Seeking to curb abuse of Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of guidelines to be followed for the arrest and detention of a person under the said section..The judgment was delivered by Justices CK Prasad and Pinaki Chandra Ghose in a petition filed by one Arnesh Kumar seeking anticipatory bail against arrest under Section 498A..Section 498A lays down punishment for a husband or his relatives for subjecting his wife to cruelty. Concerned with the increase in the number of false cases being filed under the said provision to harass the husband and his relatives, the court observed that,.“The fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In a quite number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested.”.The Court ruled that police cannot “automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A is registered without satisfying themselves about the necessity of the arrest as per Section 41 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).” The police officers are to be provided with a checklist “containing specified sub-clauses under Section 41(1)(b)(ii)” of CrPC..Further, the judgment mandates that the police officer shall be duty bound to “forward the checklist duly filled and furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest, while forwarding/producing the accused before the Magistrate for further detention”. The Magistrate shall authorise further detention only after perusing the report and recording its satisfaction..The judgment has also ruled that departmental action shall be initiated against police officers and Magistrates who do not comply with the directions of the court..Read the full judgment below
