Oral deposition to the committee for 498A

 

Law Commission of India had several timed given recommendation to make IPC 498A bailable and compoundable.

Committee on reforms of Criminal Justice System There is a general complain that Section 498A of the IPC regarding cruelty by the husband or his relatives is subjected to gross misuse and many times operates against the interest of the wife herself. This offence is non-bailable and non-compoundable. Hence husband and other members of the family are arrested and can be behind the bars which may result in husband losing his job. Even if the wife is willing to condone and forgive the lapse of the husband and live in matrimony, this provision comes in the way of spouses returning to the matrimonial home. This hardship can be avoided by making the offence bailable and compoundable

24.Section 498A be inserted in table under sub section (2)of Section 320 whereby it can be compounded with the permission of the court

PAGE -81Shri M.L. Sharma, IPS, IGP(CID) (Crime Branch), Rajasthan suggested that several offences like adulteration of foods and drugs, fouling the atmosphere and forgery etc. be made cognizable and bailable. Some other offences which are non-cognizable, he suggested, should be made cognizable. In particular he suggested that section 498A which is now a cognizable offence should be converted into a non-cognizable one.PAGE-84The Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa have suggested that the powers of the police be regulated keeping in view the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu. They have suggested that offences under sections 498 and 498A be made bailable, but offences against property be made non-bailable. They suggested that the offences against the State, coins and weights be also made non-bailable. They supported the proposal for NGOs visiting the police stations andother places of detention and have suggested further that after the arrest, grounds for arrest shall be conveyed not only to the accused but be also to their relatives. Another suggestion is to make the offences under sections 307 and 498A compoundable.PAGE-112Another recommendation made in the 154th Report is to make the offence under section 498A compoundable and place it in sub-section (2) of section 320 which means that it shall be compoundable with the permission of the court. Though there has been some opposition to this recommendation from certain women’s organizations, today there is an overall realization that the said provision is being utilized quite often to harass the relatives of the husband and is being used as a lever of pressure. We may also mention that over the last several years a number of representations have been received by the Law Commission from individuals and organizations to make the said offence compoundable. We are inclined to agree with the same and accordingly reiterate the recommendation in the 154th Report that the offence should be made compoundable with the permission of the court.