Dowry related laws are biased and one sided but there are some persons who have forced the Govt to create such laws and make them harsher. But irony is that the real victims are so badly demoralized that they do not take shelter and mostly these are used against innocent persons. Most of the accused are also ladies.

22 The case can easily linger in the court for years and only the groom’s family has to pay the price. 23 498A case can be filed even after the divorce, which only means that the accuser wants to demand money legally apart from maintenance. 24 There is no prohibition clause in the 498A law that would stop women to misuse it.

19 The witnesses (neighbors) tend to support the woman for not getting into a police case. They even fear of been accused by the woman if they don’t support the woman. 20 Some women marries an NRI and slaps a 498A case only to extort large sum of money 21 Even after knowing that the complaint can be false, police tend to support the woman and asks the man to settle the case with a financial compensation.

16 Most often the lawyers tend to take the family for a ride to extract as much money as possible. 17 The possibility of a woman over-reacting on a trivial matter in the family is never considered as a reason of complaint. 18 A woman tries to get divorce proceedings faster by filing a 498a case even if no dowry was demanded.

12 The health of the old parents dangerously deteriorates after they are arrested in a 498A case. 13 Some even commit suicide for not able to withstand the depression and frustration of been falsely accused. 14 Old parents after 498a case become very apprehensive and advice their son not to marry again. 15 The family ends up paying a very high price to settle the case, the money that was saved for the parent’s health.

8 Old parents who lived with dignity and respect have to live with the stigma of harassing their daughter-in-law for the rest of their lives. 9 Groom’s relatives don’t find a suitable bride after they are accused under 498A 10 Most of the cases are filed because the husband refuses to throw his parents out of the house at the wife’s demands. 11 Husband’s job is at risk when he is accused under 498A who could even be the only breadwinner of the family.

4 Accused is presumed guilty until proven innocent. Nowhere in the world it is so. 5 Gifts are sometimes misunderstood as dowry. Who decides that the gift exchanged were 'gifts or dowry'? 6 It is non-compoundable which means that the complaint can’t be taken back that hinders any scope of reconciliation between the couple. 7 After a man is accused of 498A, he will not take his wife back later.

25 reasons “Why IPC 498A is Anti-Social?” 1 It is handled under the Criminal law for marriage related matters and not under Civil Laws. 2 Non-bail able warrants do not require proof before arrest. No investigation necessary. This exposes the vulnerability of the accused taking away their basic human rights. 3 Even those who were not part of the 'day-to-day' family life could be named and arrested on one complaint, which can also include pregnant women and children.

Mere allegations should not be grounds for putting an innocent behind bars and harassing him. We must bear in mind the foundation of Laws of India are known that even if 100 criminals are spared, no innocent should be punished. Police should accept the complaint of rape/sexual offence on any gender and convert it to FIR only after preliminary investigation or firm evidence such as medical report.

As per records, 70-80% of rape cases are false. Those abusing the laws should be penalized with the same punishment that would have been given to the person if he was found guilty of the crime. This is given the fact that gender-biased laws such as 498a and DV laws are already being rampantly misused by a lot of women in India. If not, false cases like that of Shri Rahul Gandhi will increase, this law will become another tool for blackmailing and extortion.