8 minutes to talk, and that was more than enough to put the phrases like "LegalTerrorism", harassed mothers and pregnant sisters under 498a. Please find more details at: http://www.saveindianfamily.org/blogs/

The activists included Gorky, Saraswathi (president of Asha Kiran), Suresh, and father and brother of Sandy Patel.

Fight against 498A: History of our movement

2006-01-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

The Indian men’s movement started some 20 years back by Mr. Ramprakash Chugh, a Lawyer in Supreme Court of India and he started giving free help to men who faced problems from their wives. He carried on in spite of ridicule. His movement mainly remained in Delhi and he fought for rights of men in legal system. It took at least another decade for the movement to pick speed when an organisation called Purush Hakka Samrakshan Samiti (PHSS) was formed in Nasik with branches in couple of cities in Maharastra including Mumbai in 1997. Its name meant ”Men’s Rights Protection Organisation”. It fought against detention of men and his families in false complaints of IPC 498a. It fought for granting bail to people who were innocent. It interacted with judiciary and politicians. The media covered them well. But, they faced extremely hostile reactions for local feminists who lobbied to ban this organisation. Most probably, they could not digest that there can also be men’s rights movement. Of course, they did not succeed.

Almost at the same time, an organisation called “Pirito Purush Poti Parishad”(PPPP) started in Kolkata. Not much information about this organisation and its achievements.

It took another 5 more years for something substantial to happen. The internet changed the way people communicate. Techies in Bangalore could feel the heat on them as feminism started taking its first casualities in Bangalore.
That led to Sangyabalya in 2003 and this time it was different. More than 50% of its members are women and it was no longer a men’s movement, but a movement which discussed both men’s and women’s issues. It is sensed that men’s issues and women’s issues are not opposite of each other, but they run in parallel. That was a pathbreaking approach. For the first time in the history of India, a helpline was launched for giving completely free support to men, woman and elders who are jailed due to false complaints by impulsive daughters-in-law or her family.
Soon techies from Wipro, Infy, TCS, GE, HP, Cisco and many more companies started lining up for help and giving help. The helpline was followed up by a strongly bonded community. So, strong was the commitment that this organisation ran without any funds. For any new victim and his family, help of all kinds (moral, emotional, legal, strategic counselling) poured in.

As Media knew the real issues faced by men and their families, they extended a surprisingly warm welcome to this organisation and covered it well. This coverage led to chain reaction. Every days on an average 4 to 5 people from various parts of country and also from abroad started calling the Helpline for support and counselling. In no time, there were two hundred members.

By late 2004, the avtivists operating in Bangalore became very influential and that slowly started changing the attitude of judges and counsellors. A famous high court judge warned feminists, if they do not behave themselves, then men’s rights organisations will take over the social movement. The need for diversity of organisations to fight against misuse of law, led to decision of creating multiple organisations. This led to creation of India’s first women’s organisation Asha Kiran which fights for men’s rights. Many mothers and sisters of men started fighting full time for their rights which are violated by the draconian, dysfunctional Indian legal system.

http://www.asha-kiran.org/

In the meanwhile, by end of 2003, the internet activism was given a major boost by the activity spear-headed by D’Souza and Gokul.
D’Souza’s Site: http://misuseof498a.clawz.com/
Gokul’s site: http://Gokul.go.to/ At the same time, the talented NRIs, techies, engineers of India suddenly rose up to give power via the Yahoogroup Misusedowryact. By Jan 2005, Activists D’Souza, Sathakka and others were already working on Search Engine Optimisation. By Jan 15th, the website http://www.saveindianfamily.com/ was established. Large number of articles were written which put holes in the entire feminist theory. By March, the activism shifted in a bigger way to Yahoogroup SaveIndianFamily. Activists from Delhi and Haryana joined in a big way and that led to creation of Pariwarik Suraksha Sanstha(PSS) in Delhi in May 2005. On 9th July 2005, PSS conducted a major seminar in Constitution club in Delhi which was covered by Doordarshan. On 15th July, Doordarshan conducted a 30 minute program on Misuse of Dowry laws in India. Seminar in Delhi:
http://www.saveindianfamily.org/blogs/2005/08/13/pss-seminar-july05/

Now we have other very professional sites with lot of information for every member and non-member : http://www.498a.org http://www.ipc498a.org/ http://www.mynation.net/

Lisa Tsering gets award for her story on False Dowry Cases

2006-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lisa Tsering, a correspondent with India West met Save Indian Family(SIF) members in US in december 2004, as a part of her study on NRIs facing false dowry cases and extortion(sowry harassment) in India.

