Report of Awareness program in front of Family court

On 7th June 2008 Protect Indian Family Foundation, NGO, Mumbai (Member of the Save Indian Family(SIF) Network), conducted an awareness program- ‘Effects of 498a, Dowry Act & Domestic Violence Act on Indian Families’.

This program was at the family court, bandra. 50 members in PIF T-shirts gathered and educated the people around family about the ill effects of misusing laws concerning families and also distributed pamphlets outlining these ill effects. The program details were communicated beforehand to the family court officials including the judges and the counsellors. Protect Indian family intends to continue such awareness programs in future too, especially since the high court of mumbai itself has been promoting such programs which could reduce disintegration of families and avoid wasteful litigation for all. Crores of rupees are wasted in the conduct of such litigations both in terms of juidical resources and public resources, apart from the weakening of the foundation of nation itself- The Family.
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The present trend of wives filing false criminal cases, against their husbands and his family, at the drop of the hat(for reasons other than harassment and cruelty) is a very disturbing trend and is sure to affect India's progress itself in the long run. Progress of a country depends upon the level of wellness of its citizens, and if most of the citizens are entangled in trivial marital issues which are nevertheless catapulted into false but serious criminal cases, only god can save that nation!. The future of the nation, the children, are actually the prime affected in these unnecessary and ill-intentioned litigations there by sealing the fate of progress deep down the drains.

Misuse proportions are so overwhelming and flagrant that the Supreme court itself has termed this trend of misuse of women protection laws as 'Legal Terrorism', whereas this trend is actually fuelled by the breed of corrupt Police, indifferent Judiciary apart from the conniving and fire-starting advocates which prompts us to call it 'Sate Terrorism'!. Of course these laws are misused by the misusers themselves, but they find it easy to misuse since there is no fear of punishment even if the misuse is proved – They misuse the laws, because THEY CAN!.

The irony of all this is that women themselves are the targets of these misused women protection laws!(22% of all arrested in 498a IPC are women, compared to 5.8% average number of women arrested among the total in case of all other IPC sections. Source: National Crime Research Bureau)

************** Pamphlet used for this event**************

Protect Indian Family Foundation

Women protection laws should be used only in the
right spirit and in genuine cases, otherwise the same laws will prove disastrous
to themselves and breaks their own families.

Note to Public

Did you know that every year over 5 lakh persons are
harassed by the misuse of women-protection laws (IPC 498a, Domestic Violence
Act, Dowry Prohibition Act) – Please note that more than 22% of total arrested
are women themselves, and that more than 1.2 lakh women (over 5.3 lakh persons
in total) have been arrested since 2004 under IPC Section 498a (Source: National
Crime Research Bureau (NCRB). WOMEN THEMSELVES ARE VICTIMISED BY THE MISUSE
OF WOMEN-PROTECTION LAWS.

Are you being advised to misuse these laws just to make
the opposite party (husband and his family) submit to your terms and demands – Please note that
these laws are known as ‘Family Breaker laws’ and the persons who misuses
are termed as ‘Legal Terrorists’ by Supreme Court itself. There is no chance of
reuniting and leading a meaningful family life after anyone misuses these laws,
since trust, which is the basis and foundation block of a family, is lost. DO
NOT MISUSE LAWS CONCERNING FAMILY.

Whether you are a man or woman please realise that
fighting against misuse of laws concerning family is your duty, since these laws
only break families, puts individuals in distress for years together, and
promotes a fatherless society. We only need to look towards western societies,
where no one has benefited from laws like these, whereas violence has replaced
security and values inside their fatherless families, to know the worst effects
of destructive family laws like these.

If you have problems in your families, communicate with
each other or take assistance of counseling or elderly members of the family, do
not run to courts/police to settle scores. Making criminal offences out of
trivial family issues need to be resisted by all of us. We also urge the
legislation and government to curb the tendency of criminalization of trivial
family issues without even investigating
complaints.

DID YOU KNOW THAT you could be arrested and put in jail,
EVEN IF YOU DID NOT
TAKE
DOWRY & YOU
ARE INNOCENT !

DID YOU KNOW THAT a single line
of false complaint by wife under section 498A of IPC

(without any proof or witness or
investigation) could land you and your entire family in jail !!

Thereby wife herself blocks her entry back in the
family.

DID YOU KNOW THAT false complaint under Domestic Violence Act
(commenced from 26

October, 2006) could throw you out of your own house
!!!

For Free Advise, Call our help-lines
worldwide

Help-Line
Numbers.

Mumbai: 9869323538, 9821414336,
9224335577, 9820056091 Nagpur:
9890974788

Nasik:
9371988132, 9822011250, 9890656219 Pune: 9923056460,
9922379103, 9850883751

Delhi: 9911119113,
9891369616, 9811624141 Calcutta:
9231835462, 9830151555, 9830927619

Kanpur: 9839038424,
9335014984,9935239764 Bangalore:
80-65334135, 9845986250

Jaipur 9352562456 Kerala 9895557765,
9995433034, 9995308518 Gujarat 9825365816, 9898989884
U.S.A +650-430-9544, +612-812-4340, +917- 512-5362
Kuwait +965-3869295

More
helplines at:
http://mynation.net/contact-us

Email: help@protectindianfamily.org
or info@protectindianfamily.org

Websites: www.protectindianfamily.org, www.saveindianfamily.org, www.mynation.net
www.498a.org, www.savefamily.org, www.asha-kiran.org, www.sahanaindia.org, www.ghrs.in www.siftimes.com, www.forgottenwomen.org

Mumbai: Awareness program in front of Family court(7th June,10AM)

Protect Indian Family Foundation(PIFF), NGO, Mumbai is conducting an awareness program- ‘Effects of 498a, Dowry Act & Domestic Violence Act on Indian Families’.

We will gather in front of Family court and distribute pamphlets, this pamphlet will outline the irreversible ill effects of the family breaker laws like IPC 498a, DV Act(PWDVA), Dowry Prohibition Act, etc.. All the members are requested to wear the PIF T-shirt which will be available near the venue, or at our Mulund office in advance.

Venue
This program is planned to be conducted at the family court, Near Bandra Kurla Complex(BKC), Bandra, Mumbai, from 10 A.M to 2 P.M, on 7th June, 2008.

Tel: 9869323538(Mr.M.R.Gupta), 9821414336(Mr.P.R.Gokul)
*******************************************
Please forward these details to your media and other contacts who may be concerned and interested in this event.

We expect around 100 members to gather. The objective of this program is to bring Awareness about the effect of laws concerning families(IPC 498a, Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Prohibition law etc.), which is wrecking many families in India and abroad. Representatives from media also may be present to effectively spread the awareness to people who cannot be present physically at the venue.

This event is being planned by Protect Indian Family (www.protectindianfamily.org), Mumbai, NGO-Member of Save Indian Family (http://www.saveindianfamily.org/).


Supported by :

http://www.saveindianfamily.org/
http://www.mynation.net/
http://www.protectindianfamily.org/
http://www.savefamily.org/
http://www.asha-kiran.org/
http://www.sahanaindia.org/
http://www.ghrs.in/
http://www.498a.org/
http://www.siftimes.com/
http://www.forgottenwomen.org/

Warm Regards

************

Report of this event(and pamphlet)

Impending 498a?, send this petition(alternative/in addition to AB)

If you or your family member is fearing an arrest (pre or post 498a), here is what you might want to consider trying -

Write a short letter to the commissioner of police with a copy to the local police station (copy to others as you see fit and keep a copy with yourself, give one to the neighbour) on the following lines -

To
The Commissioner of Police

Respected Mr Commissioner -

We, the undersigned, residents of xxx, have been (or likely to be) accused of unsubstantiated harassment allegations by yyyy. We hereby pledge full cooperation in any investigation the police needs to conduct in this matter.

In this connection, we would like to bring to your kind attention the judgment of Supreme Court in the Joginder Kumar vs State of UP (copy of which is enclosed, also attach these Police circulars from Delhi & Hyderabad Police heads) and the recent advisory on 498a issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all State and Union territory chief secretaries(issued in October 2009, giving directions that arrests should not be made in case of IPC 498a cases, and that investigations as per guidelines should be conducted). Since we are pledging full cooperation in your investigation, we request an assurance from you that officials from your department will not arrest the undersigned without sufficient cause and without thorough investigation of the facts.
Your faithfully
XYZ

PS: Address this petition/letter to the Commissioner of Police and Copy it to the Investigation Officer, the concerned local Police station's in charge/senior officer, DCP/ACP/SP of the police station's Zone, DGO of the State, Law/Home Minister of the State and Center, Prime Minister, President, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ruling party leaders, Opposition Leaders, local MPs/MLAs, Collector, The Private Secretary to Minister-Ministry of social Justice & Empowerment, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi .

