498a

Section 498-A is a section under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which was brought in 1983 to stop cruelty towards married women because of dowry. This often led to their deaths. It makes it a crime to be cruel to your wife or to your relative's wife. The law explains that "cruelty" means anything that is done on purpose, and either causes harm to the woman or makes the woman want to kill herself. It also makes the laws against dowry or payment made by the bride's family to the husband's family stronger. It makes it a crime to harass a woman to try to make her family pay a dowry.

If someone breaks this law he can be put in prison for up to 3 years with fine.

The law is criticized. The critics of the law say it allows a woman to ask the police to arrest her husband without any evidence or investigation, and that women have abused the law in domestic disputes. Others say it gives important support to women who are vulnerable from abusive husbands.Why Women need 498A, Economic & Political Weekly, vol. XLIX no. 29 (July 2014) The Supreme Court of India expressed its concerns over the misuse of section 498-A and termed it "Legal Terrorism".

These are the some relevant judgements:

 SC on 498a - preeti gupta vs state of Jharkhand
 SC on 498a - Ruchi Agrawal vs. Amit kumar Agrawal 
 SC on 498a - Geeta Malhotra vs. State of UP
 SC on 498a - Ramesh vs. State of Tamilnadu
 SC on 498a - BS Joshi vs. State of Hariyana

References

Category:Law of India