New America Media has awarded her story as Best Investigative/In-Depth (English) story on NRIs victimised by false dowry cases in India.
We congratulate Lisa Tsering for her courage and her great investigative article.
New California Media is a nationwide association of over 700 ethnic media organizations representing the development of a more inclusive journalism. Founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service, NCM promotes ethnic media through events such as the NCM Ethnic Media Expo and Ethnic Media Awards, a National Directory of Ethnic Media, and such initiatives as the online feature NCM Exchange Headlines from Ethnic Media, offering top headlines digested from ethnic media worldwide, updated five days a week

Warnings from Canada and USA: Misuse of dowry laws

2006-01-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

Canada
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=128000#6
Growing numbers of Canadian citizens have been caught up in marital fraud and dowry abuse in India. Most cases involve Indo-Canadian males who abandon their wives in India after cheating them out of large sums of money. Other cases involve misuse of India’s Dowry Prohibition Act. This law, which was enacted to protect women and makes demanding a dowry a crime, is sometimes used to blackmail men through false allegations of dowry extortion. Individuals facing charges may be forced to remain in India until their cases have been settled or pay off their spouses in exchange for the dismissal of charges. To avoid such problems, you are advised to register your marriage in India along with a joint declaration of gifts exchanged, as well as consider a prenuptial agreement

USA
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html
A number of U.S.-citizen men who have come to India to marry Indian nationals have been arrested and charged with crimes related to dowry extraction. Many of the charges stem from the U.S. citizen's inability to provide an immigrant visa for his prospective spouse to travel immediately to the United States. The courts sometimes order the U.S. citizen to pay large sums of money to his spouse in exchange for the dismissal of charges. The courts normally confiscate the American’s passport, and he must remain in India until the case has been settled. There are also cases of U.S.-citizen women of Indian descent whose families force them against their will into marriages to Indian nationals.

SIF USA launches massive 498A awareness campaign

2005-12-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Save Indian Family Foundation SIF-USA under the banner of www.498a.org launches a massive campaign to educate society at large, about the wide-spread misuse of IPC 498A, by today's Indian daughters-in-law. Please download and distribute the flyers (in the .pdf format) and distribute as much as you can.

Tell one, tell all...

2005-11-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

Online columnist Peco Chakravatru reports about the arrival of Save Indian Family Banner T-shirts which were highly appreciated by SIF members.

Go grab one, proudly show the world that you are a satyagrahi fighting for a noble cause!

Dowry law being misused by women

2005-10-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Times of India Says:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2005 11:39:19 PM ]
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has agreed with a petitioner that Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, which seeks to protect women from being harassed for dowry, was being misused through frivolous cases filed by women to trouble their in-laws.

The court, however, upheld the constitutional validity of the Section, with a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and H K Sema dismissing a petition challenging the validity of Section 498A. The judges though added a word of caution, saying, "Merely because the provision is constitutional, it does not give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreck personal vendetta or unleash harassment."

The judges called upon the legislature to refine the Section and "find out ways how frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with".

Petitioner Sushil Kumar Sharma had sought quashing of Section 498A challenging its constitutional validity. In the event that the court found the Section valid under the Constitution, Sharma had sought guidelines so that innocent persons are not victimised through false accusations.

Section 498A of IPC, which defines the offence of matrimonial cruelty, was brought in through an amendment in 1983. An offence under the Section is non-bailable, non-compoundable and cognisable on a complaint made to the police officer by the victim or by designated relatives.

Cruelty is defined in the Section as any conduct that is likely to drive a woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury. Though the object of the provision was to prevent the menace of dowry, the Bench agreed with the petitioner that in many instances, the complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with oblique motive.

"In such cases, acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Sometimes, adverse media coverage adds to the misery,"Justice Pasayat, writing for the Bench, observed in the 11-page judgment pronounced recently.

False dowry case ample ground for divorce: HC (Delhi)

2005-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Times of India dated 2nd Feb 2005.(page 4)
By Bhadra Sinha/TNN

New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court has ruled that lodging false dowry complaints against men amounts to cruelty and can be a ground for dissolution of marriage. The court granted divorce to a man who alleged mental cruelty by his wife.

With this order, Justice O P Dwivedi disposed of a four-year-old petition in which a woman had challenged a lower court’s order permitting divorce to the husband. Mita Jain (name changed) admitted during the proceedings that she had filed a false case of dowry against her husband, in-laws and their relatives in Meerut. As a result of the false complaint, the husband and relatives were in jail for 10 days. The court construed this to be an instance of cruelty. It also concluded against that Mita’s acceptance of Rs 5.25 lakh as a final settlement for divorce was an unfair act. After receiving the payment, Mita gave a statement before Meerut’s chief judicial magistrate in which she admitted that the dowry case against her husband was false. Yet she refused to give divorce.

‘‘The act of the woman in filing a false case was not based on true facts. It clearly amounts to cruelty. Not only did she receive Rs 35,000 and Kisan Vikas Patras, she resiled from her agreement and did not sign papers of divorce,’’ said Justice Dwivedi.

