IPC 498A - The most draconian law

IPC 498A – The most draconian law ever framed and a provision of the Indian Penal Code highly misused till date has been conferred the honor of breaking Indian families all over the world. From a definition and layman point of view, it seems a very productive and needed law. It has defined HARASSMENT of the MARRIED WOMAN or any of her relatives, herein referred to as harassment, to meet any UNLAWFUL DEMAND by the husband and / or his relatives as a cognizable offence and if proved guilty under trial can lead to imprisonment up to 3 years and / or fine. But all is not said and done with this law. There are gory loopholes in its definition, interpretation and implementation which can have far-reaching consequences legally, ethically, morally, emotionally, socially which are detrimental to the very existence of this society, whose welfare was upheld as the basis in the framing of such a draconian provision. Sounds, strange, ironical, but is surprisingly true as well. Let us have a look at how the law qualifies itself to be placed under the contentious category of DRACONIAN LAWS. We shall start with its definition and loopholes in this article and end with its consequences in the sequel to this one. Remain hooked to this space.

IPC 498A describes the harassment as a

1) Non - Bailable
2) Cognizable
3) Non Compoundable

offence. Now let us have a look into the details of the above terms. The problems with the above aspects of IPC 498A shall be dealt with shortly.

1) Non – Bailable: As soon as the case is made prima – facie, the accused shall be arrested and kept in judicial custody and bail will be given only by a 1^st class metropolitan magistrate, which shall be at the discretion of the magistrate, who shall have the powers to look into the case and decide thereupon.

2) Cognizable: The accused shall be presumed GUILTY until PROVEN INNOCENT. It also puts the burden of proof to innocence on the accused, i.e., if someone has been accused of the UNLAWFUL DEMAND, as described above shall need to prove that such a demand HAS NOT BEEN MADE for acquittal. It also gives the power of arrest to the police without any arrest warrant, who can arrest the accused, if necessary, after proper investigation.

3) Non Compoundable: The complaint, of such a nature, leading to an offence under IPC 498A once made cannot be taken back by the complainant.

Having described the marketable features of this law, we will now proceed to study the loopholes contained therein. But before that let us see, how one can make a case under this law. All it needs is a written / verbal complaint from the MARRIED WOMAN or any of her relatives or any other person on her behalf or any Govt. recognized NGO to the local police against the in – laws of the MARRIED WOMAN. The FIR will be registered by the police after necessary investigation by the police and once the FIR is registered the accused will be required to be arrested and produced before the jurisdictional magistrate within 24 hours.

No where does the law define any provision for verifying the tenacity and genuinity of the complaint made or its nature, nor does it say anything about the penalty of filing a false case under this section and getting innocents arrested and unleashing a mayhem of mental torture on them. These two aspects compounded with the above definitive aspects of this law are the prime deciding factors which have been contributing to its wide and rampant misuse by unscrupulous people looking for an opportunity to make a cut by falsely implicating innocents and bargaining with them for money or other demands.

As it is very easy to file a case under this section, and very hard for the accused to get a bail or avoid the case being filed against them without acceding to the demands of the complainant and all the more hard to get the accused convicted given the loose interpretive definition of a plethora of terms in its definition, the most feasible route to use this law to ones criminalist advantages is to file a false complaint against husband and in – laws and get them arrested and fake a physical injury to deny bail to the accused in order to break them down morally and spiritually so that the fear of a trial in spite of being innocent, subsequent potential conviction and the killing fear of social ostracism drives them to a compromise and then the case is quashed, or settled out of the court. This seemingly lucrative possibility of the out of the court settlement, ending in a monetary transaction from the righteous to the not so righteous, is the most attractive bonanza acting as the lifeblood of the virus called FALSE DOWRY CASE which gives unscrupulous and anti – family elements to get their way ahead legally and be termed as a COMPLAINANT and HARASSED and COMPENSATED after the monetary settlement is executed.

We will now examine the loopholes in this law which has led to such a wide magnitude of misuse of this law spanning geographies, Diaspora and time zones as has been corroborated by statistics and figures by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which show that 98 % of the cases are false and yet every four minutes a husband is arrested, every day an innocent child is arrested and every three hours a senior citizen is thrust unto jail under this section.

1) Case gets registered on a mere complaint. Nowadays it is not very uncommon that girls are forced to marry by their parents to well settled, nicely educated, high profile, wonderfully placed, money minting ATM machines, and these parents of the girls also spend lavishly in the marriage viewing it from a ROI (Returns on Investments) point of view. No sooner after the marriage the girl realizes that she is no longer happy in the marriage because the DREAMS she was shown prior to the marriage by her parents (often to convince her for the marriage) are mere DREAMS never meant to be realized, she starts complaining and the girls’ parents too think it as an opportunity knocking and start planning a case against the guy and his family. This sets the background for the case which gets registered sooner or later on a mere complaint. Since the innocent guy is busy shredding his perspiration giving his best shot at keeping his ATM machine full, he is caught totally unaware when the disaster strikes, let alone his parents who might not have dreamed such an ordeal even in the wildest of their nightmares, and in majority of the cases, the metamorphosis of a happily married man to a legal fighter dies prematurely and the matter ends with a monetary compromise.

2) As a monetary settlement is a very easy way out, even the executors of the legislative and the executive machinery in the law and order scenario, eyeing an opportunity in the available CUT, this misuse is patronized by them leading to its legalization under the false paradoxical sugar coated veil of WOMAN EMPOWERMENT and LIBERATION OF WOMEN. Also the Apex Court has now named this ongoing misuse as LEGAL TERRORISM.

3) Long live the Indian Legal System (still living in the dark ages), cases remain pending for years and are not settled, so the outcome of the trial happens like one in a million, hence conviction being next to impossible, the girls’ side in tandem with the legislative and executive machinery squeeze out the juice from the Man’s purse and have a field day.

4) The reason for initiating such a case as explained in the first point is just one of the many reasons leading to filing of such cases. There can be umpteen number of such reasons like, adultery, extra – marital affair, unwanted pregnancy, incestuous relationship of the girl with some of her family member, unexplained desire for no interference and financial control, extreme greed, leveling of petty marital discords under the devilish influence of false ego, pre-marital undisclosed mental disorders like Bipolar Disease, Borderline Personality Disorder, Delusional Disorder, Extreme mood swings to name a few. Under such scenarios it becomes very handy for the girls and their families to file a FALSE DOWRY CASE and get out of the marriage having made an obnoxious and inauspicious fortune.