All these higher ups has a good chance to mark your memos/letters downwards, which will eventually reach the concerned IO/Station In charge asking them for status and specific questions, this will put tremendous pressure on these lower officials and they will have to adhere to what is legal and proper

Even if the higher ups do not take any action, the lower officials see their names in the "Copy To" area and start behaving properly!. This is why your petitions should be marked to as many officials and luminaries as possible - Pressure from the system , will ensure justice!

See more inputs at this post: http://at498a.blogspot.com/2008/04/arrest-guidelines-in-case-of.html
Also refer http://commandos.in/wiki/sif/activism/legis/how-to-write-letter-to-lawmakers

Government of India : online Grievance forum

Lets put our grievances in this site for whatever its worth.

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Dear Friends,

Government of India has an online Grievance forum at http://darpg-grievance.nic.in/

Can you imagine this is happening in INDIA ?

The govt. wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like Passport Office, Electricity board, BSNL/MTNL, Railways etc.

I know many people will say that these things don't work in India , but this actually works as one of our colleague in CSC found. The guy I'm talking about lives in Faridabad . Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents including this guy. But it was only this guy! Who used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. And to his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad were served a show because notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it’s clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all.

So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility. This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the ' System ' in India .

Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings.

PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE IF U WANT OUR INDIA TO CHANGE.

SIF-Cochin Press conference: Saturday 10th May-pls forward to all concerned

A press conference announcing the formation of a State wide action group in Kerala, under the aegis of Save Indian Family(SIF), for fighting against Misuse of gender biased laws is being conducted on 10th May.

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Venue: 'Kings Court', Rama Varma Club, Behind Jos Junction, Opp. TDM Hall(Darbar), Cochin

Time: 4 P.M, Saturday, 10th May 2008

Contact: P.R.Gokul: 9895697372, Jimmy Isac: 9995308518, Sumesh(SIF Helpline): 9895557765
********************************************

Please forward this mail to all your media contacts and friends in Kerala.

Friends in Kerala are requested to ensure their presence for the event.

Warm Regards,

Gokul, http://gokul.go.to, 9821414336(Mumbai)
Editor - www.siftimes.com , Director- www.pifngo.info
Protect Indian Family: "For Family Harmony.. Against Legal Terrorism"
In Kerala till 14th May: 9895697372

Laison with Industry against Legal Terrorism+Education the healer

Posted by: gokul_p_r , Sun May 4, 2008 9:20 pm (PDT)

Suresh, Samuel and all,

Suresh impressed as ever seeing your action oriented plans(not leg-less ideas, knowing you :), I am sure u have been tracking this aspect of converting cream of IT/Biz heads into evangelists against legal terrorism, good compilation of news about biz heads who we can target and get to our side.

I am sure Bangalore guys especially IT seniors like Bharathi can start networking on this aspect and get HP, Wipro heads in the loop for lobbying(I guess there is already some action in this direction initiated by Gorky/Bharathi by educating the HR of all IT companies, from what I could read in a couple of the mails in the past). Amitabh can do this for one of the heads mentioned in the list(for now this is sensitive, so not disclosing).
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Only true equality and true education will bring harmony between the sexes.

True value-based education has to start from the home, from a humanist mother and father(why be a feminist when you can be more than that? :).

Bare degrees and jobs are not signs of education, but a humane mind is. Bare rights at the cost of some else's sufferings is not equality, but nurturing and complimenting each other is.
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Samuel, though biologically Men and Women have different capabilities including left brain/right brain capabilities, if you take IT field acumen both men and women should score as equals in terms of overall capability, at the same time complimenting each other's specific capabilities( the difference which u pointed out- Women not up to the mark of men in IT, must be only because women as class were not encouraged in the past(to a certain extent even now) to get educated, by a lot of fathers/mothers.

In our culture this tendency/attitude is still prevalent - the attitude 'Beti toh paraaya ghar ki hein'(a girl child will anyway belong to some other family after marrige) -read with- 'isko padake kya collector banegi/banayegi, shaadi hi toh karni hein!'(by educating girl what will anyone gain(she is not supposed to be collector), after all she has to 'just' get married).

If in the past parents of girls had educated the girls properly, the dependacy of dowry as a securtity deposit for the girls would have had come down(in most of the situations the purpose of giving money to the husbands family was for her protection/expenses for her lifetime- if she could have been self reliant in a suitable job(as explained in the later parts of this post, by the virtue of being 'properly' educated) she would have brought her self the required security/expenses without being dependant of dowry.

In addition to reducing dependancy on dowry as security deposit for a less reliable product(an uneducated married girl), the girls would have brought up as equals(having equal inheritance of ancestral/accrued properties, socially, etc.) and the present day scenario of radical feminism would have been exposed by women themselves right in the beginning.

Its because women are uneducated and oppressed, by and large, that this radical feminists has the scope to corrupt their minds. Educated women brought up by educated mothers (and fathers) would spot the danger and opportunism of these feminazies in a blink of their eyes.

Its not late, we should educate our daughters in a proper way so that they know when a family breaking thought is being injected into them by these radical feminists who are themselves single/divorced/ social outcasts.

This virtue of education(proper, not just degrees, but value inculcating education) in women is evident in some parts of India(again in some selected families, since value for education was not recognised widely in the past due to various historical reasons like oppression of masses/colonisation and hence general deprivation, etc.) where the women were traditionally brought up as equals. In these families they used to balance family responsibilities plus taking care of the home-centric businesses(manufact uring and finance side) while the menfolk used to take care of the Promotion and Marketing side. For example in kerala, there where a number of families in which educated womenfolk used to take care of the coconut and paddy cultivation/ coir manufacturing and labourers while the menfolk go off to far away lands/markets to trade the crop/products.

This was a successful model in which familial responsibilities where taken care in addition to a part of the business by educated women folk, but these models were a rarity and did not become the mainstay of our society, which instead got corrupted by dowry, inequal treatment of women, etc., and hence facilitating the emergence of laws like IPC 498a, DV, and other biased laws, formed under the lobbying pressure of radical feminists.

Education in the right sense is the solution for healing the world. Lets not forget this when our turn comes, lets not treat our children with gender bias, lets start a fire.

regards
Gokul

PS: I don't believe in unmindful women-bashing, because I have seen successful women right in front of my eyes, who have done more than what I have described above- they were all brought up as equals and were given proper value-based education. As the saying gies "If a women is educated a whole generation will be educated(her kids and their kids)"

--- In saveindianfamily@ yahoogroups. com, "sureshram56" wrote:>>

WE can present a program on Impact Legal Terrorism and itsManifestation on IT IndustryStarting withAzim premji of WiproBreaking News : Azim premji ini another DV case<http://genderindian.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/12/breaking-news-azim-premji-ini-another-dv-case.htm>Sunil Mittal of HPProsecution of former HP India chief to proceed, rules SC<http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/21234306/Prosecution-of-former-HP-India.html>Vikram Uttam Singh, of KPMG,Does KPMG paid the price for recruiting a 498A Legal terrorist<http://www.ibnlive.com/news/sexual-harassment-at-work-sacked-employee-gets-justice/50246-3.html>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveindianfamily/message/60457Ajay Agarwal,of Pune<http://www.ibnlive.com/news/punes-top-builder-on-police-radar-wife-alleges-harassment/60706-3.html>http://www.ibnlive.com/news/punes-top-builder-on-police-radar-wife-alleges-harassment/60706-3.html"We conduct regular yoga ad meditation workshops at the Hyderabadoffices of IT companies such as IBht Micn3soft, Infosys and Wipro"SeverallT companies are now organising social events ...Infosys, for one, organises events where both employees and theirfamilies ""Oracle "We have several health and social initiatives that help our24,000". We celebrate Family Days
--- In saveindianfamily@ yahoogroups. com, "samesh" > wrote:> >> >

