Victimizing Husbands under Domestic Violence Law: Some Observations and Reflections
3.1 Introduction
Determining
the rate of intimate partner violence against males can be difficult, as men
are often reluctant to report their abuse or seek help. One of the reasons for
this is that intimate partner violence against men is generally less recognized
than women. Additionally, heterosexual male victims of intimate partner
violence are often judged harshly for allowing themselves to be beaten based
upon the general rule that men are physically stronger than women, and,
therefore, should be able to prevent and view which disregards that violent
women tend to use objects during intimate partner violence at a higher rate
than violent men.
3.2 Opinion of Experts
and Other Persons in Relation to Domestic Violence against Husband
Mithun Kumar, a researcher
at SIFF, has said that police don't take any action even if the suicide note of
a man states that he was tortured by his wife and in-laws, but if a woman
commits suicide, her husband's family is taken into custody without
investigation.
In July 2014, Kumar V.
Jahgirdar, president of Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP),
attributed the suicides among married men on family stress. CRISP said that in
study conducted by it, it was found that married men committed suicide mainly
due to misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Domestic
Violence Act of 2005. Swarup Sarkar, founder of SIFF, pointed that there is no
legal provision for married men facing verbal or mental abuse.
While speaking on the issue of domestic violence, Ranbir
Singh, Vice-Chancellor (on behalf of NLU Delhi) – “There is enough evidence
to suggest that this Section has been misused in many ways. However, the misuse
did not flow from the principle and intention on which this law is based.
Robust effort should be made to implement the law so that the social objective
of the law does not suffer. The misuse or false implications could be minimised
by insisting on strict observance of the law of arrest as evolved in D.K. Basu case [(1997) 1 SCC 416)].
Secondly, the mandate of this law should be shifted from penal to restorative
purpose. The recourse to mediation and conciliation in the first instance is
the best idea. The arrest and other drastic legal measures should begin when
all the options of restoration have failed. Registering the case is the legal
obligation of the police but they need not act in undue haste to effect the
arrest. They should be guided by the spirit of Section 157 Cr. P.C.”[1]
The former Attorney
General of India, Soli Sorabjee has also
criticized the broad definition of verbal abuse in the Act.[2]
The former President of
India, Smt. Pratibha Patil in one of her speech
said: “Another disquieting trend has been that women themselves have not been
innocent of abusing women. At times women have played an unsavoury, catalytic
role in perpetrating violence against others. Instances exist whereby
protective legal provisions for the benefit of women have been subjected to
distortion and misuse to wreak petty vengeance and to settle scores. Some
surveys have concluded that around 80 per cent of dowry complaints are false
and were registered primarily to settle scores. It is unfortunate if laws meant
to protect women get abused as instruments of oppression.”[3]
3.3 Domestic Violence
against Men in India- Some Statistical Reflections
Very little is known about family violence, but
recent examinations of the problem have revealed some startling cases of women
who abuse their children, husband and parents. The thought of a woman beating
up or battering her husband is the cause for many deep guffaws, especially from
men. Yet this form of spouse abuse is now believed to be more commonplace than
previously imagined. Two scientists, Roger Langley and Suzanne Steinmetz,
working independently, report that millions of husbands are battered but do not
report such abuse for fear of humiliation. Langley offers the least
conservative estimate by contending that 12 million men are physically abused
by their spouses at some point in their marriages, and about 1 million of these
men are severely beaten. [4]
Steinmetz reports about 280,000 men annually are
battered husbands who tend not to defend themselves from their wives, either
because they fear they could severely damage a woman, or because they feel that
a man who hit a woman is thought of as a bully.[5]
In 2004, CNN-IBN published some astonishing
statistics regarding the use or rather misuse of Section 498A, only 5% of the
men booked and harassed under this section were convicted and more than four
times that number have been acquitted.[6]As
per the National Crime Records Bureau data, more than 80% people arrested under
dowry law cases have turned out to be innocent. [7]
In 2006, a total number of 1,37,180 persons were
arrested under Section 498A and out of those 4,812 were not even charge
sheeted. Out of 62,746 persons who were charge sheeted, 50,895 i.e.
approximately 81% were found innocent after the completion of the trial and the
rest are still under trial. Every year 52,000 married men commit suicide in
India as against 28,000 married women. Every year more than 1,00,000 men lose
their job and become unemployed because of wrongful arrests under the laws made
for protection of women.[8]
Suicide Committed By
Both Sexes[9]
The study conducted by
National Family Foundation in 2005 regarding suicidal rates of both the genders
showed the following shocking results.
