Tuesday, October 24, 2006

 

False dowry case ample ground for divorce: HC (Delhi)

False dowry case ample ground for divorce: HC (Delhi)
Times of India dated 2nd Feb 2005.
By Bhadra Sinha/TNN
New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court has ruled that lodging false dowry complaints against men amounts to cruelty and can be a ground for dissolution of marriage. The court granted divorce to a man who alleged mental cruelty by his wife.
With this order, Justice O P Dwivedi disposed of a four-year-old petition in which a woman had challenged a lower court¢s order permitting divorce to the husband. Mita Jain (name changed) admitted during the proceedings that she had filed a false case of dowry against her husband, in-laws and their relatives in Meerut.
As a result of the false complaint, the husband and relatives were in jail for 10 days. The court construed this to be an instance of cruelty. It also concluded against that Mita¢s acceptance of Rs 5.25 lakh as a final settlement for divorce was an unfair act.
After receiving the payment, Mita gave a statement before Meerut¢s chief judicial magistrate in which she admitted that the dowry case against her husband was false. Yet she refused to give divorce.
¡¡The act of the woman in filing a false case was not based on true facts. It clearly amounts to cruelty. Not only did she receive Rs 35,000 and Kisan Vikas Patras, she resiled from her agreement and did not sign papers of divorce,¢¢ said Justice Dwivedi.
In 1999, the lower court had passed an order in favour of Mita¢s husband who claimed his wife had been mentally harassing her since 1993, the year when they left the family home to live separately. According to him, she once attempted to get a false case registered against him.
The lower court observed in its order that things went wrong between the two after they started staying in a rented accommodation. ¡¡As per the averments of the husband, the wife refused to cook meals for some of his friends whom he had invited for a party on his birthday,¢¢ the judge had said.

Full text of the Delhi HC judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

FAO 67/2000

Smt. Pinki Jain ... Appellant.
Through: Mr. Gopal Narain Aggarwal, Advocate

Vs.

Sh. Sanjay Jain ... Respondent.
Through:Mr.Narinder Kaushik, Advocate


DATE OF RESERVE: 12-01-2005
DATE OF ORDER: 31-01-2005
CORAM:

31.01.2005

HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE O.P.DWIVEDI


1.Whether Reporters of Local papers may be allowed to see the
judgment ?
2.To be referred to the Reporter or not ? Yes
3.Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ?