5) But whatever be the reason, the undue sentimental balance of the legislative and executive machinery towards a particular class of women, the ease with which the case can be filed, the ease with which, on the basis of mere complaint of a lady, whose character and integrity remains to be questioned, one whole family ranging from small innocent children to pregnant sisters to aged, dependent and ailing parents are held at ransom and made to undergo unprecedented and uncalled for fury, wrath, torture, harassment, humiliation, character assassination, and many more atrocities, is also one of the major contributing factors to the spread of this family breaking disease called FALSE DOWRY CASE.

6) When we are small, we are taught many things by our parents, and other elders in the family. And sometimes it becomes necessary that we are punished as well to ensure that certain forbidden actions are never repeated nor a habit is made out of them. But as they say, TRUTH is STRANGER than FICTION, there is no, absolutely no punishment for filing a FALSE DOWRY CASE committing a crime of such a heinous nature. Rather, on the contrary, our honorable ministers are passing away the misuse falsely as a minor percentage and citing, “Mistake of facts” as the reason for the MINOR MISUSE they say is happening around. Will be covering more on the “Mistake of facts” syndrome in the sequel. This absence of punishment for alleging abuse falsely is the next major factor breast – feeding the monster called FALSE DOWRY CASE. The girls’ side very well knows that they have nothing to loose absolutely and hence they are all the more salivated to taste this piece of cake like a Labrador eyeing a bone.

7) On a brief note, the next reason lubricating the machinery of this racket of legal terrorism and legal extortion is the violation of the basic Human Rights Principle advocated by Amnesty International regarding the presumption of guilt on part of the accused. It says, the accused are to presumed INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, while this law presumes GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.

These are just some of the loopholes explained in brief which have cumulatively led to the spread of this disease called FALSE DOWRY CASE. There can be many more such loopholes which I might have missed / overlooked. Rest remains to be seen are the consequences of this misuse which will be covered shortly in the next article arriving at the nearest explorer very soon. Keep watching this space.

The Horse Trading

The SHO starts yelling at the Virag and his parents. They feel so helpless and suffocated. They are eagerly waiting for their lawyer and relatives to turn up. Meanwhile Virag has already informed Shankar uncle about the police and all. He comforts him saying, “Face the situation bravely. You shall come out of it.”

SHO: “What do you think of yourself, you are harassing your wife for dowry?”

Virag: “No Sir, this is not true. There is no dowry system in our community. And we have not demanded a single paisa from them. We have kept her very well. She has left on her own as she hates my parents and wants me to abandon them.

SHO: “Do not speak in front of me, go out and sit there.”

Dejected and tense, Virag comes out and sits on the bench. His parents are equally tensed. Just then his lawyers and relatives arrive. They feel a little better. Rishi comforts him, not to worry. He and his colleague talk to the police and they demand 12 lacs to settle the case.

Rishi: “What is your take?”
Virag: “I have not done anything; I am not going to give a single paisa. This is our hard-earned money; it is not going to these unscrupulous and non-deserving people just on the pretext of these nonsense and draconian laws. By the way, what are the odds that I do not pay?”
Rishi: “They will lodge a 498A complaint against you and your parents and all three will be immediately arrested. I will try to get your parents bailed out tomorrow on health and age grounds, your bail might take two more days. At max, you can say, 4 days, not more than that.”

Virag looks wary.
Rishi: “Take your time, there is no hurry, think about your options and then decide.”

Virag talks to his parents. They were scared and wanted to get out of the mess soon, even by paying. Virag is stubborn, does not agree. He reasons, that if we give up so early, these people will again come up with new demands. What is the guarantee, that we agree to pay now, what they want and they will not harass us again.

Virag: “They will get this as an easy tool of extortion. I have talked to Rishi, he will get us bailed. Also once jailed all there options will go then. But if we budge now and avoid arrest, we will give them more weapons to attack.”

Virag’s parents understood he was right. But still they hoped something might work out.

Virag: “See papa, they are demanding 12 lacs. Worst come worst, even if I fight them in court the whole of my life, the expenses will be a fraction of 12 lacs. Rest we have to decide.”

Virag currently was forging strength. Heart in heart he was sinking. There were so many things he had to handle, but he had never learned to break down in front of his parents. His strength made them proud, and this made him happy. Seeing him not breaking down, they also get strength and get ready to fight. Just then his cell starts ringing. It was his client’s call from US. Virag gets tensed. What to tell him? Can’t ignore his call.

Virag: “Hello.”
Client: “Hey Virag, can we start?”
Virag: “I am extremely sorry, I have entangled in some serious personal issues, and can we take this call later. I am again very sorry for having postponed it. Please give me some time.”

Virag’s voice conveys more than his words.

Client: “No problem. We will talk later.” The connection hangs up.

Virag: “Rishi, I am not ready to pay a single paisa. Let the law take its own course.”
Rishi conveys the same to the SHO. The case is registered and they are kept in custody. Viral and her parents leave the police station. The SHO while leaving the station shouts at Virag’s mother.

SHO: “You do not have a daughter, that is why you are treating her like this. I will expose you in the media.”

Now Virag understands as to why the SHO was not in a mood to listen to them and how was the case registered. He had been properly bribed and told what to SPEAK and what NOT TO LISTEN. He knows the system is flawed. There are gory loopholes open to widespread misuse. He thinks who is going to stop this LEGAL TERRORISM. The enemy has invaded into the families, the hearts, and the trust circle and it is very difficult to identify and deal with such an enemy.

His mom is taken by lady constable to the woman’s cell. Except for the SHO the other policemen, were well aware that the case is false, were sympathetic towards Virag and his parents. On Virag and his aunt’s request, they are allowed to sleep in the cabin (and not in the cell) with fan on and a sheet to cover.

