Senior bureaucrat Aruna Sharma has lashed out at what she calls the “narrow approach in the name of women’s rights”. She believes this has led to a rampant misuse of law by women, asserting that such “activism” is resulting in men losing faith in the judiciary and the institution of marriage.
Is the call to revisit some of our gender laws and their implementation valid or exaggerated?
What steel secretary Aruna Sharma wrote about the misuse of Section 498-A, and protecting men from baseless complaints were her personal views. But she has highlighted a truism which is almost never discussed, but ought to be. Section 498-A is sometimes misused and rather that helping women, sexual harassment laws are being used for extortion.
In July 2017, the apex court wrote a 20-page order explaining how the provision was being misused, and set out a detailed process to be followed before any arrest could be made. Anyone interested should first read the order.
I have personally known parents of a boy charged under 498-A cowering on a bench outside the office of the Crime Against Women cell of Delhi Police.The daughter-in-law in question had a mental condition which was not revealed when the marriage was arranged. But within a few days, the new bride ripped her trousseau and her husband’s suits with a pair of scissors. Her parents slapped a case under 498-A against a decent family whom I can safely vouch for, including their son whom I had known from infancy. The hapless family became victims of extortion and had to buy their way out as nothing else (including my clout) could work.
Here are other sharp perspectives on Aruna Sharma’s comment on women misusing laws:
Amit Lakhani: President of the Men Welfare Trust
Chitleen K. Sethi: Associate Editor with ThePrint
Nandita Singh: journalist, ThePrint
Nirupama Rao: former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador
Another real life story: a strict no-nonsense principal of a Delhi University college was hugely resented by a highly politicised faculty. Unable to bully him with threats and gheraos, they cooked up a sexual harassment charge against him, and got a pliable college complaints committee to hold him guilty.The principal still retains his job after 5 years because an independent inquiry revealed he had been framed.
On women taking advantage of female predicaments to skirt office discipline, Aruna is right. Many women officials take full advantage of their gender to parry late sitting, working over crisis-ridden weekends, and accepting traveling assignments. Most men silently curse, but are scared to confront women (or overlook their promotions) for fear of complaints.
As a woman officer who has seen it all, here’s my advice: restore a sense of balance: men and women related complaints aren’t always black and white affairs. The 2017 two-judge order is sound and sensible. Just implement it!
Shailaja Chandra is former secretary to the government of India and former chief secretary, Delhi
I agree with your thoughts..but ma’am our SC is adamant on killing the groom’s family…recently SC has restored automatic arrest u/s 498a… What to do? Better to take up arms…
Totally Agreed Mr. Aditya with your point. As Section 498A has been misused by the girl & her family regularly due to that the boy & his whole family has been tortured by them as well as the society which we says “SAMAJ”. And due to that whole society is favour girls only, whether boy & his family is not guilty or not had done any wrong things.
The parents of girls & even educated girls are doing such type of things.