India shifts dowry law against 'vindictive wives'

India shifts dowry law against 'vindictive wives'
As on Date July 4, 2014 By Amrit Dhillon

New Delhi: Munish Dalal became a national hate figure when his pretty and vivacious bride-to-be, Nisha Sharma, accused him of demanding more dowry on the eve of their marriage.

Ms Sharma was feted by the world’s press as an icon of feisty Indian womanhood for reporting her fiance to the police under the country’s anti-dowry laws.

These laws are aimed at tackling the husbands and in-laws who, even though they have received a dowry on marriage, abuse and torture a woman afterwards so that she asks her parents to hand over yet more cash and consumer durables.

Figures from 2012 show that one woman dies every hour in India over demands for more dowry.

The crime is so common that the law allows the police to arrest a man the moment his wife alleges that he demanded more dowry. No evidence has to be produced. Bail depends on the discretion of the judge. The man is considered guilty until he can prove his innocence.

But in a ruling this week, the Supreme Court said the police cannot arrest a man on the basis of an allegation. Condemning the law’s misuse by ''disgruntled'' wives ''as a weapon rather than a shield'', the court said the police must give reasons for the arrest that would then be examined by a magistrate.

''The ruling on arrests is long overdue. False cases had become an epidemic. We used to call it legal terrorism. Now men can sleep more peacefully,'' said Rohit Girdhar, a co-ordinator with the Save the Family Foundation in New Delhi, which has campaigned for the law to be amended.

Mr Girdhar, who was falsely accused by his wife but acquitted by the courts in 2012, said the foundation has thousands of victims whose ''poisonous and vindictive'' wives used the law to blackmail them into giving a fatter alimony, settle scores, ruin their name or to get custody of the children.   

One man who went to the foundation recently for counselling was a New Delhi music teacher. Mr Girdhar claims that the teacher’s wife was mentally unstable from the day he married her and kept false accusations of infidelity against him. Five years ago, as their marriage crumbled, she walked into the local police station to accuse him of demanding more dowry.

''That man’s entire family has been devastated. It took just one vicious woman to do it. He and his elderly parents have been running around the courts for eight years. By the time the verdict comes, it will be too late for this man. He has been damaged too much, he has lost his faith in people,'' Mr Girdhar said.

For women’s rights groups, given the high levels of violence against women, the ruling is retrograde. Brinda Karat, general-secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, said she was opposed to the dilution of a law that had come after years of debate and struggle.

''Dowry is rampant, worse than ever before. I oppose any law being misused but our studies show that men do get bail. Why is the Supreme Court not equally concerned about the women who are brutally murdered over dowry?'' Karat said.

For Mr Dalal, the ruling is sweet vindication. After being painted as a national villain a decade ago, in 2012, he was cleared by the courts. It turned out his fiance had been in love with another man. 

''She didn’t want to marry me but was scared of her parents. By accusing me falsely, she was trying to get out of the marriage without incurring their anger,'' Mr Dalal said. 

Source : http://www.smh.com.au/world/india-shifts-dowry-law-against-vindictive-wives-20140704-zsvg8.html

RAMPANT MISUSE and ABUSE OF DOWRY LAWS IPC 498A - Nisha Sharma case false on p7news on 4Mar12 with Advcate Sh Mahesh Tiwari and Jayanti Dutta, Psychologist and marriage counsellor

RAMPANT  MISUSE and ABUSE OF DOWRY LAWS IPC 498A

LEGAL TERORRISM unleashed by married women breaking families. The laws is being used by wife as weapon and being used as TOY. SCRAP or AMEND IPC 498a

Nisha Sharma case false on p7news on 04 March 2012 with SC Advcate Sh Mahesh Tiwari ji and Jayanti Dutta ji, Psychologist and marriage counsellor

Misuse of ipc 498a by Nisha Sharma exposed.Munish Dalal & family aquittal

Part 1/2 Misuse of ipc 498a by Nisha Sharma exposed.Munish Dalal & family aquittal Star News on 01mar12

 

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2/2 Misuse of ipc 498a by Nisha Sharma exposed.Munish Dalal & family aquittal Star News on 01mar12 

   

 

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Misuse of ipc 498a by Nisha Sharma exposed after 9 yrs.Munish Dalal & family aquittal news24-01mar12 

   

‘Nisha hero of Class VI book , I’m one with no principles. Munish's name should be removed from text books

Sitting in his West Delhi home, Munish Dalal flips through a Class VI English textbook and stops at Chapter 14, titled ‘Man in jail over dowry case’. 