January 26, 2008 Posted by readviru | Marria

The Arrest

Manager: “So how do you find the job here?”
Virag: “It is good. The atmosphere is nice, but at times I do feel that the challenge could have been more.”
Manager: “Hmmm, how do you feel so? The product and the domain, both are so vast, there is so much of learning involved. You can in fact, pick up a module and master it so that any one comes to me with an issue in that module, I can say the module man is Virag.”
Virag: “Yeah I do agree that there is indeed a lot of learning involved, and as you see since the past almost one year I have been working on this particular module and know it in and out. But what I feel that product knowledge is not an issue, it all depends on my zeal to learn, but I feel the lack of chance to learn the domain knowledge and business processes.”
Manager: “OK, I will keep this in mind and if anything comes up, shall keep you in loop.”
Virag: “OK Thanks.”

Some days later a customer project comes up. They had some issues with the product which needed to be solved at an urgent basis. The manager comes to Virag and tries to know if he’d be interested in taking up the project. Virag, seeing an opportunity to improve his communication skills and customer interaction tactics, takes up the project. Now he is i2 Technologies’ face to the customer. He is whole-n-sole responsible for the project. He works extra time to keep up to his standards since he was handling it alone and was handling it for the first time; the whole product was at his disposal. But he had the confidence to pull through. Also he had a KEY AWARD to his kitty to boost his morale for his work on his previous assignment. But one thing pulled him back and that was his marital problems. His estranged wife was trying to control him with the help of her parents. His in-laws were pressurizing him to abandon his aged and dependent parents so that they can interfere in his daily matters and get a grab of his financial control. He was slowly realizing it was a coy from their side to malign his parents’ reputation amongst his relatives, and putting a social pressure on him to succumb to their unjust demands. But Virag does not budge, and does not take a decision against his principles.

Meanwhile he was excelling in his project and was delivering a performance. The client had given him the liberty to call at anytime he had a doubt and also used to arrange the calls according to Virag’s convenience, keeping in mind the time difference between India and the US of A. It was the 10^th September 2007, Monday as per IST, so Monday morning being a Sunday evening for the client and as some serious discussion was involved the call was scheduled in the evening so it is Monday morning for the client. So Virag planned his work accordingly, patched it up by 7: 00 P.M. and reached home. Just he had parked his bike and reached for the elevator when a man approached him.

Man: “Are you Virag?”
Virag got a bit wary seeing the man’s appearance.
Virag: “Yes, why?”

The man flashes his identity card indicating that he was from the local PS. Virag froze. He understood, his wife had approached the police with a false complaint. Though he tries a bit to act as if he does not know what is happening. The man stopped him in the parking area and did not allow him to use him phone as well. Then swooped down the whole team. They were about six in number. Virag was made to sit inside the police van and told to wait. The security person informs his parents that he is being detained by the police. They rush downstairs.

Meanwhile Virag was now told that a dowry harassment complaint has been against him and his parents by his wife and her parents. Virag tries his level best to convince the police person that this complaint has no standing and he has evidence to prove his point, but he is not given any chance. When his mom arrives, he passes over his laptop and HIS CELL to her and tells her in Gujarati to inform Rishi (their lawyer). His mom takes away the laptop. And then calls up Rishi as well her sister, who stays across the town. Then the Station House Officer arrives. He insults Virag and his parents very badly and shouts at them and threatens them. Virag, as advised by Rishi, maintains his composure and tries to convince the SHO about the nullity of the case, but he had been bribed properly by Virag’s FIL, so he is in no mood to listen. All the three are taken to the police station on pretext of investigation.

Thanks a lot dear

A letter to my …… half (Will fill in the blanks with the right word at the end and readers will justify it.)

Thanks a lot my dear Viral. For readers who are not known to me, Viral is my beloved wife. She is a wonderful person, an awesome teacher, who used to give tuitions to school students before marriage, at least which was what I was told. And I used to think, what is it that she used to teach to her students. Now that I have learnt so many things from her, I cannot help but share my experience with you as you all have been so kind enough to tolerate the nonsense I have been blurting out so far.

Viral, my beloved wife taught me that life is not a bed of roses and it has thorns in it as well. Not only that, she proved that she was correct as I am now actually living with those thorns. Thanks a lot my dear for teaching the real meaning of life and being so brutally real to me. I was such a big fool, having married to you I was trying hard to convince myself that I have got a good and a matured life partner until you taught me that life can have some serious and unforeseen problems as well. And such deep is your love for me that you teach me everything with a real and a practical example. Thanks a lot dear for teaching me that women can be so bad that they tend to ruin the whole family. Thanks a lot dear for teaching me that when a woman (read a married woman) lies about her husband and her mother-in-law, adding spice to the dish with her crocodile tears (actually even a crocodile might shed actual tears knowing you are being described with the crocodile as an allegory), the society and the law happily believes her and starts consoling her and hangs the innocent husbands life on the gallows. Had you not filed a false dowry harassment case on me (again to teach me a lesson as I refused to desert my aged and dependent parents as per your wish) I would never learned that this case can be filed by any married woman and can also be filed even if dowry has never ever been taken or demanded, and this case can be used as threat weapon, a fear psychosis tool and a legal channel to extort money, so thanks for this knowledge as well dear.

Till so far I had just seen the jail in movies, but thanks to your false case and thanks to the Indian Legal System with its draconian laws(still living in the dark ages), I had a first hand experience of jail. Till so far I had thought only bad people used to stay in jail, but surprisingly enough I found many good people there and also got unexpected help from them, so dear, thanks for this enlightenment. I will indebted to you my darling for this. Thanks to you, I got to know who are my real friends and who are not, for when you made my parents’ and my life a hell, I had my friends to fall back upon and they stood beside me like a pillar. My innumerable thanks go to Anju Masi, Pradeep Masa, Ashok Uncle, Ravi, Bharat, Priyanka, Subhadra, and Harshini and how can I not mention Shankar Uncle (Subhadra’s father). And my special thanks go to Ishwinder; your mental support means a lot to me brother. You remember you used to tell me, “Darling, I will always be there for you.” I laugh it off today, for when you chose to walk out of my life, none of the above people told me, “Virag, I will be there for you.” They just came and stood there and did their bit, whatever they could. So once again thanks to you I could know so many nice people. And my real and sincere thanks go to these people. And my dear Viral, you very well know the smell (read odor) of the thanks I have been showering on you hitherto and shall continue to shower henceforth.