These figures clearly show that more husbands are
compelled to commit suicide after their distrust in social and legal system.[10]
It is due to unbearable harassment, mental torture, disturbed family life, male
bashing, financial pressures, marital problems and family pressures. They don’t
get any support, but if a woman would commit suicide then feminists, women
organizations, civil authorities, legal system and media would proactively come
in support of victim’s family. When all acts of physical aggression or violence
are considered in aggregate, women are equally violent as men, or more violent
than men.
The data from the National Family Violence Survey
consistently show that men and women are equally likely to be physically
assaulted by an intimate partner. While much attention has been focused on
domestic violence against women, men’s rights activists argue that domestic
violence against men is a social problem that is also worthy of attention.
In the US 800,000 men per year are either physically
assaulted or raped by their partners. That boils down to 3.2 to 3 percent of
non- fatal violence against men stemming from domestic situations.[12]
Men are normally very reluctant to report domestic abuse to the police or
judiciary unless it is life threatening.
Suicide rates of married men in India are higher
than females and their proportion increases with their age. As figures from
Indiastat.com shows: for males in the age group of 30 to 44, the Suicide rate
is a whopping 508 per 1,00,000 persons; for women it is 220. The suicide rates
among men in the age group of 45 to 59 are a shocking 1,812 per 1,00,000
persons and among women, nearly 550. However, among divorced males the suicide
rate is 164 per 1,00,000 persons, but even in this class, among females the
rate is only 63 per 1,00,000.[13]
The lifestyle of married couple have changed
drastically in last few years that has made husbands and his family members
more susceptible to domestic violence. Many cases go unreported when wife and
her relatives cannot be punished due to limitations in the laws.
The My Nation Foundation along with Save Family
Foundation (Delhi) conducted a study on domestic violence against men, between
March 2005 and September 2007. These NGOs interviewed and went through some
1650 Indian men personal cases and concluded from this study that Indian women
are most abusive and dominating.[14]
Domestic Violence
against Indian Men
The
study is conducted by My Nation Foundation along with Save Family Foundation
(Delhi) on Domestic violence against men between the 10th March 2005
and 30th September 2007. These NGOs interviewed and went through some
1650 Indian men’s personal cases and concluded from study that Indian women are
most abusive and dominating.
Out of 1650 men
interviewed, 416 were subjected to physical violence, 368 were subjected to
Verbal/ Emotional violence, 541 were to economic violence, 292 to sexual abuse
and only 33 were those who were not subjected to any type of violence.
Violence against
Men belonging to different age groups:
According
to the survey above mentioned, the total 160 men subjected to violence were
categorized under various age groups. As per the study, out of 1650 people, 92
men were between the age group of 15-25 years, 1105 men were between the age
group of 26-35 years, 385 men were between the age group of 35-45 years, 68
were those who are above 45 years of age.
Violence against
husbands belonging to different professions:
The
same survey also reflected violence against husbands engaged in various
professions. The purpose of this differentiation was that they wanted to
highlight the fact that violence has no relation with a person being in any particular
profession.
Out of same 1650 men interviewed,
326 were in the profession of marketing, 635 were either Doctors or Engineers,
399 were self- employed, 262 were in Govt. Jobs and only 28 were unemployed.
Ballots of polls relating
to Domestic Violence against men:
My nation foundation also set up polls over a period
of two years, on domestic violence against men, and out of 295 Ballots[19]
as shown in the graph.
Out of these 295 ballots, 99 men were
subjected to verbal abuse by their wives, 91 men were subjected to mental
torture by their wives, 73 were subjected to either denial of sex or were
subjected to over sex and rest 32 were subjected to physical abuse by their
partner.
Most of the Indian women are verbally
abusive. This verbal abuse leads to mental torture, but society and judiciary
consider women can’t verbally or mentally harass or abuse men. It is also found
out that when things go wrong or when husband is not following what a wife
demands, her family, in laws start to threaten to load him with false cases
like under section 498A IPC or under the Domestic Violence Act. If that does
not work, they use force, physically torture or issue threats to the man’s
life.
Comparative Analysis of Suicide Committed By Both
the Genders
The 2005 Suicide Statistics concluded that the
suicides committed by men were far more in comparison to that of the women.
According to the NCRB statistics, the suicides committed
by unmarried men were 77% more than unmarried women. Suicides by married men
were 86% more than married women. Suicides by widowed men were 11% more than
widow women. Suicides by separated men were 57 % more than separated women. In
total suicides committed by men were 78% more than women.