O.P. DWIVEDI J.
This appeal is directed against the order dated 24.12.99 passed by the learned Additional District Judge whereby respondent-husband's petition under section 13 (1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ( for short the 'Act') seeking dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty has been allowed.
Various instances of cruelty alleged by the respondent have been detailed in para No. 4 (i) to (xxii) of the impugned judgment.
In the written statement appellant-wife controverted the allegations made by the respondent husband and further alleged that
petition has been filed because the appellant did not satisfy the respondent's greed for more and more dowry. In support of their respective versions, the respondent husband examined himself as PW-1 and appellant wife examined herself as RW-1. After coisidering the material on record, learned Additional District Judge came to the conclusion that the appellant wife had lodged a false complaint at Meerut on the basis of which a case was registered in the Court of CJM, Meerut under section 147/149/498-A/33/504/506 IPC read with section 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act regarding allegations of harassment for dowry. Police arrested the respondent husband, his father and uncle. They remained in jail for about ten days. Even their bail application was strogly opposed by the appellant. Ultimately a mutual settlement was arrived at between the parties under which the appellant agreed to receive Rs. 5,25,000/- towards full and final settlement for divorce by mutual consent. She also
received Kisan Vikas Patra valuing Rs. 3 lakh, Rs. 35,000/- in cash and the balance amount of Rs.1,90,000/- was to be paid by way of two FDR's in the sum of Rs.95,000/- each in the name of son and daughter who were being looked after by the appellant. Terms of the settlement are contained in the agreement Ex. PW-1/A. The appellant and her brother appeared as witness before the CJM but did not support the prosecution case and were declared hostile. Ultimately respondent husband and other co-accused persons were acquitted by
he CJM vide order dated 6.6.95 (certified copy PW-1/B). After receiving Kisan Vikas Patra for Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 35,000/- in cash, the appellant resiled from the settlement and did not agree for divorce by mutual consent. This according to the learned. Additional District Judge is a clear instance of cruelty. As regards other instances of cruelty enumerated in the petition, the learned Additional District Judge appears to have been inclined to accept the husband's version because the appellant wife did not examine her relations in whose presence some of the incidents of cruelty allegedly took place. As per allegations made in the petition corroborated by the statement of the respondent-husband, the incident of December 1989 when the parties had gone to Mahabirji, the appellant had insulted respondent in presence of her brother Arun Kumar and brother in law Padam Chand Jain. The incident dated February 1990 when the appellant allegedly insulted and abused the respondent
happened in presence of Padam hand Jain in hotel Claridge. According to the husband, the brother and father of the appellant were called on several occasions to advice the appellant to behave properly but instead of advising the appellant they insisted that husband should shift to Brut and settle down there to which husband did not agree. It was further alleged that in July 1993 the sister-in-law of the appellant came to reside with the parties for about 10 to 12 days and in her presence also appellant's insulting behavior continued. The appellant allegedly tried to commit suicide during that period. From the impugned order it appears that, the learned Additional District Judge was inclined to accept the statement of the husband regarding these incidents because appellant wife did not examine her relations in whose presence these incidents allegedly took place.
Learned counsel for the appellant vehemently contended that the burden of proof lay on the husband who has filed divorce petition to prove alleged instances of cruelty and the failure of appellant to examine her relations cannot be taken to be a factor against appellant nor respondent's case gets strengthened just because appellant did not examine her relations. Reference in this contention was made to:- Sm. Bijoli Choudhury Vs. Sukomal Choudhury-AIR 1979 Calcutta 87; Moran Mar Basselios Catholicos and another Vs. Most Rev. Mar Poulose Athanasius and others- AIR 1954 S.C. 526; Sankar Kumar and another Vs. Mohanlal Sharma- AIR 1998 Orissa 117; and M/s Roy and Co. and another Vs. Sm. Nani Bala Dey and others; AIR 1970 Calcutta 50. Further contention of learned counsel for the appellant is that many other instances of cruelty allegedly took place in presence of some relations of the husband but he too did not examine any of them e.g the incident at Nainital allegedly occurred
in presence of his friend Amar Jain. The incident dated 30.6.89 when appellant allegedly insulted the respondent for not brining a decent gift at the time of her B'day allegedly took place in presence of relations of the respondent husband. But none of them have been examined.
he four arbitrators, the people from the biradari namely Harish Chand Jain, Mahipal Jain, Pawan Kumar Jain and Rajinder Kumar Jain have also not been examined by the respondent husband. The incident dated 31.12.91 allegedly took place in presence of Mohini, Bhabhi of the husband. The instance of January 1993, when the appellant allegedly abused the father of the husband took place in the presence of the father of the respondent but he has also not been examined. Learned counsel for the appellant contended that when no adverse inference has been drawn against the respondent husband for not examining his close friends and near relations on various allegations of cruelty, the same approach should have been adopted while assessing the effect of the appellant's failure to examine her friends and relations. This argument carries weight. No implicit faith can be reposed in the testimony of the either party in such litigation when parties are inclined to make wild allegations
against each other. It is important to note that after their marriage in January 1988, parties resided in the matrimonial home i.e House No. 2159, Gali No.9, Kailash Nagar, New Delhi, up to August 1993. Their three children, born in 1989, 1991 and 1993 were all born in this very house. The parties took separate rented accommodation only in August 1993.Even cantankerous ladies are normally accepted in the family fold if they bear a male child. In the present case male child was born on 18.6.93 after the birth of two daughters. When the parties continued to reside in matrimonial home for years together, cohabited and produced three children from the wedlock the inference that the alleged acts of cruelty which took place before 18.6.93 were condoned can be safely drawn. It is obvious that something went seriously wrong with the parties during their stay in the rented accommodation at Yamuna Vihar in August-September 1993. As per the averments made in the petition and the
statement of the respondent husband the appellant refused to cook meals for some friends whom he had invited for a party on the occasion of his B'day on 15.8.93 and then on 13.9.93 the appellant allegedly poured kerosene oil on her and raised hue and cry. These averments have been denied by the appellant and there is no independent evidence to corroborate solitary statement of the respondent husband. But one single instance of cruelty which stands admitted between the parties takes the wind out of appellant's sails. Admittedly, appellant wife had lodged a complaint at Meerut on the basis of which a case was registered in the Court of CJM, Meerut under section 147/149/498-A/323/504/506 IPC read with section 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act making false allegations of torture for dowry against her husband, father-in-law and other relations of the husband. It is also admitted between the parties that Police arrested the respondent, his father and uncle. They remained in jail
for about ten days. It is further admitted that some settlement for divorce by mutual content was arrived at between the parties vide PW-1/A under which the appellant agreed to receive Rs. 5,25,000/- towards full and final settlement for divorce by mutual consent. It is further admitted that the appellant received Kisan Vikas Patra amounting to Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 35,000/- in cash and the balance amount of Rs.1,90,000/- was to be paid at the time of filing joint petition for divorce by way of two FDR's in the sum of Rs.95,000/- each in the name of son and daughter who are living with the apellant. These subsequent events can very well be taken into consideration as facts are admitted between the parties. The statements of the appellant and his brother were recorded before the CJM wherein it was admitted that the complaint was not based on true facts. The act of the appellant in filing a false complaint case and getting her husband and other in-laws arrested clearly amounts
to cruelty. The statement of the appellant and her brother before CJM points towards falsity of the complaint. Not only that she received Rs. 35,000/- and kisan vikas patra for Rs.3 lakh long back in the year 1994. Yet she resiled from the agreement and did not sign papers of divorce. In the case of GVN Kameswara Rao Vs. G. Jabilli- (2002) 2 SCC 296, Supreme Court taking note of its earlier decision in the case of (1994) 1 SCC 337, V. Bhagat Vs. D. Bhagat, observed that :-