Today is 10^th December, we finish a quarter today, when I was tagged a criminal for an offence I did not commit. We also had a court date today. I find it so strange that when we had a nice 2 BHK flat, what made you choose the court as a place for dates. Thanks again for suggesting such a romantic place to meet, but this is not fair, as you call me there and do not come yourself. Sweetie, I will see to it that you come there and we have a nice time together. This is my promise to you, when you have given me so much it’s my duty; I am your MAN as per the law, so I have to return you whatever I get from you. Also the law, where it happily defines the “Natural Duties” of a MAN, it does not define any for the WOMAN. Now I know why sadistic females like you always crib of gender inequality. Anyways let’s celebrate the first quarter happily. So today was the court date. As expected I was at the court by 11, time when the court starts. I had a meeting in my office in two sessions, 12 – 1 and 1 – 2. I somehow convinced my manager for the first half, and told him that I will be there for the second half. But courts work at their own times. So I was sitting in the court, and we were waiting for the case to turn up.

My mom started complaining of back pain. Thanks to you again as now I know the posture which causes pain to her and will see to it that she does not take that posture again. Then I was feeling hungry so I went out and had some fruits. It was a mixed fruits plate and there was papaya in it. I hate that fruit, but my hatred for you was so deep that I ate that fruit (albeit unknowingly) and later realized that I had eaten papaya. So thanks once again dear, my mom gave up trying to teach me eat papaya (thanks to my stupid stubbornness I never learned to eat it), but see today I ate it and I liked it as well as now nothing tastes horrible than you, for you, as a life partner you have given me only bitterness and left no stone unturned in making my life horrible. When we were together, your bitterness was sugar coated with your false flattery and apple-polishing love gestures and now your bitterness is shameless like you as it comes naked to me. So thanks once again for removing that false paradoxical veil of sugar-coat.

Lunch time happened and then we had lunch at 2: 30 pm. We had white flour paratha. My father developed indigestion due to that. Thanks for the enlightenment, now I know where I have to be careful about my dad’s food. We had tea after that, there my dad told that the tea was laced with color (thanks to his 30 years of experience in the tea industry), so thanks again as I know now how does a color laced tea taste like and look like and I should not be happy that I am getting an economical tea. I was getting late for the office meeting. I finally told my teammate Bharat to handle the situation; he assured me he will do so. So thanks again as I know I can rely on him. After reaching office I met my manager and apprised him of my situation and he told me that he had managed it without me in the meeting. So thanks once again dear as I know my manager understands me and supports me. Venu, thanks (a real one) for this to you as well. And as you see I have been thanking, thanking and thanking in this post, thanking to you for the lessons you taught me in life and thanking others who were there with me when I found the lessons out of syllabus, so I will end this series with a last note of thanks to Rishi and Parvez (my lawyers).

And now I fill in the blanks, A letter to my bitter half.

It is up to the readers to justify why do I consider her as my bitter half, in spite of the lessons she taught me.

Thanks once again dear. I am indebted to you and this is a promise to you from your MAN as per the law and from a real spine-full MAN that I will repay your loan.

Reconcilliation

Marriage as an institution has always been highly placed in the Indian sociological scenario. It has been always been seen as the first step towards settled life and laying the foundation of family. But as they say, “All human troubles start from the inability to sit quietly in a room,” this so called sacred institution has its own dark side. Where, on one hand, marriage provides a platform to two individuals coming from totally different backgrounds and albeit different mindsets to come together, understand each other and be each others support in life, financially, morally, spiritually, emotionally and physically, it has its own uninvited share of problems. The most talked of and debatable of the problems associated with marriage is DOWRY. Sometimes the girls’ family give dowry as a pre-assumption that the boys’ family shall keep the girl happy and sometimes it is seen from the boys side as compensation to take care of the girl. With increasing reports from the media about the torture meted out to the Indian Daughter-in-law about dowry harassment and deaths due to it, the Govt. of India formulated the Dowry Prohibition Act in 1961 and introduced Section 498A in the Indian Penal Code in the year 1983, wherein harassment of the ‘wife’ for dowry was named as a criminal offence and extremely strict measures were provided within its ambit to protect the ‘Married Woman’ from the clutches of money-hungry dowry demanders. It just required a written unverified complaint from the girl or any relative on behalf of the girl to file a criminal case against the ‘HUSBAND’ and his family members and they would be arrested immediately and sent to judicial custody until either they were bailed out or chargesheeted and trial ensued. But it was a very big catch there, since the provision gave the police discretionary powers of arrest, and that too on an unverified complaint, as also filing a false complaint under this offense and leveling false accusations against the HUSBAND and his family did not attract any punishment on the girl or her parents, a lot of false complaints have started pouring in.

The police have a field day as they get a golden chance to make money from both sides for settling the dispute and the girls’ side get an upper hand as they can now extort money from the husbands’ family using the criminal case, the fear of police, arrest, and social stigma associated with jail as a weapon. Cases where money is not a prime concern, such a false case has been used by the girls’ side to get their unjust demands conceded, like staying separate from the boys’ parents, siphon boys’ hard earned money to girls’ parents if the boy is rich / well to do, or to end a relationship where the ‘expectations’ of the girl were not met, or to break a marriage to marry someone else whom the girl is in love with, or to get custody of children, and a plethora of such reasons. But it is not always the girls’ side that has to be blamed, many a times it has been found that the girls and their family have been ill-advised and misguided by unscrupulous and insincere lawyers who are out to make their own money. There have been cases where the judges also force the boy to compromise. And in such cases and many more, the girls repent for having taken such a step and they hope for reconciliation and want to arrive at a compromise. And so we have the next obvious big question, “What should the man do, reconcile or not with a wife who has a filed a false case of dowry harassment?” So we will take a peek at that possibility, its chances of occurrence and possible / fearful repercussions.

If the boy decided to take the girl back, then on one side it looks like a marriage has been saved and both of them have given a second thought to the relationship despite considerable differences and this shall highlight the importance of the institution of marriage as also shall throw light on the necessity of tolerance, acceptance and adjustment to make a relation work. Also it shall save the courts from being overburdened with another case and both the families from the headache of another marriage. In case the couple had children, they would be spared the tragedy of a single parent, as for a successful upbringing the child needs both the parents as has been corroborated by a study in US that children brought up by single mom have a increasing tendency and majority of them turning out to be criminals when they grow up. It will also set an example to others about how a relation can be saved.

