Why 498 is misused?

Answer 1

The anti-dowry law (498A), was enacted to protect women from dowry harassment and to deliver justice to the true victims. Unfortunately unscrupulous women are misusing this law as a legal extortion weapon to victimize families legally. Just a single written complaint by a woman, irrespective of its authenticity, is enough to arrest the husband and in-laws and whoever she has named in her complaint. The innocent families are presumed guilty and are brutally threatened by the protectors of law and forced to settle the case by paying the woman demands, which are exorbitantly large and may also include ancestral property. Very often, such cases continue in the courts for years, which prolong the suffering of the innocent families. Though projected to be a law benefiting women, 498a has, ironically, victimized countless innocent women related to the husband's family.

Thousands of such false 498a cases are filed each year and innocent families are legally terrorized. A large number of cases filed under anti-dowry law IPC 498A are not cases of actual dowry demands, but a reflection of a more sinister design to legally blackmail innocent husband and in-laws for money. The statistics prove that more than 90% of the dowry cases filed are false (validated and independently confirmed by the Council of Social Research).

Supreme Court has termed such malpractice as "Legal Terrorism." High Court has categorically ordered to do something to stop such misuse. World Health Organization has expressed grave concern over the way old parents are legally abused by their daughter-in-law misusing 498A. The situation is so serious that even the foreign governments have taken note of it. The US Govt. has issued a warning about the misuse of the dowry law on one of its official websites. The Canadian Govt. has also issued similar advisories.