¡¡ Mental cruelty in Section 13(1)(i-a) can broadly be defined as that conduct which inflicts upon the other party such mental pain and suffering as would make it not possible for that party to live with the other. In other words, mental cruelty must be of such a nature that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together. The situation must be such that the wronged party cannot reasonably be asked to put up with such conduct and continue to live with the other party. It is not necessary to drove that the mental cruelty is such as to cause injury to the health of the petitioner. While arriving at such conclusion, regard must be had to the social status, educational level of the parties, the society they move in, the possibility or otherwise of the parties ever living together in case they are already living apart and all other relevant facts and circumstances which it is neither possible nor desirable to set out exhaustively. What is cruelty in one case may
not amount to cruelty in another case. It is a matter to be determined in each case having regard to the facts and circumstances of that case. If it is a case of accusations and allegations, regard must also be had to the context in which they were made.¢¡

In that case it was found on facts that wife made a false complaint to the police which reflected adversely on the husband's reputation in the society. Marriage of the parties had broken down. The apex court, therefore, allowed the appeal and granted divorce. In the present case, the situation is still worse. Not only the wife made a false complain and got the husband and other in-laws arrested, she also took money and then resiled from the agreement. Admittedly, the husband and wife are living separately since September 1993. Learned Additional District Judge took note of this conduct of the appellant and held that it clearly amounts to an act of cruelty.
Taking over all view of the matter, I think, learned Additional District Judge has rightly allowed the petition and passed a decree of divorce under sections 13 (1) (ia) of the Act in favour of the respondent-husband. I am not inclined to take a different view in the matter.
In the result, this FAO 67/2000 filed under section 28 of the Act against the impugned order dated 24.12.1999 fails and is hereby dismissed. All pending applications also stand disposed of.