Having said that, let us have a look at the other side of the coin. It has to kept in mind that the dowry case is false and the allegations has been fabricated and a severe breach of trust has been committed by the ‘wife’, leading to severe deterioration of the economical, emotional, and reputational health of the HUSBAND and his family. If a woman can walk into the police station and levy false accusations on the husband and forces him to concede to her ‘DEMAN DS’ deemed as ‘JUST’ by an explanation sounding logic to her ears, taking undue advantage of a law that has been made to protect the ‘WEAKER’ women, this thought of bringing such a woman back into one’s life shall invite justifiable contention. When already she has crossed the line, what is the guarantee that she will not cross it again or she will not cross it again with a larger fury? The first time she filed the complaint in a fit of immaturity and had not done her homework properly and therefore could not get what she wanted and thus offers the bait of compromise to be able to enter the house again and plan a proper route to jail for her husband and her in-laws. She will collect evidence in her favor, humiliate in-laws and instigate them to create a scene of violence, for when a woman gets vindictive she gets very dangerous and ruins everyone around her, including self. She can forge drama that there has been attempt to her life and limb by any means like, cutting her hands, or setting her sari on fire and dousing it and portraying it as act to murder her and all she has to do is to utter the word, ‘DOWRY’ in front of the police and the in-laws are behind bars and in deep shit, even if they are innocent and the woman shall have the power to make them dance at her whims and fancies.

Bringing her back, would also empower her by granting access to your possessions (financial instruments, emotions, attachments) to a serpentine creature, who can misuse them to the core. It will set a bad example in a society encouraging other women to resort to such tactics and rule their husband’s life and family. We need to keep in mind that no law can run a household and once the petty marital discords have been shaded legally, the relationship has been murdered in all practical aspects and it is just a matter of time before it is dead on paper. Even if the couple has children and they reconcile for the children, it will be very hard for the couple to stay peacefully, the grudge shall always remain, howsoever the husband is mature and understanding and those children shall always see their parents fighting and will fail to develop faith in the institution of marriage. Expectations should have a limit. If the woman expects that she will keep dancing and choreographing her husband’s and in-laws’ movements and ultimately when she fails, she should be forgiven and provided one more chance, then it has to borne in mind that the MAN had been tagged a criminal for no fault of his and he and his family has gone through a stage of tremendous trauma, stress and unwanted, unforeseen and uninvited hardships, all thanks to the false complaint filed by the wife. It involves monetary loss (perhaps recoverable), emotional draining (irrecoverable and leaves incurable mental scars), reputational assassination (recoverable only to a certain extent, and that too depends on how the individual handles it and perceives it). There has to be accountability for such huge losses and inflictions and effective means to curb such a menace.

With this note, I leave it to the readers to decide whether they would like to reconcile and die a death every day or fight back the menace, contribute their bit to create awareness and save other families and emerge an overall winner in life. I will end this article with a final analogy. A wife who has filed a false criminal case on her husband to settle petty scores and money extortion can be compared with this situation. Imagine someone stuck badly in city traffic and has an urgent nature’s call to attend to and at the same time feeling thirsty and wants to have water. The water that was present in the body has been marked as waste and he needs to get rid of it and at the same time he needs some fresh water to quench his thirst. As long as the waste water remains in his body, he will feel uneasy and those toxins in the waste water shall start ruining his system slowly. He needs water, but cannot use the water present in his body; he has to get rid of it. The waste water is a wife who files such a case. In order to carry on in life properly, the man has to get rid of such a wife as soon as possible. The fresh water is new life for the man, the definition and demographics of which are context dependent and individual defined.

The Relation

Her mom had noticed the smile and the shine in her face. She was happy and grew wary at the same time. Time and again she had seen gory incidences of teenage couples splitting up on stupid issues and causing grave and at times irreparable losses to their lives, careers, mental peace and spiritual happiness. Being a relationships counselor such problems were a daily occurrence to her. But she knew Jahnavi, her daughter, her darling and her SON and was just waiting for the right moment to talk to her.

Jahnavi, on the other hand, was very happy. Her first date and that too with a moron. She was indeed happy, happy about the dinner, Pooja’s background, and more importantly, Jignesh’s company. Such a sweet memory. Little did the poor soul know what awaited her? Our hero, Jignesh was also no less ecstatic. He had been waiting for this meeting since ages he felt. He seemed like travelling in a desert, alone, tired, worn out, thirsty and suddenly cited an oasis and later reveled to know that it was not a mirage, it was an actual water body which not only quenched his thirst, but rejuvenated him for the arduous journey ahead.

In the morning she got up, got ready and went to the breakfast table. Her mom had been waiting for her.
Mom: “Hi sweetheart, how is my darling doing?”
She smiles, her mother was like her world to her, as her father was busy with his business he did not get much time to devote to family except for on holidays, if he is not travelling.
Jahnavi: “I am fine mom.”
Mom: “So how was the party yesterday?”

Jahnavi forgot she had put up an excuse of going to a classmate’s birthday party. Though her mom was not very supportive of the modern urban fast life, she never was too strict and had given Jahnavi her own space and freedom to blossom and prosper, so she was not very inquisitive about who the friend is and other informative details. So when Jahnavi told her about the party she was not very enquiring. But now, Jahnavi had forgotten about the excuse, she was still lost in the reverie of the DINNER.

Jahnavi: “Oh it was fantastic mom.”
Mom: “So how old have your friend turned up?”
Jahnavi: “Which friend?”

She froze. Immediately she realized the blunder she had just committed and was not sure whether her mom had actually caught her or not. She had. But she was a better player than her daughter. Jahnavi tried some damage control.
Jahnavi: “Mom we did not want to embarrass her on her day, so just did not ask. I am done with breakfast. Getting late, have to rush. See you in the evening.”

She gasped for breath. She cursed herself for being so involved in Jignesh’s thought that she did not realize goofing up the whole thing. But she slowly recuperated that probably her mom has already caught her and wanted her to disclose. But she was not yet ready to disclose. She decided to postpone the matter. Right now she had only one thought on her mind, Jignesh. Oh really, not really, she had Pooja also in her mind. She felt like giving the girl a piece of her mind.

