'Domestic violence law is gender biased'

'Harassed' husbands come out in protest against the black law on third anniversary of the Act

'Harassed' husbands come out in protest against the "black law" on third anniversary of the Act

A law to domesticate the 'animal' within some of their ilk is being used to make them soft targets, feel husbands facing litigation by their wives.

Protesters at a demosntration against the Domestic Violence Act on the third anniversary of the law on Sunday in New Delhi pic/Rajeev Tyagi

Today is the third anniversary of the Domestic Violence Act enacted by the previous UPA government. Apart from the kudos that the then Women Welfare Minister Renuka Chowdhury got for the law, there were apprehensions that some women might misuse it against their hubbies.

To mark a protest, the Save the Family Foundation organised a demonstration demanding to make the law "gender-neutral" and plugging the "loopholes".

"The government should amend the law to ensure that it should not be misused," said Yogesh whose wife had reportedly filed a "false" case against him and his family.

Neeraj Aggarwal, the man behind the Save Family Foundation, said: "The Domestic Violence Act is full of loopholes, because of which it is being increasingly misused by a lot of women. Efforts must be made that the law is just and gender-neutral so that no one can take advantage of it".

"The Act assumes that women are always the victims. Hence they are not required to provide any proof for their claims. The sole testimony of the so-called aggrieved person is enough for the court to conclude that an offence has been committed. This is a baseless assumption that helps people misuse the law," Aggarwal said.
Submitting a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil on amending the law, the NGO further said that the decision on the custody of the child should be made by a court based on fair hearing of both parents. "Due to lack of social support and legal protection, many male victims of domestic abuse are taking their lives everyday.
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According to the statistics 57,593 married men committed suicide compared to 30.064 married women in the year 2007," Aggarwal said.

"False cases are severely hampering personal and professional lives of the most productive section of the Indian population. The so-called 'women protection' laws are in fact causing more harm than good to women. In every false case, at least two women, a mother-in-law and a sister-in-law are accused," he added.

Why the law
Till 2005, remedies available to a victim of domestic violence in the civil courts (divorce) and criminal courts (vide Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code) were limited. There was no emergency relief available to the victim; the remedies that were available were linked to matrimonial proceedings; and the court proceedings were always protracted, during which period the victim was invariably at the mercy of the abuser. And, relationships outside marriage were not recognised.

This set of circumstances ensured that a majority of women preferred to suffer in silence and therefore, the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2005 was passed.