misuse_dowryLaw
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Helpline for Harassed Men in Bangalore!!
Since last one year, there is a Helpline (91-80-56969850) in Bangalore for distressed men and their family members. It receives about 20 calls in a week from the men who are distressed due to harassment by the wife or her parents. The callers include many techies working in reputed firms and NRIs(Nonresident Indians/Indians living outside india). As soon as someone calls the helpline, his complaint is heard and he is called for a face-to-face discussion during which a lawyer and a counsellor are present.
Visit: http://www.geocities.com/gorky_maksim/index.htm
The NGO(non-Government Organisation) called Sangyabalya and the helpline were launched by H V Arun Murthy, a freelance writer originally from Bangalore, who was living happily in Delhi until he was summoned by a court as an accused in a dowry case filed by his sister-in-law. Murthy says his brother married a girl from an orphanage. The marriage went bad very fast and has now ended in a dowry harassment complaint that put Murthy, his brother, and some other family members in jail for a short period.
"Who could have paid dowry for that girl? The orphanage authorities?" demands an angry, white-haired, single Murthy.
"The courts are always sympathetic to women," he told rediff.com "Even our laws do not recognise the possibility of wives and daughters-in-laws ill-treating husbands and old in-laws. I know of so many cases where section 498-A [of the Indian Penal Code] has just been used as an instrument of blackmail. But public sympathy is all for the perpetrators of the crime. More than 90 per cent of dowry cases filed are dismissed. But no punitive action is taken against the women who file the cases, even though it is sometimes proved that they lied under oath."
Under the Indian Penal Code of 498a, the police only require one line in writing from a woman, that her husband/his parents/his brothers/sisters are harassing her physically or mentally with demands of dowry. It is as easy as ordering a Pizza. The Police are bound to act by arresting all the accused (including mothers, unmarried sisters) with immediate effect without investigation, send them to Judicial Custody (prison) . This has led to a growing trend of women and her dominant parents harassing the husband and her family and then threatening them of the false complaints in case they resist. So the poor guy and his family tolerate fearing the worst. As this continues, the demands start increasing finally leading to situation when the battered husband and his family could no longer tolerate and they stand up. Then the woman goes for the final kill by filing the case. The imprisoned husband and his family can’t get bail for at least 2 days. If the girl’s family has good connections in corrupt indiansystem then the stay in prison can continue for even a month. Often, huge amounts of money is demanded from the guy and his parents for out of court settlements. Many Techies and NRIs in a state of continuous, iterative victimization and defamation, simply comply.
For more details visit the following link and also view the full message board. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/24spec.htm
Other articles:
To seek help, reach to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/misusedowryact/
_________________________________________________________
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6708/sowryhar.html
Since last one year, there is a Helpline (91-80-56969850) in Bangalore for distressed men and their family members. It receives about 20 calls in a week from the men who are distressed due to harassment by the wife or her parents. The callers include many techies working in reputed firms and NRIs(Nonresident Indians/Indians living outside india). As soon as someone calls the helpline, his complaint is heard and he is called for a face-to-face discussion during which a lawyer and a counsellor are present.
Visit: http://www.geocities.com/gorky_maksim/index.htm
The NGO(non-Government Organisation) called Sangyabalya and the helpline were launched by H V Arun Murthy, a freelance writer originally from Bangalore, who was living happily in Delhi until he was summoned by a court as an accused in a dowry case filed by his sister-in-law. Murthy says his brother married a girl from an orphanage. The marriage went bad very fast and has now ended in a dowry harassment complaint that put Murthy, his brother, and some other family members in jail for a short period.
"Who could have paid dowry for that girl? The orphanage authorities?" demands an angry, white-haired, single Murthy.
"The courts are always sympathetic to women," he told rediff.com "Even our laws do not recognise the possibility of wives and daughters-in-laws ill-treating husbands and old in-laws. I know of so many cases where section 498-A [of the Indian Penal Code] has just been used as an instrument of blackmail. But public sympathy is all for the perpetrators of the crime. More than 90 per cent of dowry cases filed are dismissed. But no punitive action is taken against the women who file the cases, even though it is sometimes proved that they lied under oath."
Under the Indian Penal Code of 498a, the police only require one line in writing from a woman, that her husband/his parents/his brothers/sisters are harassing her physically or mentally with demands of dowry. It is as easy as ordering a Pizza. The Police are bound to act by arresting all the accused (including mothers, unmarried sisters) with immediate effect without investigation, send them to Judicial Custody (prison) . This has led to a growing trend of women and her dominant parents harassing the husband and her family and then threatening them of the false complaints in case they resist. So the poor guy and his family tolerate fearing the worst. As this continues, the demands start increasing finally leading to situation when the battered husband and his family could no longer tolerate and they stand up. Then the woman goes for the final kill by filing the case. The imprisoned husband and his family can’t get bail for at least 2 days. If the girl’s family has good connections in corrupt indiansystem then the stay in prison can continue for even a month. Often, huge amounts of money is demanded from the guy and his parents for out of court settlements. Many Techies and NRIs in a state of continuous, iterative victimization and defamation, simply comply.
For more details visit the following link and also view the full message board. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/24spec.htm
Other articles:
To seek help, reach to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/misusedowryact/
_________________________________________________________
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6708/sowryhar.html