But then another thought crossed her mind and that was not so pleasant. Although Jignesh had expressed his pleasure to be in Jahnavi’s company and had also cared for her to call her from Delhi, she was yet not sure of his feelings for her and how seriously he considered this relationship, and moreover with Pooja being around she felt a little bit insecure as well. She treasured Jignesh very much and was not willing to lose on him.

Beep goes her cell. Jignesh’s text.
“Hi, where are you?”

The name of the sender was more than enough to make her smile, blush and flush at the same moment. She was again beaming. She replied.
“Coming, on the way. Learn to have some patience ” She was happy teasing him. But Jignesh was looking for her. Just when Pooja called him from the back.
Pooja: “Hi Jignesh, how are you?”

This was the least he had expected. Already he despised her presence as that used to remind him about his work being shared. Being the only child sharing came to him with a price. However, he composed himself to answer.

Jignesh: “I am fine. How are you?”
Pooja smiles.
Pooja: “I am fine.”
Jignesh: “I have some work. Will see you later.”

Hurriedly he left towards the library. Jahnavi had seen him leaving. She was wondering, what might be the nature of conversation between them and did Jignesh see her before leaving. She was not sure of this. Anyways she found herself drifting towards the library. Pooja was not sure as to why Jignesh avoided her. Being a smart and beautiful girl, she had never experienced boys avoiding her. This all the more aggravated her curiosity and wanted to know as to why Jignesh avoided her? Was there someone already in his life? Or was he doing all this just to make her beat around the bush for him? If there is someone already in his life, then this stupid fellow does not know, he is missing something not worth losing? These thoughts were enough for her to follow him. She knew it could only be one place where he was to be found – The Library. So she maneuvers herself towards the temple of knowledge. And she is aghast at what she sees. Jignesh talking to a girl. She could no longer stand it. She places herself in such a position wherein she can overhear the conversation without being noticed.

Jignesh and Jahnavi were busy in themselves bothering the least about others. They were talking, laughing and having a gala time together.

Jahnavi: “You know, I think mom has come to know that I did not attend a birthday party yesterday. She asked me the age of the friend and I was so engrossed in yesterday’s dinner that I just told, ‘Which friend’ and I immediately realized the blunder I had committed and ran from there.”

Jignesh was laughing his lungs out. Jahnavi saw him laughing in such a manner for the first time and fell all over for his laughter and so was falling Pooja. She could hardly stand Jahnavi there. Somehow he contained his laughter and spoke.

Jignesh: “I was also very restless since the evening. I just want to tell you Jahnavi, you looked awesome in that dress. I was just thinking about you ever since. Made a blunder at the breakfast table as well.”

The words made her day. I just want to tell you Jahnavi, you looked awesome in that dress. What more could she ask for? Had been waiting to hear this since ages. And now there was more she was waiting to hear, the blunder. She thought, it is high time he has not given a performance.

Jahnavi: “What happened in the morning?”
Jignesh: “Well, I was lost in the thoughts of the evening and was applying butter on the lid of the butter can, rather than the bread. I did not realize till my mom told, ‘Breads are yet soft my dear, do you mind concentrating on your breakfast.’ I just realized what had I been up to and just grinned. Then I left, saying I am still tired by the journey.”

Both of them were started laughing. Then they realized, they had been talking for quite some time and became conscious again. Slowly the laughter subsided and both of them gave each other a look with a smile. Amazon forest was already on fire; Pooja was burning seeing all this.

Jignesh: “I have some work in the library, I will see you later.”
Jahnavi: “OK, see you.”

Jignesh was now no longer alone. She was with him all the time. But now he was a bit tensed. He was in a dilemma. He was feeling good talking to her. More than that what was more enjoying today was his ability to tell her that he had liked her in the evening and also about his breakfast blunder. Slowly he realized, he was opening up to her. He found himself betraying his personality. He was surprised, how he could speak so much in front of Jahnavi. He realized he was changing. Whether the change was good for him was not known to him, but he definitely enjoyed in her company and was also feeling good telling her about his feelings.

Jahnavi, on the other hand, was engrossed in a plethora of thoughts. On one hand, she was at cloud nine for seeing a caring, sharing and sensitive Jignesh for the first time. She had been living to see this facet of his. But one thing definitely bothered her. And the most surprising aspect of this botheration was that she had confidence in Jignesh but not on herself and definitely not on Pooja. She knew it could be only a Hi-Hello meeting, but could not ask this to Jignesh. What if he is upset, what if he sees the lack of trust? Moreover she thought Jignesh would tell her by himself.

Pooja was restless by now. Whatever she heard, was least expected by her. She could never think even in her wildest dreams that a moron like Jignesh would have the guts and ability to woo a girl like Jahnavi for a dinner. All the while she was disturbed as to how it could possibly happen. Now she could very well relate those phone calls of Jignesh. Given his image, she thought he is calling his mother from Delhi, but now the revelation was uplifted. He used to talk to Jahnavi. She was feeling very dejected. She had been approached by guys many times, but she had liked none and nothing went beyond a little flirting. But she had liked Jignesh from day one and now she saw him being taken away by Jahnavi. She was in a fix, what to do.

The day got over and they met again at the coffee table and were lost once more. Pooja noticed them and walked away silently.

The Dinner

The plane touched down Mumbai airport at 6:00 PM. It had been a long flight for both Jignesh and Jahnavi. She was waiting for his call that he has arrived and then she wanted to tell him that she will be waiting for him at “The Paradise” hotel. Jignesh was silent in the whole flight, just sat closing his eyes, thinking about Jahnavi and wondering if she would agree for the dinner or not. Pooja noticed him deeply engrossed. She had tried to talk to him in the airport but he was not much entertaining, and so she thought, he was tired, but of late she was slowly realizing that he is deeply involved in some thoughts. Maybe someone. She guessed. And then ruled out the possibility, What bullshit, she thought. After finishing the airport formalities, the first thing Jignesh did was to call up Jahnavi.