THE POINT THAT THIS FAILS TO NOTE IS ONE MORE REASON THAT ADDS TO THEROOT CAUSE. THE POPULATION THAT I.T. PROFESSIONALS FORM OFF IS APREDOMINANTLY HIGHLY TECHNICALLY INCLINED MALE POPULATION.THAT IS NOTSOMETHING THAT CAME ABOUT COS FEMALES WERE NEGLECTED OR ABUSED OR HAVELESS OPPORTUNITY ( FEMALE EDU IN INDIA IS F-R-E-E TILL 21 YRS OF AGE +FEMALES PAY LESS TAX + A LOT MORE SCHEMES FOR FEMALES ) BUT FOR THESIMPLE REASON THAT THEY DONT HAVE THE APTITUDE/INTELLECT TO BE SOVERSATILE AND TECH INLINCED ( THIS IS A STEREOTYPE THAT IS LARGELYTRUE BUT THERE CAN BE STRONG STRAY EXCEPTIONS ) AS IS NEEDED BY I.T.INDUSTRY.MOST OF THESE JOBS FROM THE BEST ( H1 OR OUTSOURCED ) COME TODESI IN INDIA COS OF<> HI TECH VERSATILTY NEEDED FOR THESE SKILLED GROUP.MOST INDIAN I.T.FELLOWS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A COMBINATION OF 5 TIMES MORE SKILL SETSTHAN THE AVG. FELLOW ( AT LEAST IN MY CASE ) IN THE WEST AT LESS THAN1/5 THE RATE AS IS PAID IN THE WEST.<> COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS IN ENG ARE GOOD.SO THE INCONGRUENT GLOBAL DEMAND FOR I.T HAS RESULTED IN AN NATURALLYINCONGRUENT POPULATION , THAT IS PREDOMINATELY MALE, GOING ABROAD.THIS HAS CAUSED J-E-A-L-O-U-S-L-Y IN THE FEMALE SIDE , WHO THINK THATTHEY CAN ONLY GET A FARE SHARE BY BEING A PARASITE ON THE MALES.I AMNOT BEING BIASED JUST TAKE AN E.G. of Nurses ( the policy is totallyanti immigration cos an RNP is a coveted profession in USA sought byboth males and females ) , Air hostresses ( most Western Women look ,dress and Behave 10000x better than the UGLY desi counter parts e.g.compare the Smart Delta/ Lufthansa airhostress to an Air India Aunty) , Film Actresses / Escorts ( you would all AGREE with me when u seeboth Aish Rai and Bo Derek wearing underclothes that BO DEREK ORPAMELA ANDERSON LOOKS 100000000000000000000 TIMES BETTER THAN THATCHEAP DESI MAL OF AISH RAI AND LIKES ). IN OTHER WORDS THE ONLYPROFESSION THAT TAKES YOU ABROAD TODAY IS MALE DOMINATED ( NOT BYSITUATION BUT BY DESIGN ) .WHEREAS THIS GROUP OF TECH SUPERIOR PEOPLE IS GOOD AT TECH WORK THEYARE BAD IN POLITICS & RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE ALL GOATSLINED UP TO GET SLAUGHTERED BY THE HALAL FEMALES. THE ONLY THING THATCAN CHANGE THIS IS THE FORMING OF STRONG MALE UNIONS , ACTIVE INGENDER POLITICS , IN I.T. COMPANIES, THAT LOBBY AGAINST GENDER BIASEDLAWS AND THREATEN STRIKE AGAINST CONG GOVT IF DEMANDS ARE NOT MET.....BUT WHO THE BLOODY HELL CARES..........CHALTA HAI ....CHAL NE DO.
--- In saveindianfamily@ yahoogroups. com, "weaknessasin" > > wrote:> > >> > >

ITh gettingThe flipside of India's IT boom: depression, divorces, SUICIDES...Manoj SharmaHindustan Times, 04-05-08, Epaper.NITIN KUMAR, 28, is a software professional with a top-notchinformation technology company in Bangalore. A fat salary, a fancyapartment and a big carhe seems to have everything going for him.But scratch the surface and you realise that the boy from Jamshedpurhas paid a hefty price for success in India's Silicon Valley. Forthe last two years, he has been putting in an average of 13 hours ofwork a day. Sometimes there's work to be done after-hours too: inthe form of conference calls in the middle of the night with clientsin the US. The stress of such a 10 had a telling effect on hismarriage within a few months of tying the knot in 2006. His w@, acommercial artist, began to suspect him of having an extramaritalaffair Four months back, when he returned from work, he found thathis w@ had left for her parents' home in Lucknow. She has now filedfor divorce. A distraught Nitin has developed suicidal tendencies.Dhananjay Kumar 27, is a software analyst at a reputed IT company inGurgaon. Married for two years to a PR professional, his longworking hours have resulted in migraines and dizzy spells. He todaysuffers from a lack of sexual desire and that has resulted ingrowing marital discord.NITIN AND Dhananjay are not isolated cases in the Indian IT industryTheir predicament represents the flipside of the IT revolution deadin their house in Vijayawada. The next month, Bangalore techie AmitBhuddiraja strangled his wife to death, suspecting her of having anaffair Later that month, Hyderabad software engineer E Rama Krishna,31, was found dead with his wife Soumya, 23, in their home. Krishnaleft a suicide note saying that he resorted to the extreme stepbecause of his wife's suspicious behaviour The couple had beenmarried for a year SK Chaturvedi, professor of psychiatry at theNational Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS),says, "There has been a five-fold rise in the number of ITprofessionals visiting us for many stress-related problems in thepast couple of years. In fact, this prompted us to con duct a studyamong IT professionals, which ibund that 36 per cent of theprofessionals we studied are probable psychiatric cases." The studythat Chaturvedi led last December also throws up a number ofdisconcerting trends about stress in the IT and IT-enabled services(ITES) industry. (See box below for the findings.) Pressurepoints "People from the IT sector often display symptoms such asrestlessness, lack of concentration, anxiety, body pain, lack ofsleep, headache, panic, nervousness, and complain of not enjoyingdaily activities," says Chaturvedi.Another psychiatrist with a private practice in Bangalore says that70 per cent of his clients happen to be from the IT industry Theproblems do not only hound techies in Bangalore, the spread of thephenomenon is wider Dr Deepak Raheja, clinical psychiatrist at ParasHospital in Gurgaon, says, "Forty per cent of my patients are ITprofessionals. The problem is that they are given unreasonabletargets and deadlines, and they just cannot cope." For themselves,IT professionals complain that it's the complex problem solving,mismanaged or under-evaluated software projects, and pressure ofdeadlines that make their jobs so stressful. "There is fiercecompetition and nothing is repetitive. One has to innovate andstretch oneself everyday," says Sandeep Gupta, a softwareprofessional working in Noida. Another IT professional fromBangalore, who requested anonymity, says, "We take a lot of workhome.Most of us forget to press 'pause' when it comes to work. Peerpressure and the pressure of paying large instalments on cars andhome loans are also making things difficult for many of us." Splitwide open Aruna Broota, a Delhi-based psychologist, says, "Many ITprofessionals I counsel are so hooked to the computer that they haveno social skills and have no family concerns. I have had many caseswhere wives of IT professionals told me they have married a wall - aperson without any interest in love, romance and sex, which isresulting in increasing marital discord." The NIHMANS study showedthat married IT professionals were more stressed than unmarriedones. Rahul Kashyap, a Chandigarh-based software professional,says, "It's not just my wife who's often angry with me, even myeight-year-old son has not been talking to me for a month. For thepast three years, I have not been able to attend his birthday as Ihave been out on projects."Sexologists say that long hours in the night in front of computersmake IT professionals physically weak and, eventually, they developsexual and reproductive problems. Dr D. Narayana Reddy, a well-knownChennai-based sexologist, says, "There is rising incidence ofimpotence, hormone disorder and infertility among IT professionals.I have had several cases where young professionals have not had sexfor two years. There are also cases where marriages have not beenconsummated for two years. The online chat rooms have become theirbedrooms. The worst part is that they do not have the time andpatience to set- t1e issues with their spouses.A Chennat-based lawyer reports. "In the last one year, I havehanelled about a dexen cases involving IT professionals wheredivorce s been sought on the ground of impotence." Private detectiveagencies report a steep rise in the number of IT professionals wivesapproaching them for spying on their husbands. Pradeep Sharma, ownerof the Delhibased Times Detectives, says, "Forty per cent of myclients are IT professionals or their wives who want to spy on theirspouses, because they suspect them of having extramarital affairs.They are so suspicious that no matter what our findings are, most ofthem end up divorcing." Divorces filed in Bangalore offer anotherworrisome view. From 1,240 in 2004, the number shot up to 1,860 and2,493 in 2005 and 2006, respectively Ujwala A. Mandgi, co-owner ofone of the oldest law firms in Bangalore, reck- ons more than halfof them are from the IT sector She says. "This year. the number ofHNorce cases in Bangalore has already crossed 1,200 in just tourmonths. Chennai, too, offers a bleak view Lalvvors from the city sayabout -10 per cent of the divorces filed in the city involve IT orITES professionals and there are more cases being filed by women.Geeta Ramaseshan, a Chennai-based activist-1awyer, says, "Most ITprofessionals belong to the 'Entitlement Generation', which believesin the right to many things including the making and breakingmarriages.Since IT professionals are financially independent, they do notthink twice before partying ways." Arun Bharadwaj, a lawyer at theDelhi High Court, feels that one of the significant reasons formarital discord in the industry is that while some do not want tohave children at all, others postpone starting a family for the sakeof their careers. "I know many IT guys who are so caught up in therat race that they are more concerned about pleasing their bossesthan their spouses," says Bharadwaj. Healing touch Many IT companieshave realised the enormity of the problem. While many have help-lines and inhouse psychiatrists, other hold regular yoga andmeditation classes for the mental and physical wellbeing of theiremployees. S. Ram Mohan Rao, head of the Sahaja Yoga Society inAndhra Pradesh, claims, "We conduct regular yoga and meditationworkshops at the Hyderabad offices of IT companies such as IBhtMicn3soft, Infosys and Wipro. Besides, about 200 IT professionalsare regulars at our various centres in Hyderabad."SeverallT companies are now organising social events regularly andtrying to cut down on office hours. Infosys, for one, organisesevents where both employees and their families participate. It hostsan annual day for the 'Petit Infoscion', in which the children ofemployees explore their parents' workplace. IT services may haveborne the brunt of such excesses of working lives till now But, asthe NIMHANS report underlines, it's a social phenomenon that needsto be tackled across India and across sectors on an emergency basis.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveindianfamily/post?postID=AmFgeXlelQW3HOkUyrfAfUAxoiT5cvauMGitmuPaTn67D0hW5FmnNIc46587-fldiJY1TkTs2cuFqOLFUdD4iJ-qdy7nJ774wgMINDING WELLNESS PRITHVI SHERGILL, HR head, Accenture India "Thehealth of our 37,000 employees matters a lot. We have round-the-clock clinics called 'Wellness Centres'. We have regular awarenesscamps where doctors and specialists talk on various health topics.We also provide flexible work options to help employees betterbalance their lives. We offer our employees a productive workenvironment. We host gettogethers not only for our employees, butfor their families too. We celebrate Family Days. Besides, we haveCommunities, a yearlong initiative that aims to bring employees withsimilar interests together. There, each employee can participate ina range of activities."ERGONOMIC FITFORALL ALLEN MATHEW, Senior HR director, Oracle "Wehave several health and social initiatives that help our 24,000employees in India and their families. We have ongoing activities tomake our employees aware of and prevent ergonomicsrelated disorderssuch as repetitive stress injuries. Also, our india offices' designand furniture follow global ergonomic standards. We have a freeEmployee Assistance Program providing our employees' family membersaccess to professional counselors. We also have employee clubs thatconduct yoga and meditation workshops. We have options such as flexi-time, workfrom-home and part-time work to give our employees achoice."