January 31, 2005 O.P.DWIVEDI J.
kb

Comments:
498A Section should not be a nightmare. The reason it is so is because as we read here, the police arrest the husband and the family upon the lady's first complain and then the case starts. The lady in question can complain to the police and then the police have to tell her to hire a lawyer to fight the case. The idea seems that the lady likes to harrase the husband and his family and this can be done so easily as she does not have to lift a stick or hire a gunda as the police do that job for her and so the police are guilty here and they should firstly be taken to the court and then the husband. Come on police we have to see you as god figure. Please dont lose your chance to get moksha doing your duty. As clearly it is the police harrasing and not the husband in many cases. So is there a 498A/Police to go legally against the police? These cases will almost get very small in number if this police illegal decision is put to check. Come on police we have to see you as god figure. People are clearly not scared of a letter from the lady's lawyer as they have the time and the money to fight back with the proof we see here. But how they do this and specially from abroad as they have the fear of being arrested in the first place? If one tries to be a Gandhi in 2006 India, he/she gets a bullet bit too quick and seems from the law itself. Men prefer to go abroad to be PIO(Person of Indian Origin?) and then NRI and be safe to marry and serve overseas country after spending India money for education. Men dont waste time changing India in 2006...bit too late when they still have these sort of rules and still so much needs doing. Let the law makers act properly before trusting the system there. That is their job...if a street person can see injustice in such areas then surely the educated law maker knows all. Let us see many Gandhis amongst the law makers. Wake up India. Wah!!! UK Guy
 
Reading all this about the misuse of law and in particular misuse of 498A, I have a suggestion for NRI. Go to India for a holiday. Like now, don’t get involved with politics and business there in India. By now after many years abroad, you have got this title of being a NRI. Most likely you are born abroad. So be a NRI. They used to say when you marry a lady, the 2 families also get married. The problems get sorted out by the 2 families. But remember now…..REMEMBER…..NRI guy not only marries an Indian lady from India but also marries the India police, who are the first ones to arrest you before you are found guilty. Why we blame the law? The law is there. The people who put the law in place are the ones to take the responsibility. So why marry a lady from India in the first place? There are plenty of Indian ladies abroad also where you now live. The Indian lady from India will find it difficult to adjust to the life abroad…..in particular UK and then will blame you and they have the additional police force in India who they can rely on to lock you up next time you are in India or can call you to India by arresting your family member in India, if you have any there. Why marry one and try to see if she adjusts to the life in UK. Why take this risk as she has the Indian police on her side to even ruin your future visits to India. Be safe where you belong and serve that country. You are a NRI and be a NRI. Yes, visit India, see the place, enjoy the Darshans at religious places, enjoy the food and get out after that, back to where you belong. Sorry India this is happening now after personal experience. I am giving my points only about this one problem in India. It is up to others and India herself to address other issues. UK guy.
 
Indians

SOME VERY IMPRESSIVE FACTS ABOUT INDIANS IN USA !!!

There are 3.22 Million Indians in America

38% of Doctors in America are Indians.

12% of Scientists in America are Indians.

36% of NASA employees are Indians.

34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians

28% of IBM employees are Indians

17% of INTEL employees are Indians

13% of XEROX employees are Indians

23% of Indian Community in America is having Green-Card'

Above information from an email

So why they went to USA in the first place?
Why so many more still want to go to USA and UK in 2006?
WAKE UP INDIA.
 
Why they left India?..... Because many of them might be children of the leaders and the rich in India and prefer to live in the west.
 
Anonymous said...
UK GUY HAS READ THIS ARTICLE ON INTERNET.....

(KNOWS OF ANOTHER CASE WHERE ANOTHER LADY FROM INDIA HAD COMPLAINED TO THE POLICE ABOUT SIMILAR INCIDENT AND THEN THE POLICE WERE AFTER HER BODY.....NOW THAT LADY IS IN UK). SO GRADUALLY INDIA WILL HAVE MANY DISTURBED LADIES AND SINGLE PARENT CHILDREN. BIG PRICE TO PAY).