He must have boarded the plane. He must have had his lunch properly. He must be talking to Pooja. She must be trying to talk more to him, as he will not talk. Idiot is a moron and will ever remain so. Stupid, Idiot, Donkey, Monkey, Fool. Did not even tell me about Pooja, or his paper, or its selection, or his trip. All he could tell about was Sid. Who wants to know about him?
Tring Tring.

And her cell blows away to glory. She sees the number and beams with joy.

Jignesh: “Hi, I am back. How are you?”
Jahnavi: “Oh Jignesh, I am fine, how was your journey?”
Jignesh: “Pretty well. What is your……?”

Just at that moment, Pooja motioned to him that she was leaving.

Jignesh: “Yeah, bye. See you later.”
Jahnavi: “What!!!”
Jignesh: “Hey nothing, I was just saying bye to Pooja. What is your plan in the evening? If you are free, we can meet up for dinner.”

Jahnavi was boiling. Already the thought of a girl with him since the past three days had disturbed her, and now to add fuel to the fire, he was bidding her bye-bye while talking to her. She felt like putting some excuse, but that would mean lying as she had been waiting for the dinner. She could not. She agreed.

Jahnavi: “I guess we can meet. Tell me where do you want me to meet?”
Jignesh: “Hotel Paradise, 7:30 PM? Sounds music?”

Jahnavi smiles and is taken aback at the same time. How did he know?
Jahnavi: “Sure, I will be there.”
Jignesh: “On time, I assume.”

Smiles and hangs up. Jahnavi was doubly surprised. Is this the same moron she had seen here? For the first time ever she had seen him in a little mischievous spirit and liked it very much. She wore light Pink Salwaar Kameez, put up slight lipstick (pink), a little lip gloss, a little eye shadow, a bit of mushkaara, a pinch of foundation, a small bindi, her watch, a yellowish-orange double shaded chunni, flats and started off. Jignesh put on a Black Shirt and Blue Denim, his watch, shoes and walked off taking his wallet with him. Both of them were very excited. Made some stupid cooked up story to account for not having dinner at home and set off to dash into each other.

It is 7: 30 PM. Jignesh is waiting. She lands up at 7: 45 PM. Jignesh is taken aback seeing her. He had never seen her so beautiful. He wanted to reprimand her for being 15 minutes late, but her beauty compensated for everything. He fell in love with her all over again and thanked Sid again.

Jahnavi: “Hi.” Her tone was soft and she was a bit nervous and shy.
Jignesh: “Hi.” His tone was full of romance and life. He felt like dancing with her.
Jignesh: “Ummm shall we?” He led the way. Both of them seated at a cozy corner 2 seater table.

Now both of them were in a fix. In spite of having a plethora of topics to talk upon, they were not sure, where to start, how to start, what to start? Jahnavi knew very well, today she needs to forget that she is a girl; she will have to take the lead, as the moron is a useless waste material with absolute purity. No mixture.

Jignesh: “You are looking very beautiful today. I could never imagine you can look so good.”

She melted. She was not prepared for this. Since the last two days she has been getting one after another surprises, some pleasant and some not so pleasant. She gathered herself and spoke.

Jahnavi: “Thanks.”

This was all she could say. She somehow wanted to start the topic of Pooja, how did he meet her? How did they become teammates? And most importantly, how close had they grown? But she was not feeling very comfortable; she could not understand the reason for it. Everything looked so nice. She was dining with him. She had also noticed the stare he was giving her. Not for a second could he remove his eyes off her. Also the glare and the warmth in his vision were not alien to her.

Jignesh, on the other hand, was totally oblivious to her objection regarding Pooja. He was more concerned regarding Sid, though he had a slight inkling, she has accepted it, as otherwise she would not have entertained his messages, call and dinner proposal. He too thought to start the topic but was somehow not feeling comfortable as he was stunned with her beauty today and was also aware that probably she is aware of this, but he knew things had to move forward.
Waiter: “Order, sir.”

Hurriedly they finished off giving him orders. It was just a necessary disturbance to them; none of them was interested in the menu. They were far too engrossed with things tastier than food, at least for today’s evening. She smiled. He basked in glory and gave slight grin. His dimples appeared. She felt awesome. Oh my God he is so cute and his dimples, I love them. She fell for his smile.

Jignesh: “Hey you know, we won the contest there.”

Jahnavi was jolted out. Aah, this stupid moron, what better can be expected of him? She thought. Now she had no other choice but to participate with him in the boring discussion. So she did.
Jahnavi: “Oh that is great. So where is my treat?”
Jignesh: “We have not met to discuss the agenda for our next meeting. This is the treat. And this is a special one for you. Only you.”

Jahnavi felt ridiculed at the stupid question of hers. And then Only you had made her evening, she did not need anything more.
Jahnavi: “Then you should be ideally celebrating that with Pooja; you see she worked with you on the project.”

Jignesh was surprised. He was not prepared for this. But life is not an easy test. He answered.

Jignesh: “Pooja? Well I never wanted to share my success with her. She is some relative of the principal and he had insisted me to take her. All work was mine. Had to include her at the last moment. Not only had to share credit with her, also had to explain to her the concept and then help her prepare for the presentation. That was the reason I could not even meet you on the day of leaving, as I was engaged in explaining my paper to her in the Library.”

Probably most of the questions bothering Jahnavi had been answered. This revelation also explained why Pooja was never mentioned to her, as there was no Pooja ever. She felt bad for cursing her Jiggu for this and cursed Pooja like hell. Later. She thought. But now she was happy. Not only that Jignesh had not concealed anything from her, but he was also unhappy that Pooja had been dropped on him. She felt bad for Jignesh as his credit was divided now and she also knew that Jignesh will never declare this in public that the paper was solely and entirely his efforts and Pooja had nothing to do with it.

Jignesh: “But this is just revealed to you. Even Sid is not aware of this. So be very careful. Everybody is under the impression that we worked independently and parallely on this and then clubbed at the behest of the principal.”
Jahnavi: “Don’t worry about it. No one will get to know the truth. I know it is harmful for you as well.”

Both of them were feeling better now. They talked about many things, the rest of the evening, whilst during the dinner and then the walk, post dinner. Jignesh dropped her home, bade her goodnight and left. Jahnavi kept watching him for a few minutes, when her mom jolted her out of the reverie.

Mom: “If your show is over, we might walk in.”
Jahnavi was shocked.
Jahnavi: “Yes mom.”
She ran straight into her room. It is time to talk to her now, her mom thought.