In January 2014, of 224 domestic
violence complaints filed in Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh, 160 were filed by
husbands. Also, Jabalpur, Amarkantak and Hoshangabad region have a significant
number of sadhus who have left their marriage. About 4,500 husbands are missing
from family court records in the region.
Ram Prakash Chugh has stated that
many times husbands don't report being attacked by their wives with household
utensils because of their ego. Swarup Sarkar of Save Indian Family has said
that there is no evidence to prove that the domestic violence faced by men is
less than that faced by women.
Indian Social Awareness and
Activism Forum (INSAAF) and Confidare Research have drafted a Bill which aims
to protect men and boys from domestic violence from their spouse, girlfriends
and parents. The bill is called Saving Men from Intimate Terror Act (SMITA) and
the groups aim to introduce in for debate in the parliament.[21]
3.4 Judicial
Attitude & Domestic Violence
Laws
are ineffective without the role of the judiciary. Courts in India have played
positive role in the matters of violence against men and have argued for award
of punishment to the perpetrator in accordance with the gravity of the violence
attributed towards men. The role of judiciary has been appreciable. In many
cases the Courts have taken a negative opinion not favoring the cause of a
woman.
3.4.1
Judicial Attitude towards Misuse of Section 498A IPC:
In Mrs.
Deepalakshmi Saehia Zingade Vs. Sachi Rameshrao Zingade[22]
petitioner/wife filed a false case against her husband on the ground of husband
having girl friend. The allegations made by wife were however were not
supported by cogent evidences and thus the court held that wife failed to prove
the act of cruelty and the case is proved as false in a court of law so it can be
considered as cruelty against husband.
In Anil
Bharadwaj Vs. Nimlesh Bharadwaj[23]
the Court observed, a wife who refuses to have sexual intercourse with the
husband without giving any reason was proved as sufficient ground which amounts
to cruelty against husband.
In Kalpana Vs.
Surendranath[24] the Court
observed that where a wife who refuses to prepare tea for the husbands friends
was declared by the court as cruelty to husband. Though the amendments
introduced in the penal code are with the laudable object of eradicating the
evil of dowry, such provisions cannot be allowed to be misused by the parents
and the relatives of a psychopath wife who may have chosen to end her life for
reason which may be many other than cruelty.
3.4.2
Judicial Attitude towards Misuse of the Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act, 2005
In case of Rani
Devi v. Hussan Lal[25],
it was observed that cruelty "as a matrimonial offence was not necessarily
a male preserve, and certainly not so where it is the husband and his relations
who are at the receiving end. In this case the husband was a frail looking
young man compared to the robust and heavier built wife. She was pressuring the
husband to live separately from other members of the family. He being the
eldest and sole earning member could not do so. His wife started quarrelling
with him and his relations and beat even the old mother of her husband. She used to beat her husband and his
relations. It was held that there were no mitigating circumstances in
favour of the wife to absolve her from the blame accuring to her. Hence
the decree of judicial separation was not interfered with by the High Court.
In Ashish
Dixit & Ors v. State of U.P. & Anr.[26]
The apex court held that the petition filed under the Domestic Violence Act was
nothing but a gross misuse of the Act and thus denied the wife any relief under
the said petition and granted leave to the petitioners.
In Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India,[27], the
Supreme Court of India for the first time used the term “Legal Terrorism” for
denoting the terror that women laws had unleashed on Indian males and their
families.
In Sonia Vs
Vinod[28] dismissing
the complaint, Metropolitan Magistrate Shahabuddin said, “I am prima facie of
the considered opinion that the complainant is not cooperating with her
in-laws. She prima facie appears to be harassing them on trivial matters”.
Complainant Sonia had approached the court in August, alleging her husband
Vinod and his mother and sisters used to physically harass her for bringing
insufficient dowry The court, however, declined to allow her complaint, asking
a number of relief s, including right to residence. “The woman failed to
satisfy this court that her husband or any of his other family members had
really committed any domestic violence against her”.