In 1999, the lower court had passed an order in favour of Mita’s husband who claimed his wife had been mentally harassing her since 1993, the year when they left the family home to live separately. According to him, she once attempted to get a false case registered against him. The lower court observed in its order that things went wrong between the two after they started staying in a rented accommodation. ‘‘As per the averments of the husband, the wife refused to cook meals for some of his friends whom he had invited for a party on his birthday,’’ the judge had said.

CLICK HERE for Full text of the Delhi HC judgment

44% of dowry death cases are false

2005-10-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Following judgement in 2000(1) Karnataka Law Online starting on Page no 560 is illustrative of the severity of the abuse of the process of law happening in the dowry harassment and section 498a cases:

In the High Court of Karnataka
M.F.Saldhana & M.S. rajendra Prasad
JJCrl.A. no. 589 of 2003
Decided on 4-9-2003

Important excerpts starting from page 562:

We need to sound a note of caution that the police and investigating authorities should not improperly and technically jump to the conclusion that merely because death has occurred that ipso facto a criminal offense has been committed. In as many as 44% of these cases prosecution is thoroughly unjustified. Unless there is cogent and convincing evidence and unless there is material to sustain these charges, it would be totally impermissible and completely unjustified to embark upon legal action. The consequences of these charges are extremely grave because the accussed husband and invariably family members are placed under arrest. There are serious social and economic repurcussions.

End of excerpt

A little later following excerpt from same judgement:

The fact that we do come accross considerable number of instances where prosecution was unjustified seems to indicate that in every case of death of young woman or recently married women that prosecution and filing of charge sheet has become automatic. There does not appear to be a proper application of mind at the stage of scrutiny and having regard to this position we direct the concerned authorities to ensure that requirements of the law are correctly and responsibly followed. Copy to be followed to D.G. ( Police ).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I appeal to the judiciary also to take up the slack pointed out in this judgement and dismiss proceedings where prosecution has no case. Important point of law is that complaint and case are not synonmous and that case is made only by providing material substantiating the complaint. Mere complaint should not be treated as sufficient to proceed with trial any of the cases. Unfortunately in the Dowry harassment and section 498a without any material only on the say so of relative and friends of the girl the proceedings are started which is wrong. During the Charge/Discharge stage carefull evaluation of the material placed by both accussed and prosecution has to be done if there is sufficent material which could lead to conviction and it has to be done on broad sweep without going into minor contradiction. That is ASSERTION MATERIAL ANALYSIS has to be done to decide whether there is a prima facie case or innocence is already established.
Anybody who has read Perry Mason novels knows that in order to substantiate case you also have to get some witnesses to depose before a case is committed to trial. Unfortunately we are demanding too little from the prosecution and investigative authorities to substantiate if they have a case. I suspect that if we rigourously follow this practice that upto 40-50% of the cases will not be commited to trial and that instead of the current 3-5 years for decision it would take 11/2 to 3 years to come to a decision. This would reduce a lot of burden on the courts.

Warning Signs of an Abusive Personality and Future 498A

2005-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

If your wife/her family is displaying a combination of these behaviors, then you may have a potential 498A mis user on your hands.

1. Family: Is newly-rich; Likes to show-off (their house/cars/paintings/relatives/ connections, etc.); Related to politicians/bureaucrats/lawyers/judges/police officers; Has a history of filing cases against anybody and everybody (search the website of the courts in their State of residence); Beats up its employees; Lives beyond its means; Mother's face cannot be seen beneath the layers of cosmetics; Father acts like a 'Brown Sahib'; Girl/her sister has been in more than one previous relationship, etc.
2. A push for a quick involvement: Comes on very strong, claiming, "I've/We've never felt loved like this by anyone/or so close to anybody." An Abusive woman/her family pressures the man/his family for an exclusive commitment almost immediately.
3. Jealousy: Excessively possessive; calls constantly or visits unexpectedly: prevents you from going to work because 'you might meet someone;" smells your jacket for perfume residue, checks your shirt collar for lipstick marks and goes through your pant pockets.
4. Controlling: Interrogates you intensely (especially if you're late) about whom you talked to, and where you were; wants her name on all your assets/control all the money.
5. Unrealistic expectations: Expects you to be the perfect man and meet her and her family's every need.
6. Isolation: Tries to cut you off from family and friends; accuses people who are your well wishers of "causing trouble."
7. Blames others for problems and mistakes: The boss/the employee, her ex-boyfriend/ ex-husband, it's always someone else's fault if anything goes wrong.
8. Makes everyone else responsible for her feelings: The abuser says, "You make me angry instead of, "I am angry' or, "You're hurting me by not doing what I tell you." Less obvious is the claim "You make me happy."
9. Hypersensitivity: Is easily insulted, claiming that her feelings are hurt when she is really mad. She'll rant about the injustice of things that are just part of life.
10. Cruelty to animals and to children: Kills, maims (e.g., tears the wings off a butterfly) or punishes animals brutally (e.g., by kicking them till they bleed). Also may expect children to do things that are far beyond their ability (makes an 18 month old stand in a corner or whips a 2-year-old for wetting a diaper) or may tease them until they cry.
11. "Playful" use of coercion during sex: Enjoys initiating and controlling sex, stimulating herself and teasing; asks about your sexual fantasies.
12. Verbal abuse: Constantly criticizes you/your family, or says blatantly cruel, hurtful things; disgraces, curses, calls you/your family ugly names. This may also involve sleep deprivation, waking you up with relentless verbal abuse.
13. Rigid sex roles: Expects you to serve and obey her/her family.
14. Sudden mood swings: Switches from sweetly loving to explosively violent in a trotter of minutes or even more confusing, within seconds. You feel as you are walking on "eggshells" around her.
15. Past behavior: May not actually admit to hitting men in the past (but may write it in her journal/diary and says they made her do it or the situation brought in on).
16. Threats: Makes statements like, "My parents will support me even if I murder someone," or "A woman is always right/the system should always believe the woman" or "I will cut you up the way a fisherman slices fish" and then dismisses them with, "Everybody talks that way," or "I didn't really mean it." If she has come this far, it is time to get help and get out!