The Seminar and the call

Jignesh was preparing to leave for the airport when his cell beeped. He had got a message.

All the best, when is your presentation?

Jahnavi had wished him. He replied.

Thanks for the wishes. Reach there tonight. Presentation is in two stages. Tomorrow afternoon and the morning of the day after tomorrow.

Then he left for the airport and all this while he was just thinking about Jahnavi and realized how badly he missed her. He regretted for not getting a minute to talk to her throughout the day. He had really put in a lot to prepare his paper and had truly hoped and wished for his paper to be selected, but today when his paper was actually selected he was feeling more dejected for missing Jahnavi than feeling ecstatic for having achieved the feat. Now he wanted time to flyby and he could go and talk to Jahnavi.

On the other hand, the situation of Jahnavi was also no less perturbed as she was also missing Jignesh like anything. Though she was aware, there was a lot to be discussed between them, but these short messages meant a lot to her. She was surprisingly feeling much better than how she was feeling after just talking to Sid. And again beep goes her cell. Saakshi had texted.

Need some big help. Tell me what you can do.

Reading that, Jahnavi suddenly realized that she was going a bit slow in her studies, now that Jignesh is not around for three days, she can probably make it up by studying. Also she thought going over to Saakshi’s place she can study well, for Jignesh won’t let her study in her own room. He used to get very naughty inside the room. She loved it and despised at the same time. So she went over to her place and spent the night there only.

Next day was hell in college. Jignesh was not there in the college. She missed him at the breakfast table, during lunch break and all throughout the day. Similarly Jignesh too missed her in the breakfast. He told his project mate that he did not feel like having breakfast, but she insisted saying that they will sit through the presentations and required to be attentive as well, so they better eat something and go. Being an ardent student of biology, this was not Greek-Latin to Jignesh but he had other reasons for not having breakfast which he will not be able to explain to Pooja, his project-mate. Finally he had the breakfast thinking about Jahnavi and after that entered the hall where the presentations were going on and they sat through them, some were interesting, some were boring. Jignesh was struggling to concentrate. Their turn was to come up after lunch. After they finished their today’s part of the presentation, they headed towards the canteen to have tea.

Jignesh: “Hey you just order something; I will join you in a moment.”
Pooja: “OK.”

Tring Tring
She was so engrossed in Jignesh’s thoughts that she did not even bother to see who is calling and received the call dispassionately.

Jignesh: “Hi.”

Jahnavi could not believe her ears.

Jahnavi: “Jignesh!!!! Is that you?”
Jignesh: “Yeah it is me. How are you?”

Someone had injected life into her. Her face started beaming with happiness. Excitement overpowered her, poor girl, barely could she speak.

Jahnavi: “I am fine, how about you? How was the presentation? Did you have anything? Did you sleep properly?”

Jignesh smiled. The moment she would start showering so many questions he would understand that she is too happy and now he was also feeling so happy talking to her.

Jignesh: “Hey I am fine here. Presentation was good. We had lunch and now we will have tea. But I could not sleep properly as I was tensed about the presentation. You know I worked hard for it. Let us see how the second session goes tomorrow and then we have the results on the day after tomorrow and same evening we will leave.”

Jignesh was not feeling comfortable lying. He could not sleep as he was thinking about Jahnavi and was missing her. He had also thought of calling her, but discarded the idea.

Jahnavi: “Hmmm. You told me, ‘We had lunch and now we will have tea’. Do you mind elaborating on ‘we’?

Jignesh was confused, why she is asking like this.

Jignesh: “Oh that’s Pooja; we are jointly presenting the paper. I will hang up now. Call you later. Bye and take care.”
Jahnavi: “Bye.”

These revelations were disturbing to her. He is with Pooja there. And I was not even aware that Pooja has been his co-worker on this project. But so what, he remembered to call me. And I am sure there are many things he wants to tell me, just that we are not getting time.

The whirlwind of thoughts continued and the day passed. It is again lunch time the following day. Her cell goes ringing. This time she was sure about the caller. It looked like ages to her since she was waiting for this call.

Jahnavi: “Hello Jignesh, how are you?”

Jignesh sensed something. But he chose not to mention it now. Anyway he was apprehending a long talk with her on returning.

Jignesh: “Hey I am fine. You know the session was brilliant. We handled it so well. Today was the questionnaire round and we faced the brickbats in an awesome manner, to be honest. I am feeling great. Now I do not care about the final results. And how is your college going on?”
Jahnavi: “Nothing much here, just normal college life going on. But I am happy you had a great session there. What time will you reach here tomorrow?”

Jignesh had not ignored the eagerness in her voice and the anxiety with which she was waiting for him to return. He liked it and also did not want to keep her waiting for long.

Jignesh: “We have our flight at 3: 30 pm. So we should touch down Mumbai by evening I guess, if there are no delays in the flight. Hey listen tomorrow I have a packed schedule here and might not get time to call you. Can we meet for dinner?”

Somehow he had gathered all his strength to ask this question and this was the first time he was asking this to a girl and that too without consulting Sid. But then he thought, it is his life after all and Sid cannot take all decisions.

Jahnavi: “Why don’t you give me a call on reaching? Will plan accordingly.”
Jignesh: “OK, bye.”

As usual, he was confused again and the million dollar question making rounds in his mind was, Gosh, was it right on my part to ask her for dinner? We have yet not discussed Sid properly, anyways the arrow has departed from the quiver, cannot be undone. Will handle it on reaching Mumbai. He thought.

Why does he need to use words like WE, OUR? Can’t he say I have my flight at 3: 30 pm. Stupid, idiot. Wait let him come? He needs a good class. Thinking this she blushed and then smiled. Her face was again glowing with joy as Jignesh had asked for a dinner date. She could not believe Jignesh could do this, but was happy that he did and she was also feeling great as she had kept him in dark about her decision. Slowly she realized she loved teasing him. She could comprehend his situation, Will she, won’t she? And this question was really driving the nuts out of Jignesh. Pooja was busy summarizing the day with him but he was lost. Twice she shook him to jolt him out of the reverie. Felt like asking him, but something just stopped her. She liked him, but he had never shown any personal interest in her.