It reads “A man was arrested from his Vikaspuri home after the family of his bride-to-be told the police that the groom’s family was demanding a large sum of dowry”.

The chapter in the book, published by the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), talks about Dalal and the woman who “stood up to him”, Nisha Sharma.

“She became a national hero for standing up (against) dowry when she was misusing the law blatantly. Even schoolchildren throughout Delhi read about how I was a man with no principles,” Munish said, waving the book angrily.

After hearing the case for nine long years, a Greater Noida court on Wednesday acquitted Munish, his mother and aunt of the charges that they demanded Rs 12 lakh dowry, following which Nisha called off the marriage on the wedding day.

The court ruled that Nisha levelled false dowry allegations against Munish as she wanted to marry someone else.

Munish sees the chapter in the textbook as a symbol of the public humiliation he suffered. “The court may have ruled in my favour, but my road to redemption is long. The first step is to have this chapter removed. How could they put this in when the court still had not given a verdict, is also a question I want answered,” he said.

Education minister Arvinder Lovely told Newsline that SCERT books have been phased out from curriculum in all schools of Delhi. “We use only NCERT books now,” he said.

Dalal married in 2008, has two children and works with a private company. He said he is happy that the court has come out with the truth, but the incident has left deep scars.

“On May 9, 2003, I had a wonderful life ahead of me. I was to be married, a government job was in the pipeline, and my family was happy. But my baraat was turned away,” Munish said.

That same night, a police complaint of dowry was filed against Munish, after which he was jailed for nearly two months.

“The next nine years, I watched the woman who ruined me and my family become the darling of the country. She appeared on talk shows, won awards, documentaries were made on her. I lost my friends, job prospects and peace of mind. There is much she has to answer for,” Munish said.

Meanwhile, D D Sharma, Nisha Sharma’s father, said: “We are not convinced with the court’s decision. We will consult our legal advisors, and probably appeal against the order.” 

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nisha-hero-of-class-vi-book-im-one-with-no-principles/919077/0

 

Nisha Sharma dowry case: Noida court acquits all accused

The Court found that Nisha Sharma's allegations were false as she wanted to avoid getting married to Manish Dalal

Rebel bride’s dowry charge junked

Aniruddha Ghosal, TNN Mar 1, 2012, 03.21AM IST

GREATER NOIDA: She hit the headlines nine years ago after calling off her wedding in front of 200 guests, alleging the groom's family had demanded a massive dowry at the last minute. But on Wednesday, all the fame and media adulation Nisha Sharma cornered in 2003 seemed misplaced when a court here declared she had fabricated the dowry charges to wriggle out of the nuptials.
Calling Sharma's action pre-meditated, the chief judicial magistrate at Gautam Budh Nagar district courts, Vipin Rai, acquitted all the four accused in the case - the groom Munish Dalal, his mother Vidya Dalal, his aunt Savitri Sharma, and Nisha's former classmate Navneet Rai.
The court noted that there was "insufficient evidence to prove that the demand of Rs 12 lakh had been made by the Dalal family a night before the wedding". The witness introduced by Sharma's counsel was "not related" to the family and had died during the course of investigation, opening up room for "benefit of doubt for the accused", the CJM said. TOI has a copy of the order.
After examining the evidence produced in court, the CJM ruled that Sharma was close to her classmate Navneet Rai and wished to marry him. Her family had discussed the alliance with Rai's family but it did not work out. Sharma's father then betrothed her to Dalal. The order says Sharma was unhappy with the match and had set her heart on marrying Navneet, so she cooked up the dowry story.
During investigation, Rai himself had testified against Sharma. Munish Dalal had claimed at the time that Navneet met and told him about his relationship with the woman.
On Wednesday, Sharma couldn't be contacted and her father DD Sharma refused to comment without seeing a copy of the order. "I haven't seen a copy of the court's decision and I simply can't comment upon the matter until I have seen it. Nisha still doesn't know about the order and I am not going to be the one who tells her. Let the court's order come tomorrow and then we will see. But if what the media is saying is true, we will definitely be appealing against the decision," he said.
A relieved Munish Dalal said the court had vindicated his position. "Nine years of my life were ruined and there is nothing that can make up for it and the amount of suffering that my family and I faced as a result of this. I was a government employee and just a month shy of completing my probation, but after these allegations my whole life and career were ruined."
Nisha Sharma and Munish Dalal would have tied the knot on May 11, 2003. But the wedding was called off when Sharma alleged the Dalals had demanded Rs 12 lakh cash and a car in dowry. She called the police and a case was registered against Munish, his mother and his aunt.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-01/noida/31112829_1_vidya-dalal-munish-dalal-nisha-sharma