Legal Terrorism

2005-09-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court calls the abusers of Section 498a, the assassins
Plug loopholes in law on dowry: SC

It says:

In such cases, the acquittal by courts of the accused persons after a long legal proceedings did not “wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to the trial by them”, the court said.

Describing such misuse of law as “legal terrorism”, the court said no one could be allowed to unleash frivolous proceedings on this count as the provisions of Section 498A “is intended to be used as shield (a woman against harassment) not as an assassin’s weapon.”

It says:

“In such cases acquittal of the accused does not wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Sometimes adverse media coverage adds to the misery”. Merely because the provision was declared constitutional and intra vires, it did not give licence to unscrupulous persons to wreak personal vendetta or unleash harassment, the judges said.

498a and it's far reaching effects on society

2005-08-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

The problem with our young guy's mind is: "Unless it is their personal problem, they do not care". That is why getting people to even acknowledge that 498a is the cancer of Indian society it a big task. 498a is a something like virtual sword, if you are uxorious, you will never see it, but if your wife is modern type...., then soon a day will come and the sword will pierce your life.According to an estimate, there are around 25000-30000 false 498a cases filed every year in India. This creates multi-dimensional problems to the families and society.
1) Lot of productive time, energy and money of the family is spent to proving themselves innocent.
2) Law implementers and judiciary has to spend countless number of hours presiding over a 'civil' matter (false in more than 90% cases). Judiciary has 20 million civil and criminal case backlogs.
3) Tax-payer money is spend on the government lawyer appointed to the daughter-in-law and letting her fight her vicious lie.
4) Over years, when the families who have not spend a single minute with lawyers, courts and police, get depressed with the judiciary and police system.
5) Eventually institution of marriage would be more like a business transaction (in which man and wife will have to document every agreement in writing in front of lawyers).

I think the better campaign to create awareness about 498a and it's rampant scrupulous use by urban modern daughter-in-laws is to publish ad in the newpapers and magazines. Feminist organizations are federally funded organizations, which is not easy to organize in case of guys. Feminist organizations have tax-payers money at their constant disposal. When brinda or Indira speak, they are cited in newspapers. But when we speak, there is no one to mention or publicize that. Also, society as such always sympathize with the weaker party (poor is favored over rich, illiterate is favored over educated, homeless is favored over those with homes) without knowing who is at fault.

WHO: Elder Abuse by daughters-in-law

2005-05-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

World Health Organization (WHO) report - Elder Abuse

MISSING VOICES
In India, there is a law that is intended to protect daughters-in-law from abusive in-laws. A daughter-in-law can go to the police station and lay a complaint that she is being abused by her in-laws, and the in-laws are arrested on her word alone. However, the focus group participants reported that some daughters-in-law are using this law as a form of elder abuse, by making false police reports. In general, participants stressed that the lack of a caring attitude by daughters-in-law was a major problem. (India)

CLICK HERE for the complete report.

Harassed husbands, fight on!

2005-05-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Get free support if suffering from false dowry cases
CLICK HERE to get free advice and support if suffering from false 498A case

Save Indian Family is a strong team of techies, NRIs, intellectuals, and professionals who campaign and create awareness about gross injustices and abuse that happen in Indian legal system.

Visit http://www.saveindianfamily.org/

Large-scale misuse of DOWRY-LAW (IPC 498A) by women.
Misuse of dowry law (IPC 498A)

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