Dear Friends,

I am please to blog this on behalf of this 17 Yr Old College going Girl, She Writes

I being a 21st Century Girl doesn’t believe that India is a male dominated country because now-a-days abla’s are sabla’s I mean to say that today’s generation women always want to get something which is new branded and which also has a status symbol that too sitting at home without earning anything. This whole pressure comes on the poor husband who has to listen to his parents, to his in-law, to his boss to his children’s demand too. Irrespective of his demand he has to fulfill his family demand first.

If demand is not fulfilled by him then he has to listen to his wife’s taunts, his children’s frustration to face other problems too. Husbands also have only one person to whom they can talk i.e. to their wife, But dominating nature of wives make them more angry and violent due to which male remove their frustration in form of anger and violence. After that, the spouse or man’s better half do the propaganda of their so called plight without thinking about their husband’s mental status. Thus, adding fuel to fire. They do this with their sure shot and powerful weapon i.e. Tears. Some wives are so great that they directly go to the cops without thinking once about the consequences on their husbands and his family members, Due to which males like (Ram) have to suffer a lot.

This thought of mine can be explained with my personally witnessed experience some days back in my friend’s case. She was genuinely eve teased by some notorious guys in her neighborhood. Her father came to know about this incidence and he called the cops. The guys were taken to question by the police. But to my surprise the police did not even question us at all!!! They took us on face value and the guys were bashed royally by police. And we were not even questioned at all. I could sense the loop hole that I hear many elder married guys stuck in divorce who talks about it, like the one in my neighborhood. Before which I had no whiff about the whole thing.

I asked the police if we could leave and he understood my gesture on face. And he said to us that “You are like our daughters and we have now to be extra cautious about our image too, especially after the rape cases”

And that is where after the NC was lodged I could make out that men are really really vulnerable and women is actually dominating men using men (police) and law to the maximum of their advantage.

No doubt my friends’ grievance was genuine but the statement of the police and the treatment given to the accused at the face value of the whole matter made my conscience prick me to the extent of telling me that thank god I do not have a brother else he could have been victimized and would have been equally vulnerable to this attitude of the police.

“That keeps me pondering on the question that “Is India Really a Male Dominated Country???”


Sneha Kala.
XII Commerce, C-11.
Thakur College

5:51 PM
 
They used to say when you marry a lady, the 2 families also get married. The problems get sorted out by the 2 families. But remember now…..REMEMBER…..NRI guy and and others dont only marry an Indian lady from India but also marries the Indian police, who are the first ones to arrest you before you are found guilty. Why we blame the law? The law is there. The people who put the law in place are the ones to take the responsibility. So why marry an lady from India in the first place
 
Arre...yahin to dhokha kha gaya India..
 
FACTS IN SIMPLE ENGLISH

India is so divided as it is and such laws will only send females to some sector of the men population....eg men police, men lawyers, men judges. As per the law, men are not trusted it seems and most of the people handling the cases are men. This is the place where the same ladies will say yes sir and can end up doing whatever is said to them and will have to keep the mouth shut also, and later realise what real trouble can be.

Let all that happen and then when they don’t have any place to go to, then the lesson will be learnt…..is this what we want to happen to our sisters, wives and mothers? Don’t you think it will be too late by then? Meaning….. where will they complain when harassed by men police, men lawyers, and men judges? These guys may not be your husbands but they will still be men. Will they care for you more than your husbands? Will they truly care for you?

Lot needs to be done to have good population of men police, men lawyers, men judges etc before letting these women go to these men. I say this because men are not trusted as per the law. It is like a case where a woman law maker is sending a poor cow to a lion hoping that the lion is a vegetarian. Note for the law maker (specially the female law maker):- Please first sort out other problems before this creates more problems for the society.

NOW YOU MIGHT BE THINKING:- IS THIS IS WRITTEN BY A MAN OR A WOMAN? THIS IS WRITTEN BY A HUMAN BEING. UK.
 
FROM THIS 498A SECTION AND HOW IT WORKS, IT SEEMS THAT IT IS VERY VERY SAFE FOR AN INDIAN LADY FROM INDIA TO MARRY AN INDIAN POLICE-MAN, INDIAN MAN LAWYER, INDIAN MAN JUDGE. .....ARE THEY ALL PERFECT AND UNTOUCHABLE BY THE LAW???!!! AND IS THE REST OF THE MEN POPULATION UNTOUCHABLE BY THE WOMEN POPULATION???!!! UK PERSON.
 
