Supreme Court reframes its previous order on dowry harassment

NewsBharati    15-Sep-2018
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New Delhi, September 15: The Supreme Court on Friday modified its previous order that provided for setting up of a committee to deal with complaints of dowry harassment. The court, while modifying its earlier verdict, said that there is no scope for courts for constitutionally filling up gaps in the penal law.


 

Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Dr. Surat Singh said that the apex court has restored to its earlier position on the issue. The Court was hearing a plea filed by an NGO claiming that the otherwise helpful instrument in the hands of victim women has become valueless.

The top court had on 23 April reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking revisiting of a judgment that had reduced the severity of the anti-dowry law on the offence of subjecting a married woman to cruelty by spouse and in-laws.

The apex court had earlier said that every complaint under Section 498A should be scrutinised by a Family Welfare Committee after which arrests should be made. Even in July 2017, a two-judge bench of the apex court said that no arrest can be made till such committee has submitted its report. This direction has now been done away with, according to Bar and Bench.

The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Friday held that there is no need for a family welfare committee to examine complaints and that police officers, based on facts of the case and governed by the legal provisions, should decide on their own.

The court restored the powers of the police to act on complaints of dowry harassment under Section 498A and said, "We think it appropriate to direct the investigating officer to be careful in dealing with the complaints of dowry harassment."