SC citation for 'Legal Terrorism'- Writ Petition (civil) 141 of 2005

CASE NO.:Writ Petition (civil) 141 of 2005 - Citation: JT 2005 (6) SC 266
PETITIONER:Sushil Kumar Sharma
RESPONDENT:Union of India and Ors.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 19/07/2005
BENCH:Arijit Pasayat & H.K. Sema
JUDGMENT:JUDGMENT
Arijit Pasayat, J.
By this petition purported to have been filed under Article 32 of theConstitution of India, 1950 (in short `the Constitution') prayer is todeclare Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short `the IPC') to beunconstitutional and ultra vires in the alternative to formulate guidelinesso that innocent persons are victimized by unscrupulous persons makingfalse accusations.
Further prayer is made that whenever, any court comes to the conclusionthat the allegations made regarding commission of offence under Section 498IPC are unfounded, stringent action should be taken against person makingthe allegations. This according to the petitioner, would discourage personsfrom coming to courts with unclean hands and ulterior motives. Severalinstances have been highlighted to show as to how commission of offencepunishable under Section 498A IPC has been made with oblige motive and witha view to harass the husband, in-laws and relatives.
According to the petitioner there is no prosecution in these cases but persecution. Reliance was also placed on a decision rendered by a learned Single Judge of the Delhi High Court wherein concern was shown about the increase in number of false and frivolous allegations made. It was pointedout that accusers are more at fault than the accused. Persons try to takeundue advantage of the sympathies exhibited by the courts in mattersrelating to alleged dowry torture.
Section 498A appears in Chapter XXA of IPC.
Substantive Sections 498A IPC and presumptive Section 113-B of the IndianEvidence Act. 1872 (in short `Evidence Act') have been inserted in therespective statutes by Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act, 1983.
Section 498A IPC and Section 113-B of the Evidence Act include in theiramplitude past events of cruelty. Period of operation of Section 113-B ofthe Evidence Act is seven years, presumption arises when a woman committedsuicide within a period of seven years from the date of marriage.
Section 498 reads as follows:
"498A: Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty-Whoever being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman,subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for aterm which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation-For the purpose of this section `cruelty' means-
(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive thewoman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb orhealth (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or
(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view tocoercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand forany property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or anyperson related to her to meet such demand."
Section 113-B reads as follows:-
"113-B: Presumption as to dowry death-When the question is whether a personhas committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon beforeher death such woman has been subjected by such person to cruelty orharassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the Courtshall presume that such person had caused the dowry death.
Explanation-For the purpose of this section `dowry death' shall have thesame meaning as in Section have the same meaning as in Section 304-B of theIndian Penal Code (45 of 1860)."
Consequences of cruelty which are likely to drive a woman to commit suicideor to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health, whether mentalor physical of the woman is required to be established in order to bringhome the application of Section 498A IPC. Cruelty has been defined in theexplanation for the purpose of Section 498A. It is to be noted thatSections 304-B and 498A, IPC cannot be held to be mutually inclusive. Theseprovisions deal with two distinct offences. It is true that cruelty is acommon essential to both the Sections and that has to be proved. Theexplanation to Section 498A gives the meaning of `cruelty'. In Section 304-B there is no such explanation about the meaning of `cruelty'. But havingregard to common background to these offences it has to be taken that themeaning of `cruelty' or `harassment' is the same as prescribed in theExplanation to Section 498A under which `cruelty' by itself amounts to anoffence.
The object for which Section 498A IPC was introduced is amply reflected inthe Statement of Objects and Reasons while enacting Criminal Law (SecondAmendment) Act No. 46 of 1983. As clearly stated therein the increase innumber of dowry deaths is a matter of serious concern. The extent of theevil has been commented upon by the Joint Committee of the Houses toexamines the work of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In some cases,cruelty of the husband and the relatives of the husband which culminate insuicide by or murder of the helpless woman concerned, which constitute onlya small fraction involving such cruelty. Therefore, it was proposed toamend IPC, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short `the Cr.P.C.')and the Evidence Act suitably to deal effectively not only with cases ofdowry deaths but also cases of cruelty to married women by the husband, inlaws and relatives. The avowed object is to combat the menance of dowrydeath and cruelty.
One other provision which is relevant to be noted is Section 306 IPC. Thebasic difference between the two Section i.e. Section 306 and Section 498Ais that of intention. Under the latter. cruelty committed by the husband orhis relations drag the women concerned to commit suicide, while under theformer provision suicide is abetted and intended.
It is well settled that mere possibility of abuse of a provisions of lawdoes not per se invalidate a legislation. It must be presumed, unlesscontrary is proved, that administrative and application of a particular lawwould be done "not with an evil eye and unequal hand" (see A Thangal KunjuMusaliar v. M. Venkatachalam Potti, Authorised Official and Income-Taxofficer and Anr., AIR (1956) SC 246.
In Budhan Choudhry and Ors. v. State of Bihar, AIR (1955) SC 191 acontention was raised that a provision of law may not be discriminatory butit may land itself to abuse bringing about discrimination between thepersons similarly situated. This court repelled the contention holding thaton the possibility of abuse of a provision by the authority, thelegislation may not be held arbitrary or discriminatory and violative ofArticle 14 of the Constitution.
From the decided cases in India as well as in United States of America, theprinciple appears to be well settled that if a statutory provision isotherwise intra-vires, constitutional and valid, mere possibility of abuseof power in a given case would not make it objectionable, ultra-vires orunconstitutional. In such cases, "action" and not the "section" may bevulnerable. If it is so, the court by upholding the provision of law, maystill set aside the action; order or decision and grant appropriate reliefof the person aggrieved.
In Mafatlal Industries Ltd. and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors., [1997] 5SCC 536, a Bench of 9 Judges observed that mere possibility of abuse of aprovision by those in charge of administering it cannot be a ground forholding a provision procedurally or substantively unreasonable. InCollector of Customs v. Nathella Sampathu Chetty, [1962] 3 SCR 786 thisCourt observed:
"The possibility of abuse of a statute otherwise valid does not impart toit any element of invalidity." It was said in State of Rajasthan v. Unionof India, [1977] 3 SCC 592 "it must be remembered that merely because powermay sometimes be abused, it is no ground for denying the existence ofpower. The wisdom of man has not yet been able to conceive of a Governmentwith power sufficient to answer all its legitimate needs and at the sametime incapable of mischief." (Also see: Commissioner, H.R.E. v. SriLakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Meth, [1954] 1005.