--------------------------

Let us bring in equal laws for all human beings and not one law for ladies and one for gentlemen.....otherwise both sexes will fight like cats and dogs like now. So seems we have brought in more fights while trying to stop one fight.

--------------------------
 
IT IS FEMINSTS PLAN TO RUIN OUR COUNTRY FROM GRASSROOT LEVEL. IT IS WONDER HOW OUR PARLIAMENT(HAVING GREAT SCOLARS) IS SO POOR TO FALL IN THE GRIPS OF FEMINISTS OF INDIA WHO ARE FOLLOWING THE WRONG PATH OF FOREIGN FEMINIST GROUPS TO DESTABLSE INDIAN BEAUTIFUL CULTURE OF FAMILY LIFE. WHY GREAT WRITERS, NOVELISTS ACTORS, BUSINESS MEN, PROFESSORS, PANDITS, GREAT POLITICIANS ARE KEPING QUITE WHEN OUR COUNTRY FAMILIES LIFE IS IN THE VERGE OF COLLAPSING DUE TO 498a AND DVA WHICH ARE DRAFTED BY MINDLESS FEMINIST GROUPS AND MANAGED TO PASS THESE BILLS IN PARLIAMENT. IT IS SHAME ON EVERY BODYS PART WHO ARE REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE. VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF FEMINISTS GROUPS WANT TO CONTROLE MORE THAN 100 CRORES OF OUR POULATION. IT IS ALSO WONDER WHY GOVT TO INTERFERE IN THE FAMILY LIFES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE AND SEPERATING THEM, THEN HOW OUR GOVT CAN INTEGRATE THE PEOPLE.

IT IS REQUESTED NOT TO GIVE LIFT TO FOREIGN BIASED INDIAN FEMINIST GROUPS AND STOP IMMEDIATELY THESE TWO DEADLY VIRUSSED (498A AND DVA) ACTS WHICH ARE DEEPLY PENETRATING INTO INDIAN FAMILIES.
 
WHEN MAN IS EARNING SINCE ANCIENT STAGES HE NEVER FELT THAT HE IS INDEPENDENT FROM HIS WIFE. HE SHARED EVERY THING TO HIS WIFE. HE WORSHIPPED A WOMEN OR WIFE LIKE AN ANGEL. ... BUT NOW WHEN WIFE OR WOMAN STARTS EARNING SHE WANTS TO STAND ON HER OWN LEG AND WANT FREEDOM AND LIBERTRY BY ARRESTING HIS HUSBAND AND HIS PARENTS. ATTITUDES OF YOUNG GIRLS HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY SOME OF FEMINST GROUPS ON THE NAME OF FASSIONS, AND NEWLY MARRIED GIRLS HAVE BEEN ENCURAGED TO FILE CASES AGAINST THEIR HUSBANDS AND PUT THEM IN JAILS AND SETLED FAMILES HAVE BEEN DISTURBED BY THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTS......WITH ALL THIS IT APPEARS THAT SOME OF FEMINIST GROUPS WANT OUR INDIAN WOMEN TO SUFFER LIFE LONG AND TO CREATE A DISTURBNACE IN THE FAMILY LIFES OF INDIA. LAKS OF PEOPLE ARE BEING MENTALLY HARASSED BY THIS 498A AND DVA.

498A AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTS(DVA)ARE ONLY CREATING
UN-REPAIRABLE DOMESTIC VOLENCES IN INDIAN FAMILIES AND BEING REGULARLY ENCOURAGED BY SOME MEDIA AND SOME WRITERS.
 
Lot needs to be done to have good population of men police, men lawyers, men judges etc before letting these women go to these men. I say this because men are not trusted as per the law. It is like a case where a woman law maker is sending a poor cow to a lion hoping that the lion is a vegetarian. Note for the law maker (specially the female law maker):- Please first sort out other problems before this creates more problems for the society. UK Guy
 
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