Atul Subhas case Image Source: Social Media
Ever since Atul Subhash committed suicide, there has been a lot of discussion about his 80-minute video post. He also wrote a 24-page suicide note in which he accused his wife and her family of molesting him. In addition, judge Rita Kaushik from Jaunpur was also accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in the name of solving the case.
After Atul Subhash’s suicide, the biggest question mark has been raised about India’s judicial system and laws. The question being raised is, are laws put in place to prevent harassment of women being misused? Different courts have also commented on this on several occasions. Let us understand which court said what when.
One thing should be clear here, Section 498A of IPC protects a married woman from abuse by her husband and his relatives. After the implementation of the Indian Judicial Code, relevant provisions have been made in its Articles 85 and 86. Both emotional and physical abuse are included in these sections.
First – Just yesterday, on Tuesday (December 10), the Supreme Court commented on the misuse of Section 498A of the IPC. Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N. Koteshwar Singh are hearing the case. The case is pending before the court as Dara Lakshmi Narayan and Others v. State of Telangana and Others. Justices Nagarathna and Singh said that some women took advantage of laws designed to protect women from domestic violence to force their husbands and their families to comply with their unreasonable demands.
second – This year is September. The Supreme Court has made very harsh remarks on Section 498A of the IPC and the laws related to domestic violence. Courts have said these laws have become some of the most abused. A bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Prashant Mishra and Justice KV Vishwanathan was hearing a matrimonial dispute seeking maintenance. At the time, the court made only verbal comments about the abuse of the law. Then Justice Gawai said – I say publicly that domestic law and 498A are the most commonly abused laws.
third – Likewise, concerns over its misuse have been raised from the Bombay High Court to the Kerala High Court. The Bombay High Court has questioned the misuse of Section 498A and said that even elders of the house have been implicated under the law. Unlike the Bombay High Court, the Kerala High Court said the woman was filing a case against her husband and his relatives in retaliation. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand High Court said that Section 498A was meant to curb abuse of married women but now it has started being misused.
fourth – The Supreme Court has also given some guidance in this regard, which is worth mentioning. In 2017, the country’s Supreme Court had said that arrests should not be made immediately under Section 498A. The court made it clear that the police can make arrests only after detailed investigation and investigation. Two years ago, in 2022, the court even said that it was not enough to say that the woman had been abused. To file a case under 498A, the woman had to detail who raped her and on which day.