As observed in Maulavi Hussein Haji Abraham Umarji v. State of Gujarat,[2004] 6 SCC 672, Unique Butle Tube Industries (P) Ltd. v. U.P. FinancialCorporation and Ors., [2003] 2 SCC 455 and Padma Sundara Rago (dead) andOrs. v. State, [2002] 3 SCC 533. while interpreting a provision, the Courtonly interprets the law and cannot legislate it. If a provision of Law ismisused and subjected to the abuse of the process of law, it is for thelegislature to amend, modify or repeal it, if deemed necessary.
The judgment of the Delhi High Court on which reliance was made wasrendered in the case of Savitri Devi v. Ramesh Chand and Ors. In that casewhile holding that the allegations regarding commission of offencepunishable under Section 498A IPC were not made out. Certain observationsin general terms were made about the need for legislative changes. Thecomplaint had moved this Court against the judgment on merits in SLP(Crl).....of 2003 entitled Savitri Devi v. Ramesh Chand and Ors. By orderdated 28.11.2003 this Court observed as follows:
"Heard learned counsel for the petitioner.
Delay condoned.
We do not see any merit in the challenge made to the order of the High Court in Criminal Revision No. 462 of 2002 on the facts of the case. the special leave petition is, therefore, dismissed.
At the same time, we express our disapproval of some of the generalized views expressed in paragraphs 23 to 32 of the judgment of the High Court by the learned Single Judge. The learned Judge ought to have seen that such observations, though may be appropriate for seminars or workshops, should have been avoided being incorporated as part of a court judgment. Some of the views also touch upon Legislative measures and wisdom of legislative policy in substance, which according to the learned Judge need to be taken into account. There was no scope for considering all such matters in the case which was before the learned Judge. It is therefore, appropriate that such generalized observations or views should meticulously avoided by Courts in the judgments."
Above being the position we find no substance in the plea that Section 498Ahas no legal or constitutional foundation.
The object of the provision is prevention of the dowry meance. But as has been rightly contended by the petitioner many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bonafide and have filed with obligue motive.In such cases acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out the ignomy suffered during and prior to trial. Sometimes adverse media coverageadds to the misery. The question, therefore, is what remedial measures can be taken to prevent abuse of the well-intentioned provision. Merely because the provision is constitutional and intra vires, does not give a licence tounscrupulous persons to wreck personal vendetta or unleash harassment. It may, therefore, become necessary for the legislature to find out ways howthe makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with. Till then the Courts have to take care of the situation withinthe existing frame work. As noted the object is to strike at the roots of dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can beunleashed. The provision is intended to be used a shield and not assassins'weapon. If cry of "wolf" is made too often as a prank assistance andprotection may not be available when the actual "wolf" appears. There is noquestion of investigating agency and Courts casually dealing with theallegations. They cannot follow any strait jacket formula in the matters relating to dowry tortures, deaths and cruelty. It cannot be lost sight ofthat ultimate objective of every legal system is to arrive at truth, punishthe guilty and protect the innocent. There is no scope for any pre-conceived notion or view. It is strenuously argued by the petitioner thatthe investigating agencies and the courts start with the presumption thatthe accused persons are guilty and that the complainant is speaking thetruth. This is too wide available and generalized statement. Certainstatutory presumption are drawn which again are reputable. It is to benoted that the role of the investigating agencies and the courts is that of watch dog and not of a bloodhound. It should be their effort to see that innocent person is not made to suffer on account of unfounded, baseless and malicious allegations. It is equally indisputable that in many cases nodirect evidence is available and the courts have to act on circumstantialevidence. While dealing with such cases, the law laid down relating tocircumstantial evidence has to be kept in view.
Prayer has been made to direct investigation by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (in short the `CBI') in certain matters where the petitioneris arrayed as an accused. We do not find any substance in this plea. If thepetitioner wants to prove his innocence, he can do so in the trial, if held.
The Writ Petition is accordingly disposed of.

**********

This citation is also included in this post: http://at498a.blogspot.com/2006/07/please-report-on-misuse-of-ipc-section.html

Article in Hindu- Harrassed Husbands

In an ego-shattering exercise “harassed husbands” are out “demanding justice”,
says GEETA PADMANABHAN

In a televised Pune rally, Financial Analyst Dhaval Kadakia claimed his wife hit him if he refused to do household chores. Salim Bootwala, an entrepreneur said, “I divorced my wife in 1997. In 2006 she filed a case of dowry against me. The judge did not hear my case nor lookat the documents. On the basis of her complaint, I was sent to jail for four days.” P.R. Gokul wrote, “I am the victim, we are being harassed, you need to know the oppressors to believe me.”

In an ego-shattering exercise, “harassed husbands” are out “demanding justice”. Their main enemy is not the wife, not her greedy parents or conniving relatives. It is the legally recognised, constitutionally valid “monster” called Section 498A, IPC. Why? “Section 498A is the most vicious weapon in the hands of those who decide to be vindictive,” said Kalpana Murari, a divorce lawyer. “Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, the wife, relative of the victim or a welfare organisation could lodge a complaint against the husband and his family. This could put the family behind bars for 15 days.” The burden of proving his innocence is on the accused.

How these men fight is a lesson in “approach strategy”. They write blogs. They start websites and message boards. They have a forum. They hold meetings, training sessions and rallies. They go to the media. They listen, educate and inform. They send out fliers. They’ve set up helplines, use the RTI to gather information on convictions. They provide legal assistance. And they quote the Sushil Kumar Sharma vs Union of India case.

Supreme Court judges deciding this case felt 498A was being misused, “giving license to the unscrupulous to unleash harassment and wreak personal vendetta.” They said, “The provision was intended to be used as a shield and not as an assassin’s weapon.” In such cases, acquittal did not “wipe out the ignominy suffered during or prior to the trial.” The court asked legislatures to find ways to deal with the misuse, and the investigating agencies to function as “a watchdog and not as a bloodhound.”

“No investigation or warrant is needed before arrest and start of proceedings since the crime u/s 498A is cognisable and there is no punishment if the complaint is proved false - two major reasons why 498A is used as a pressure-tactic,” said P.R. Gokul who heads a Yahoo group of “victims-of-law” that calls itself SIFF (Save Indian Family Foundation). “Now SIFF is a registered entity, with a membership of over 50,000 people and over 20 NGOs,” he said.
Raksha, a Hyderabad-based outfit counsels men who consider suicide as an alternative for a bad relationship. “A lot of married men are desperate for help,” said Raksha president C.V.L. Narasimha Rao in an interview. Amitabh Das Gupta, President, Pune Chapter of Protect Indian Family Foundation wants “the existing laws amended to give enough powers to men.”

