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Harassment of men- Need for gender neutral laws

India is now going through a very bad patch with ever increasing attacks against women and children. The same ever increased over the last year. From the infamous Sowmya murder case to the Delhi gang rape case to the present case of a little 5 year old being gang raped, there is ever increasing reports of women and children being subjected to harassment. Now it is absolute certainty that perpetrators of such heinous crimes need to be punished with such severity that will deter others from repeating such crime. Recently our parliament has passed stringent laws to make such acts punishable with even death in certain crimes. But there are certain grey areas in such laws that need to be corrected.

As a legal professional, I am apprehensive about certain sections of these acts by which just the statement of the women is enough to convict the man involved. Such a notion can pave way for abuse as any women having some grudge against any man can file a false complaint and that man will be left high and dry and has to defend and  redeem himself and his name. Branding every man as a criminal until he proves himself innocent is against the natural justice and equality before law. Now many would say that no women would advance such a false allegation. But like any other lawyer, we come across many cases where in the women has advanced false case even of rape to settle score with a man against whom she may have some grudge. This should not mean that I am justifying the atrocities that innocent girls and women had to undergo in the hands of criminals. Such anti social elements need to be booked and given the maximum possible punishment .But yet there are many cases where in the women hoists false cases against the men to meet their sinister ends.

The case in point is the draconian section of IPC namely Sec-498 (A). By this section, any wife can file a criminal case against her husband, in-laws and his relatives. Being a non bailable offence, the husband and his family run the risk of being arrested and has also face the arduous task of getting bail and interrogation etc. This forever brings bad blood between the husband and wife and reconciliation seems becomes impossible . Sec-498 (A) was made for a just cause, to protect innocent wife against the harassment for dowry by her husband and his relatives. But the way this section was drafted has left open room for abuse by wives having vendetta against her husband. Now it has become almost a fashion for wives to file such false and frivolous cases against her husband. In many cases, the matter get settled by the time of evidence with the wife getting terrified to depose the lies that she had made up against the husband before the court and in many cases the husband being acquitted, facing the legal onslaught  by the husband against the wife under Sec-193, IPC and other relevant provisions of IPC for telling lies and for perjury including filing false and factitious case . The other act is "The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act". By this act, the wife can file a petition for residence by which she can stay put in her husband's house and the husband and his male relatives in certain cases has to leave the house. This act was created as a shortsighted one without clear socio- economic studies and it's impact in the society. This act is also invoked by the wives against her husband and his family and to harass him to no end.

What now is required is a change of direction to where we are going. What India requires now  are laws that does not discriminate against men and women but treat everybody as equal. Criminals need to be punished but branding every male as a criminal even before trial is against the fundamental rights of every man and a rapprochement is required. The time is now. Otherwise we run a serious risk of crumbling of the society and along with it the institutions that make every man and women live and go about their daily business. What is required now is a gender neutral laws that treat every human irrespective of his  being a male or a female as equal and equal protection of free trail given. Then only can we call ourselves a just society.



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