New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS): The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to declare unconstitutional laws primarily “targeting men” and “unfairly presuming men as aggressors in domestic disputes”.
As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and K. Vinod Chandran will hear the matter on February 3. The petition seeks direction to declare Sections 2, 3, 4 and 8A of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, S. 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and its equivalent in the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, S. 2 and 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic violence Act 2005, and S. 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as unconstitutional and invalid for violating fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and India's international human rights obligations.
“The impugned provisions primarily target men, allowing allegations to be treated as proof of guilt and creating a framework of presumed culpability that contravenes the fundamental principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’,” said the petition filed through advocate Pankaj Sharma. These laws unfairly presume men as aggressors in domestic disputes, thereby violating the right to a fair trial, it added.
“Dowry is misrepresented as a practice inherent to Hinduism, despite historical evidence of its origin in Roman, Greek, and Christian traditions. Hindu religious texts do not advocate for dowry practices; thus, laws that target Hindus in this context are arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion,” further said the petition.
The plea said that the imposition of dowry laws upon Hindus and the exclusion of Muslims reveal an arbitrary cultural misrepresentation, attempting to propagate an inaccurate stereotype. As per the petition, Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, by linking dowry with Hindu marriage practices, insinuates a false narrative that disparages the Hindu culture by artificially creating an association that has no factual or historical basis.
Similarly, it said that Sections 3 and 4 of the said Act also insinuates surreptitiously that the vice of dowry is committed and goes to the extent of strengthening the concept of dowry by penalising Hindu men on mere presumption of dowry demand, or the presumption of taking or abetting the taking of dowry.
“Section 8A of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, imposes a burden of proof of innocence upon the accused, contravening the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, a principle that forms the bedrock of natural justice,” it added.
The petition said that under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, women is presumed to be “aggrieved persons” based on their allegations, and automatically categorises men as “respondents.”
“The dowry laws and Section 498A of the IPC are misused as tools for harassment and extortion, especially against men and their families. These laws reflect a presumption of guilt, thereby denying men their right to a fair trial,” contended the petition.
Such weaponisation also reveals the malice embedded in these laws, promoting injustice rather than fairness, which violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India, it added.
Placing an implicit presumption of guilt upon men while presuming women as victims, disregarding individual circumstances or evidence, represents discrimination based on sex, infringing upon Article 15 of the Constitution and perpetuating societal bias, said the plea.