Not likely to happen soon. “Change this law? No way!” said lawyer Sudha Ramalingam firmly. “Section 498A came after a great battle to protect women battered within the walls of her husband’s home. Subjecting a wife to cruelty was not seen as injustice. Now bringing the culprits to book is unjust or a means of breaking the family!” She dismisses the argument of an innocent husband and his relatives being harassed by the abuse of this law as exaggeration. “Only after a preliminary inquiry is a prima-facie case made, FIR registered and the law set in motion. There are provisions for seeking anticipatory bail and proving their innocence to get acquitted.”

S. 498A is a handy tool for shady practices, men argue. Among them are [1] Pre-marital affairs. Marry the guy of parents’ choice, dissolve the marriage, collect funds and marry the old flame. [2] Extra marital relationship. [3] Extortion, serially, one marriage after another. [4] To alienate husband from his responsibilities toward his old and dependent parents [5] To obtain a favourable divorce settlement [6] To wrest child custody from the husband.

Sudha concedes that the law perhaps has teething problems. S.498A and the “Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Act is needed today more than ever as women are getting educated and earning well but are helpless in their homes. If men treat their wives with dignity and equality there is nothing for them to fear.” Ah, then “Why is it that only men with high socio-economic profiles become victims of 498A?” asked Suresh, an entrepreneur. “Easy targets, better yield.” The World Health Organisation has explicitly cited the misuse of anti-dowry law by daughters-in-law as one of the primary reasons for elder abuse in India. Clinical psychologist Devdas suggests pre-nuptial agreements. “At some point, men will decide that a live-in relationship is better than a bash-in one,” he warned.

It’s stupid to talk of retribution. No one wants families to suffer. Discussing differences without malice may help resolve them. But you can’t help shaking your head while letting out a deep sigh. When will women learn to network so efficiently and mount a systematic campaign on and off the web?

Fact File
The number of cases under section IPC 498A registered in 2005: 58,319, cases dismissed at charge-sheet level: 10,491 (18 per cent), cases charge-sheeted on face value of complaint: 47,828 (82 per cent), cases where the accused were acquitted: 24,127 (41 per cent), convicted: 5,739 (9.8 per cent). For these 58,319 registered cases, 1,34,757 people underwent arrest under 498A and Dowry Prohibition Act.
Helpline for Harassed Husbands 9868142607, 9868142608, 9810170681

Human rights are not for men-Daily Mail Article

By Melanie Phillips. First published in the Daily Mail, June 19 2003.

The government’s war against men is now plumbing ever more astonishing depths. On Radio Four’s Today programme yesterday, the Home Secretary David Blunkett could scarcely wait to boast of new proposals to deal with domestic violence.

Such crimes are indeed a serious matter. But the Home Office not only continues to distort them as overwhelmingly caused by male aggression against innocent women and children, against all the evidence that this is not the case. It is now taking a giant step towards fundamental injustice.

Anyone truly concerned with civil liberties could not fail to have been appalled by Mr Blunkett’s comments. The problem was, he enthusiastically explained, that at present ‘you have to get someone through court’ before a domestic violence suspect can be restrained.

So his solution is to restrain them before they even get to court. In other words, he wants action taken against a man on the basis of an unproven allegation by a woman– made under the protection of anonymity, to boot. So much for this Home Secretary’s understanding of the presumption of innocence, the meaning of justice and the necessity for a trial of the facts.

Even worse, despite the fact that he has just given the women’s refuge movement extra millions in public funds, he thinks women should not have to move out when they claim they are being attacked. The men they are accusing should move out instead, pronto. So men will now be evicted from their homes simply on the basis of an accusation.

The way will thus be clear for a woman who has tired of her man to get the police to evict him, without the tedious irrelevance of having to ‘get someone through a court’.

These are proposals which are simply inimical to the rule of law. They also spectacularly miss the point.

True, some 150 people – the majority of whom are women -- are killed at home every year. But if we want to stop the appalling toll of domestic violence, we have to address the unstable relationships which are fuelling the phenomenon.

For unmarried partners present vastly more risks of physical abuse to both adults and children at home than do married couples. Transient relationships lead to more jealousy, insecurity and, in extreme cases, violence. Furthermore, unmarried individuals are far more likely to abuse a child in their care with whom they have no biological connection.

The Home Office itself has previously acknowledged that the dislocation arising from marital breakdown is a ‘key risk factor’ in domestic violence. Yet the government has encouraged the false belief that all relationships are equal in value.

While thus giving its blessing to domestic arrangements which give rise to violence between intimates, the government is choosing to pile the blame on men. For although it claims in passing that one in six men suffers from domestic violence, it says women are mainly their victims.

This is a wicked distortion of the facts. There is overwhelming evidence from dozens of international studies that women are as violent towards men as men are towards women. Women are indeed more likely to initiate violence. Even the Home Office – which persistently ignores this research -- reported some years back that equal numbers of men and women were initiating violence towards each other.

True, women get hurt more badly in such fights because men tend to be stronger. That is presumably why more women than men are killed in these disputes. But there is also much anecdotal evidence that many men are too ashamed to report their injuries.

The Home Office report reheats yet again a number of misleading old chestnuts. It says, for example, that one in four women suffers domestic violence. This is rot. It is a figure extrapolated from studies that don’t stand up to serious scrutiny – illustrating the dismal standards which characterise virtually all domestic violence research in this country, but which the Home Office not only slavishly relies upon but also funds.

Not only does the government distort the facts about violence between adults, but it ignores the role played by women in violence towards children. For all the evidence suggests that while men commit most child sexual abuse, women subject children to more neglect, physical injury and even murder.

An NSPCC study a few years ago revealed that mothers were the most frequent perpetrators of children’s physical injury, emotional abuse and neglect. This is hardly surprising since mothers generally have more contact with their children than anyone else.

In America, where trends are likely to be similar to Britain, the Department of Justice said that in 1999, three out of five maltreated children had been abused by their mothers. And in 2001, the US Department of Health and Human Services reported that 32.4% of child fatalities were committed by mothers, compared to 14.2% committed by fathers, 14% by non-parents and 25.1% by mothers and fathers acting together.

So the idea that men are responsible for the vast majority of domestic violence is simply untrue. Yet Mr Blunkett is urging women to make more such claims -- on the basis of which men are to be deprived of their homes, their children and their reputations.

These preposterous proposals are based on the extreme feminist belief -- which has captured the Home Office -- that all men are guilty. That’s why rape trials are now to be rigged, too, by weighting the burden of proof against the defendant. Many men are already victims of this egregious prejudice in the divorce courts, where unproven allegations against them are automatically believed and used to deprive them of contact with their children.

Clearly, some men are indeed guilty of violence against the women they live with or their children. But some men are guilty of other crimes, too. Yet this has not caused the government to tear up the elementary rules of justice in those cases. So why is domestic violence so different?

The answer is that men are being demonised as intrinsic rapists, wife beaters and child abusers as part of a broader agenda. It is nothing less than an aim to destroy the married family, cripple ‘male power’ by emasculating men’s role and undermine masculinity itself.

So men are given the impression they can no longer be breadwinners (unless they are separated from their children’s mother, in which case they will be pursued for money the length and breadth of the land).

Meanwhile, women are lured back into the workplace by a government fanatical in its feminist agenda. Only recently there was a report from the Women and Equality Unit which implied that it was wrong for women to stay at home with their children when they could be economically active.

At the same time, men are patronised as emotionally illiterate, and regarded as no more than walking wallets, sperm donors and mothers’ au pairs.

In fact, the biggest protection against domestic violence is marriage, the very institution the government is busy destroying. Domestic violence is far rarer within the stable and loving context that marriage affords than among cohabiting couples who are more prone to insecurity and jealousy.

Since the government’s approach is exposing hundreds of thousands of children to hugely increased risks of violence and abuse, Mr Blunkett’s pious assertion that he was ‘putting children first’ was enough to make one choke on the cornflakes.

By encouraging mass fatherlessness, this government is putting children last. These domestic violence proposals go even further: removing men not just from family life but from the protection of the law itself.

They are being turned into un-persons, excluded from the ambit of human rights (so much for the wretched Human Rights Act). And once again it is a male politician, in the emasculated Home Office, which is putting the boot into men.

Human rights are not for men
By Melanie Phillips. First published in the Daily Mail, June 19 2003.

