Dowry cases :Tihar Jail is overflowing with 3000 “Saas aur Nanaand”

3,000 cases last year, 2014 set for more Few convictions point to misuse of law

TIHAR insiders call it the ‘ Saas- Nanand’ barrack. It’s a part of Central Jail Number 6 in Delhi’s infamous prison that holds only women accused in dowry harassment cases, almost always the mother- in- law and her daughters. One fifth of all women prisoners in Tihar are accused in dowry cases under sections 498A and 406 of the Indian Penal Code ( IPC).

Delhi has hit the high- growth lane in registration of dowry cases, and already crowded Tihar is getting choked by the onslaught. From nearly 1,500 cases in 2011, the number of dowry cases registered went on to cross the 3,000 mark in 2013. In 2014, the Delhi Police has already registered more than 1,275 cases of dowry; police officials expect the annual total to go higher than last year. Most police officials freely admit that the dowry law has become a “ tool to fleece families facing the legal heat over dowry and harassment allegations’’. It’s a bizarre situation, and the stringent law that was introduced as an amendment to the IPC in 1983 helps create it ( see accompanying reports). An offence under Section 498A is cognizable, meaning the police are duty- bound to register and investigate it; it is non- bailable, meaning bail can only be sought— and refused by magistrate— when the case comes up in court; it is noncompoundable, meaning the complainant cannot withdraw the case. No wonder then that the way the law is used has been described as “ legal terrorism” by the Supreme Court.

Such dowry cases are in the thousands, but the conviction rate in these cases is as low as per cent. The national conviction rate is between 12- 15 per cent, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

The data

According to Delhi Police data, the force registered the number dowry cases has doubled in two years. In 2011, the police registered 1,585 such cases, a number that rocketed to 3,045 in 2013. In 2012, Delhi Police had registered 2,046 dowry cases.

And Tihar is bursting at the seams. “ There are over 280 inlaws and other family members booked in dowry cases. Most are women,” said Tihar Jail spokesperson Sunil Gupta. “ The Saas- Nanand barrack is only for women accused in dowry cases.

keep them apart from hardcore criminals,” Gupta added.

According to a senior police official, the dowry law has become a tool to extort money from the groom’s family. After witnessing such trends, the Delhi Police prepared appropriate guidelines. “ Three years back, the police chief set the guideline that in such cases the victim’s husband would be treated as prime accused, and permission will have to be taken from Deputy Commissioner of Police to arrest the victim’s inlaws, and from the area Assistant Commissioner of Police arresting the husband,” the officer said.

There’s unanimity on this issue.

“ We arrest accused after following guidelines from various agencies. After giving counselling, we choose arrest as a option,” Joint Commissioner of Police ( Crime Against Women) Robin Hibu said.

Gupta said that mothers- inlaw, who are mostly aged, are ones who get depressed in jail and adjusting becomes a problem for them. “ The nanand s or sistersin laws who come in jail few months are mostly aged between 18 and 26 years also face a lot of difficulty and depression. These women know that their being in jail means they will be ostracised for life in society; they fear that no- one would marry them. It is emotional trauma for them and most are seen crying for days,” a jail official said.

Since the undertrials in the dowry cases are firsttime criminals and not hard- core ones they are treated better by the jail authorities.

“ Most of the women are semi- literate women from Delhi and the villages around. We keep them away from the seasoned criminals and treat them softly in comparison to the other criminals,” Gupta said.

Tihar authorities say that older women accused in dowry cases need medical help, and the younger ones booked in these cases usually need counselling.
SC expresses shock

“ Section 498A of the IPC was introduced with avowed object to combat the menace of harassment to a woman at the hands of her husband and his relatives. The fact that Section 498A is a cognisable and nonbailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives.

The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision.

In quite a number of cases, bed- ridden grandfathers and grandmothers of the husbands and their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested.” — On July 2

Supreme court new directions:

1.No arrests under antidowry law without a magistrate’s nod.

2. In dowry death cases, only those related closely to the deceased’s husband by blood or through marriage can be booked.

3.States should instruct its police not to automatically make an arrest when a case of dowry harassment ( IPC Section 498A) is registered, but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under parameters laid down in Section 41, CrPC ( amended).

4. Police shall furnish to magistrate reasons and materials on the basis of which arrest is made.

5. The magistrate, while ordering detention, shall satisfy himself as to the report given by the police  The decision to not arrest an accused should be forwarded to the magistrate within 2 weeks.

6.Police officers who do not comply with these rules shall be liable for departmental action and contempt of court action.

7.The appropriate HC may order departmental action against the magistrate who ders detention without recording reasons

WHAT IS SECTION 498A OF THE IPC?

It is the provision under which a husband or family or kin of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty to coerce her to meet their unlawful demand ( dowry) is booked.

Generally the husband, his parents and relatives are arrested without sufficient probe and put behind bars on nonbailable terms. Even if the complaint is false, the accused is presumed guilty until he or she is proven innocent in court. The maximum punishment, if proven guilty, is 3 years in jail.
By Mahinder Singh Manra and Mansi Tewari in New Delhi
courtesy :Mail today
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=772014