"Society must change we can't do anything..."- Justice Nagarathna
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking the appointment of an expert committee to review and reform existing laws to prevent misuse of dowry and domestic violence laws. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said society has to change and it cannot do anything. Refusing to entertain the petition, Justice Nagarathna said, "Society has to change, we cannot do anything.
\The petition was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who sought reforms in domestic violence laws and prevention of their misuse in the wake of the recent suicide of Bengaluru-based techie Atul Subhash. The petition had sought directions to prevent misuse of such laws. The petition has also sought a direction to the government to file a list of the goods/gifts/money given during the marriage and maintain a record of the same along with the affidavit and attach it with the marriage registration certificate.
Dowry Prohibition Act
The Dowry Prohibition Act and Section 498A of the IPC were intended to protect married women from dowry demand and harassment, but in our country these laws have become a weapon to settle unnecessary and illegal demands and suppress the husband's family in the event of any other kind of dispute between the husband and wife. And due to the wrongful implication of married men under these laws, the real and true incidents against women are viewed with suspicion, the petitioner said, adding that there have been several incidents and cases of men being falsely implicated in dowry cases, which have led to a very sad end and have also raised questions on our justice and criminal investigation system.