The government’s war against men is now plumbing ever more astonishing depths. On Radio Four’s Today programme yesterday, the Home Secretary David Blunkett could scarcely wait to boast of new proposals to deal with domestic violence.

Such crimes are indeed a serious matter. But the Home Office not only continues to distort them as overwhelmingly caused by male aggression against innocent women and children, against all the evidence that this is not the case. It is now taking a giant step towards fundamental injustice.

Anyone truly concerned with civil liberties could not fail to have been appalled by Mr Blunkett’s comments. The problem was, he enthusiastically explained, that at present ‘you have to get someone through court’ before a domestic violence suspect can be restrained.

So his solution is to restrain them before they even get to court. In other words, he wants action taken against a man on the basis of an unproven allegation by a woman– made under the protection of anonymity, to boot. So much for this Home Secretary’s understanding of the presumption of innocence, the meaning of justice and the necessity for a trial of the facts.

Even worse, despite the fact that he has just given the women’s refuge movement extra millions in public funds, he thinks women should not have to move out when they claim they are being attacked. The men they are accusing should move out instead, pronto. So men will now be evicted from their homes simply on the basis of an accusation.

The way will thus be clear for a woman who has tired of her man to get the police to evict him, without the tedious irrelevance of having to ‘get someone through a court’.

These are proposals which are simply inimical to the rule of law. They also spectacularly miss the point.

True, some 150 people – the majority of whom are women -- are killed at home every year. But if we want to stop the appalling toll of domestic violence, we have to address the unstable relationships which are fuelling the phenomenon.

For unmarried partners present vastly more risks of physical abuse to both adults and children at home than do married couples. Transient relationships lead to more jealousy, insecurity and, in extreme cases, violence. Furthermore, unmarried individuals are far more likely to abuse a child in their care with whom they have no biological connection.

The Home Office itself has previously acknowledged that the dislocation arising from marital breakdown is a ‘key risk factor’ in domestic violence. Yet the government has encouraged the false belief that all relationships are equal in value.

While thus giving its blessing to domestic arrangements which give rise to violence between intimates, the government is choosing to pile the blame on men. For although it claims in passing that one in six men suffers from domestic violence, it says women are mainly their victims.

This is a wicked distortion of the facts. There is overwhelming evidence from dozens of international studies that women are as violent towards men as men are towards women. Women are indeed more likely to initiate violence. Even the Home Office – which persistently ignores this research -- reported some years back that equal numbers of men and women were initiating violence towards each other.

True, women get hurt more badly in such fights because men tend to be stronger. That is presumably why more women than men are killed in these disputes. But there is also much anecdotal evidence that many men are too ashamed to report their injuries.

The Home Office report reheats yet again a number of misleading old chestnuts. It says, for example, that one in four women suffers domestic violence. This is rot. It is a figure extrapolated from studies that don’t stand up to serious scrutiny – illustrating the dismal standards which characterise virtually all domestic violence research in this country, but which the Home Office not only slavishly relies upon but also funds.

Not only does the government distort the facts about violence between adults, but it ignores the role played by women in violence towards children. For all the evidence suggests that while men commit most child sexual abuse, women subject children to more neglect, physical injury and even murder.

An NSPCC study a few years ago revealed that mothers were the most frequent perpetrators of children’s physical injury, emotional abuse and neglect. This is hardly surprising since mothers generally have more contact with their children than anyone else.

In America, where trends are likely to be similar to Britain, the Department of Justice said that in 1999, three out of five maltreated children had been abused by their mothers. And in 2001, the US Department of Health and Human Services reported that 32.4% of child fatalities were committed by mothers, compared to 14.2% committed by fathers, 14% by non-parents and 25.1% by mothers and fathers acting together.

So the idea that men are responsible for the vast majority of domestic violence is simply untrue. Yet Mr Blunkett is urging women to make more such claims -- on the basis of which men are to be deprived of their homes, their children and their reputations.

These preposterous proposals are based on the extreme feminist belief -- which has captured the Home Office -- that all men are guilty. That’s why rape trials are now to be rigged, too, by weighting the burden of proof against the defendant. Many men are already victims of this egregious prejudice in the divorce courts, where unproven allegations against them are automatically believed and used to deprive them of contact with their children.

Clearly, some men are indeed guilty of violence against the women they live with or their children. But some men are guilty of other crimes, too. Yet this has not caused the government to tear up the elementary rules of justice in those cases. So why is domestic violence so different?

The answer is that men are being demonised as intrinsic rapists, wife beaters and child abusers as part of a broader agenda. It is nothing less than an aim to destroy the married family, cripple ‘male power’ by emasculating men’s role and undermine masculinity itself.

So men are given the impression they can no longer be breadwinners (unless they are separated from their children’s mother, in which case they will be pursued for money the length and breadth of the land).

Meanwhile, women are lured back into the workplace by a government fanatical in its feminist agenda. Only recently there was a report from the Women and Equality Unit which implied that it was wrong for women to stay at home with their children when they could be economically active.

At the same time, men are patronised as emotionally illiterate, and regarded as no more than walking wallets, sperm donors and mothers’ au pairs.

In fact, the biggest protection against domestic violence is marriage, the very institution the government is busy destroying. Domestic violence is far rarer within the stable and loving context that marriage affords than among cohabiting couples who are more prone to insecurity and jealousy.

Since the government’s approach is exposing hundreds of thousands of children to hugely increased risks of violence and abuse, Mr Blunkett’s pious assertion that he was ‘putting children first’ was enough to make one choke on the cornflakes.

By encouraging mass fatherlessness, this government is putting children last. These domestic violence proposals go even further: removing men not just from family life but from the protection of the law itself.

They are being turned into un-persons, excluded from the ambit of human rights (so much for the wretched Human Rights Act). And once again it is a male politician, in the emasculated Home Office, which is putting the boot into men.

Information which one could send media about misuse of Women-protection laws

IPC 498a: Unlike other cases, one complainant’s(wife) vengefulness can get an entire family(husband’s) arrested and the subsequently caught in legal wrangles for an extended period of time.

No investigation or warrant needed before arrest and start of proceedings(since the crime u/s IPC 498a is cognisable), and there is no fear of punishment even if the complaint is found to be false later (after investigation or lengthy trial), these are two major reasons why IPC 498a is misused widely as pressure-tactic(reasons of misuse are mentioned towards the bottom of this mail)

Only 2% conviction in 498a- an ineffective law prone to misuse(research report by Center for social research). See the section - "Findings of the Study": Nearly five crore married women in India are victims of domestic violence (DV). Only 0.1 percent (1 out of 1000 DV cases) of these are being reported. Out of 100 cases that are ordered for investigation under 498A, only in 2 cases the accused get convicted


Supreme court itself terming this trend of misuse as Legal Terrorism[Sushil Kumar Sharma Vs. UOI and Ors - Writ Petition (C) No. 141/2005].(see excerpts of this SC judgement and US and Canadian Consular warnings about misuse of IPC 498a at : http://at498a.blogspot.com/2006/07/please-report-on-misuse-of-ipc-section.html )

An innocent man gets arrested u/s 498a every 5 minutes, a lady gets wrongfully arrested every 23 minutes, a minor child(under 18) arrested every day, a senior citizen every 2.4 hours(source National Crime Research Bureau): http://www.rakshak.info/sitebuilder/preview/resources_MP_appeal.html & http://at498a.blogspot.com/2008/01/innocent-gets-arrested-every-5-minutes.html

1000s of Victim cases: http://victims-of-law.blogspot.com/

100s of media clips: http://www.youtube.com/group/saveindianfamily

High socio-economic profile of victims(IIM, IIT, Software engineers, Merchant Navy, NRI, Industrialists, Rich husbands/family): Easy targets and better yield in case of money extortion.


Save Indian Family Movement: Brief History of SIF, Objectives and FAQ
SIFF(Save Indian Family Foundation) came into formal existence in 2005 as a yahoogroup of individual members and NGOs. Nevertheless , the movement can be traced back to 2003 when a group of individual members coordinated themselves and helped each other with information and other relevant issues, through internet discussion boards, emails and some other yahoo groups. At present SIFF is a registered entity, with a membership of over 50,000 people and over 20 NGOs.

SIFF’s primary aim is to facilitate a better family system for the progress of a family and hence positive progress of India.