In Sumana
Bhasin v, Neeraj Bhasin & Ors [29]a
rare case of its kind, a Metropolitan Magistrate of Saket Court in New Delhi,
Shivani Chauhan, has dismissed the domestic violence complaint of a woman, who
resides in south Delhi, saying that she had falsified and concocted various
allegations and suppressed important facts in order to harass her husband and
her in-laws. The court noted that the complainant woman misused legal
provisions as a tool to extort unjustified money from her husband and her
in-laws for unjustified personal gain. The court also imposed a cost of Rs. 1
lakh on her as exemplary costs. The Court observed:
"The testimony of the complainant (woman)
throws light on the conduct of the complainant and the extent, to which she has
falsified and concocted various allegations and has suppressed important facts
in order to harass the respondents (husband and parents-in-laws) and had
misused the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act as a tool to
extort unjustified money from respondent no 1 (husband) for unjustified
personal gain. It is a fit case which calls for imposition of exemplary cost on
complainant, so that like minded people are dissuaded from resorting to such
mala fide practices."
The court directed the woman to deposit the fine in
the account of Blind Relief Association.
"The imposition of cost is in furtherance of
the principle that wrongdoers should not get benefit out of frivolous
litigations," it said.
In Radha Vs. Rahul Arora & Ors[30] & Smt Ranjana Gupta V.
Rajnesh Gupta & Ors[31]
case, the wife alleged the husband and the relative of her husband to have
committed physical as well as mental
abuse against her on various occasions. The prosecution produced testimony of various neighbors that
the wife was actually been subjected to abuse by the in-laws. The witnesses
however could not prove their veracity during the cross examination. Thus the court held that the wife has cooked up the facts and evidences of
the case in order to satisfy her feeling of vengeance thus the petition was
dismissed with a cost of Rs. 5000/-.
In Koushik v. Sangeeta[32]
case, the trial court ordered for maintenance to be awarded to the wife but the
prosecution had failed to prove the act of violence was committed by the
husband. The aggrieved husband filed an appeal before the High Court. The High
Court held that the trial court errord in ordering maintenance under section 20
of the Domestic violence Act even when the act of domestic violence is not
totally proved thus the petitioner is hereby granted relief and the judgment of
the trial court stands overruled.
In
the case of Sulekan Bairagi v. Kamalakant Bairagi[33]the husband was a professor in a college
and well qualified. The wife had no liking for him from the beginning. He saw
his wife in compromising position with another with another person and became
angry with that person, who struck the husband on his head whereby the husband
suffered grevious injuries and was hospitalized. The husband was struck at the
instances of the wife. He remained in the hospital for 21 days. The wife even
did not go to the hospital to see her husband. The trial court granted decree
of judicial separation. The High Court confirmed the findings of the trial
court and held that even a single act of grossly violent character may
constitute cruelty.
In the case of Bhagwanti v. Laxmandas Panjwani[34]
the wife started misbehaving and ill treating the husband after 8-10 months of
marriage. She even slapped her husband. The logic of the wife was that her
mother also beats her father. When the husband thought of complaining the matter of her ill-treatments to the police,
his wife threatened that she will throw their daughter and kill her and then
falsely involve the husband for killing the baby. It was argued on behalf of
the wife that the husband had condoned the cruel treatment of the wife and
continued to live with her. The husband alleged that the wife continued with
the conduct and assaulted him even thereafter, in presence of others. The High
Court observed that, despite tolerance and overtures of forgiveness and
forbearance on the part of the husband, the wife continued to misbehave and
torture him. Her adventures rather increased and there was revival of
cruelty and misbehaviour on her part, as has been disclosed in the
evidence. Therefore it was held that the cruelty and misbehaviour of the
wife not only continued but also revived on account of such
continuance. Hence, held that the husband was entitled to decree of
divorce.
Thus, in short
we can say that the judiciary of India has been actively working in the
direction of preserving the rights of husband. However, husbands have to
undergo hardships during the stage of investigation but judiciary has always
ensured justice to the males by cautiously acted in maintaining equality
amongst the two genders of the society.
[1] Section
498A IPC Report No.243, para 8.1, pp 1-85 , p 76 August 2012 Available at http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report243.pdf,
retrieved on
11-12-2016
[10] World Heritage Encyclopedias,
“Men’s Rights Movement in India”, 2014
[12] Ibid.
[15] Ibid
[22] AIR 2010 Bom
[23] AIR 1987 Del 111
[24] AIR 1985 All 253
[25] AIR
1998 P&H 65.
[26] (CRL)No. 8522 of 2010
[27] JT 2005 (6) SC 266
[28] 2009 CrLJ
[29] 2015 Del District Court
[30] 2015 Del HC
[31] 2014 Del HC
[32] 2014 Bom HC
[33] 1981(1) DMC 217
[34]
AIR 2000 MP 190
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