Read more about our Save Indian Family scope, awareness and other objectives......... at: http://at498a.blogspot.com/2007/09/sif-awareness-article-for-newsletter-of.html


SIF Found with help of RTI(Right to Information Act in 2005) (Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, RTI No. 24013/20/2006-SC/ST-W) :

Also take a look at the article which appeared in 'Harmony' magazine, about organisations fighting against legal terrorism(which has reported the below data too, also blogged at http://at498a.blogspot.com/2008/04/caught-in-vise-article-about-sif-in.html).
Nos of cases u/s IPC 498a registered in 2005: 58319
•Nos of Cases Dismissed at charge sheet level: 10,491 (18%)
•Nos of Cases Charge sheeted on face value of complaint: 47,828 (82%)
•Nos of Cases Where the accused were not guilty (Acquitted): 24,127 (41%)
•Nos of cases where the charges were genuine (Convicted): 5739 (9.8%)

For these 58319 registered cases, 134757 people underwent arrest under 498a and Dowry Prohibition Act.
Age wise distribution:
Below 18 years: 358 (0.2 %)
Above 60 years: 4744 (3.5 % )
between 18-60 : 129655 (96 %)

World Health Organization (WHO) WARNS

The World Health Organization (WHO) has explicitly cited the misuse of anti-dowry law by daughters-in-law, as one of the primary reasons for elder abuse in India. (Pls refer: http://www.saveindianfamily.org/blogs/2005/06/26/elder-abuse-in-india And http://www.who.int/hpr/ageing/MissingVoices.pdf & http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_NMH_VIP_02.1.pdf, page 21)
It mentions: "In india there is a law that in intended to protect the daughter-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 caring attitude by daughters-in-law was a major problem. (India)"

US GOVT WARNS

Whenever we talk about NRI marriage fraud, why DON’T WE TALK ABOUT Dowry law misuse? Even the US govt. realized the problem of Dowry law misuse in India and they have also displayed a travel warning on their website, warning US citizens(Persons of Indian Origin) going to India for marrying Indian girls for details pls read: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html)

It mentions: "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."

Canadian Govt. Warns

Canadian Consular affairs info for Canadian abroad ( http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=128000#6 ): Excerpt--> 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

Girls use it for any reason but genuine (other than Harassment and cruelty, also see signs of impending false 498a), see some of the root causes for this legal terrorism:

Pre marital affair, agreeing to marry groom of parents choice with a plan to dissolve the relation by false case u/s498a, once the girl does it her parents will have to support her and finally cede to her choice of partner.

Ego, high-handedness, vengefulness

Extra marital relationship, money-mindedness

Borderline personality/Bipolar disorder, pregnancy blues/post partum psychosis

Extortion, there have been a lot of cases where wives were extorting money by misusing 498a serially, one marriage after another.

To alienate the husband from his family and his responsibilities towards his old and dependent parents

To acquire husband’s property and extort huge sums of money

To obtain a favorable divorce settlement

To wrest child custody from the husband by leveling false charges of cruelty against him

To dominate the husband and harass his family thereby creating conditions for coercion

See an earlier related post, on data which could be sent to Media.

Women misuse laws meant to protect them- DNA Article

Published after PIF's press conference on 2nd April, 2008.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 22:59 IST

Are women using the laws meant for their protection against men? Speak Up found the answer to be affirmative at the Women Against Misuse of Women-Protection Laws seminar held by the Protect Indian Family Foundation. The solutions, however, are not as easy as they may seem
Innocent families are being victimisedWe want to highlight the misuse of women protection laws. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code was passed to protect women against marital cruelty and dowry harassment. This allows the arrest of the husband and his relatives solely on the basis of allegations made by the wife, without any evidence and investigation. Section 498A, being non-bailable, allows punishing the accused by imprisonment even before the guilt is established. Unfortunately, it is increasingly being misused by women to settle scores with their in-laws and husband. Innocent families have been imprisoned only on the basis of the wife's allegations. We want to help such families get justice. Several authorities have noted that almost 98 per cent of cases filed under Section 498A are based on false accusations. —Mohanlal Gupta. President, Protect Indian Family Foundation

We underwent emotional traumaM y family and I have been at the receiving end of women protection laws. My brother's wife wanted to divorce him. To make the divorce process easier, she filed a harassment case against us under Section 498 A of the IPC. We always treated her with respect and it came as a shock. This completely shattered my brother and plunged him into depression. She didn't even spare a thought about the one-year-old child she has with my brother. My family had to go through a lot of mental and emotional trauma. We had to run from pillar to post to prove our innocence. It's been three years now and she has not produced any evidence to substantiate her claims. She has realised that her case is weak and wants to reconcile with us now. But the case is in our favour and we are waiting for the court's verdict. —Shilpa Rane

How can they arrest without proof? Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code needs to be revised. Such laws will only be misused by women for personal gain. Which couple does not fight? We should encourage couples to sort out their difference mutually. Dragging each other to court and implicating family members will only lead to a complete breakdown of the social fabric of our society. My family and I went through a harrowing time after a relative registered a complaint against us under the draconian 498A of the Indian Penal Code. In case of an accident or murder, law requires proof before action can be initiated against the accused. So why does the law allow innocent families to suffer merely on the basis of a false complaint. There's an urgent need to look into the misuse of women protection laws. —Manju Bharghav

Lawyers are equally responsibleOnly Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code allows the arrest of the husband and his male and female relatives, irrespective of their age and health, without any evidence and investigation. I am not against the law. But I do think we need to find ways to stop its misuse by women. If a woman registers a complaint under Section 498A, police are bound to take action. But all complaints are not genuine. Many women misuse the law to harass their in-laws. Recently, a woman approached me. She wanted to file a complaint against her husband under Section 498A because her husband had failed to keep his promises. I turned down her case and advised her to resolve the issue amicably. Now, another lawyer has taken up her case. I think the lawyers too are equally responsible for the misuse of the women protection laws. —Madhavi Pillai. Family counsellor and advocate

Abusers of the law should be jailedMy NGO is creating awareness on the misuse of the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. We have already organised about 25 press conferences in cities such as Lucknow, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi. This law came into effect to prevent women against domestic violence and harassment for dowry. It is an important law but the practice of arresting people without investigation needs to be changed. Most women misuse the law not only to extract money from their spouses, but also due to career constraints or adjustment problems faced by them after marriage. Misguided advice turns petty quarrels into big fights. I too have been at the receiving end. Earlier, I used to feel very lonely and didn't know whom to approach. According to me, the person who misuses laws should be arrested and put behind bars.—PR Gokul. Director, Protect Indian Family Foundation

Some complaints are made in angerThe rampant corruption in our system has led to misuse of women protection laws. When an angry wife approaches the police, she is received by lower rank officers. Depending on her husband's financial condition, these officers advise the woman on further course of action. Mostly, women from lower income groups don't file such complaints. It's usually the financially well-off women who register complaints under Section 498A. I think only an officer of the rank of commissioner should look into the matter. In many cases, the wife gets angry and rushes to the police station. A senior officer would listen to her grievances and give her sound advice. It may be possible that the woman took the step in anger and may change her mind later.—Balkrishna Shetty. President, Human Rights and Development Organisation
How many laws are there for men?Many women are using the laws to satiate their greed for money. They use the law to extract money from the husband and in-laws. In fact, the law is being used by women against women. Old mothers and pregnant sisters have been sent to jail on the basis of mere allegations. I am not against the law but I am against its misuse. There are many laws to safeguard the interest of women. How many such laws do we have for men? Even they need legal protection. My brother was implicated by his wife. She registered a complaint against him under Section 498A. Our family went through a very difficult time. I recommend that those who misuse the law should be severely punished. We can't solve marital problems by dragging families to court and sending them to jail. —Anita Kumari

A senior officer should investigateWe need laws to protect women against marital cruelty and dowry harassment. However, I feel there's need to revise the stringent Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. At present, the accused is arrested as soon as a case is registered under Section 489A and the investigations are carried out later. Old and ailing parents and relatives of the husband have been jailed. I think it should be made a bailable offence. Since the nature of charges is very serious, the matter should be investigated by an officer of the rank of deputy commissioner or commissioner. Many women are using the law against their in-laws and husband to extract revenge. Each one of us is equally responsible for the rampant corruption in our system that allows one to misuse such laws. —Mohan Pillai. Advocate