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 Nisha Sharma dowry case: Noida court acquits all accused

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/nisha-sharma-dowry-case-noida-court-acquits-all-accused/1/176012.html

The Gautam Budh Nagar district court on Wednesday acquitted all the accused in the infamous Nisha Sharma dowry case for the lack of concrete evidence against them.
In 2003, the girl from Noida in the national capital region (NCR) shot into the limelight as she turned back her marriage party refusing to tie the knot because she claimed that her to be in-laws had asked for dowry.
The police arrested Nisha's to be husband Manish Dalal and his family members for dowry harassment.
However, the Gautam Budh Nagar district court acquitted all the accused saying there were not enough evidence to prove the charge.
The court also dismissed another case filed by Nisha against Navneet Rai, who had claimed that he was already married to the girl when the Dalals turned up at her residence for the marriage.
Though it came as a huge relief for the Dalal family, it was a big embarrassment for Nisha and her family members. Nisha had been hailed as a heroine in the fight against dowry after she turned back the marriage party.
Now, questions are also being asked about whether anti-dowry laws are biased against men and their families. The Sharmas are now planning to challenge the lower court order in a higher court.
Talking to Headlines Today, Nisha's father D.D. Sharma on Thursday insisted that the accused family was just let off because of lack of evidence against them and the court had not acquitted them restoring their pride.
On the other side, accused Manish said he and his family members suffered a lot because of the false allegations levelled against them. He said the court order came as a big relief to them.

 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/nisha-sharma-dowry-case-noida-court-acquits-all-accused/1/176012.html

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Nine Years Later, All Accused Acquitted In Nisha Sharma Dowry Case

 Noida, Mar 1: Nine years after he was arrested for demanding dowry, a local court on Wednesday acquitted Munish Dalal, his mother and aunt in the Nisha Sharma case for lack of evidence.

The case hit the headlines in 2003 when Nisha Sharma refused to marry Dalal at the eleventh hour alleging that the bridegroom's family had demanded dowry. Nisha Sharma was then hailed for her courage.

Nisha's father DD Sharma  had alleged the groom's parents had demanded additional dowry.

Following this, Munish Dalal, his mother and aunt Savitri Sharma were arrested. They were released on bail a few months later.

Chief judicial magistrate Vipin Sharma on Wednesday  acquitted them due to "lack of strong evidence". Nisha Sharma's advocate said they will challenge the order in a higher court.

Dalal's family had all along maintained that Nisha called off the wedding because she wanted to marry one Navneet Rai.

Rai had also claimed that he married Nisha at a temple and had produced some documents. Nisha had instead lodged a cheating case against Rai. The court also acquitted Rai.

"Citing lack of strong evidence, the CJM gave the benefit of doubt to the accused and ordered their acquittal. The prosecution also could not prove the documents produced by Rai were fake," said SN Verma, senior prosecution officer.

Nisha Sharma, a resident of Sector 56, Noida, overnight became an anti-dowry icon after she called off her wedding at the last minute. In November 2003, she married a resident of Modi Nagar.

After his acquittal, Munish Dalal said, "I have suffered a lot in these nine years. But as the judge read the acquittal lines, the first thing that came to my mind was that truth has won."

He said the 60 days he was in jail was the "most horrible period" of his life.

His mother Vidya Dalal said, "The court has pulled us out of hell and I thank God for that."

"I was working as a teacher and was to retire on May 31 of that year. Due to this episode, my gratuity and PF has not been released after all these years."
 http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/India/Nine_Years_Later_All_Accused_Acquitted_In_Nisha_Sharma_-14636.html

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Nisha Sharma dowry case: Court acquits all accused

 The Gautam Budh Nagar district court on Wednesday acquitted Munish Dalal and his family members in the 2003 Nisha Sharma dowry case. 

Nisha had made national headlines when, on her wedding day, she refused to marry Munish alleging that his family members had made a dowry demand the previous night.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Vipin Rai, while dismissing the charges against the four accused, observed that Nisha’s decision to call off her wedding was pre-planned.
In May 2003, Munish, his mother Vidya Dalal and aunt Savitri Sharma were booked in a police case after Nisha alleged that the family demanded Rs 12 lakh as dowry. The court in its order said there was “insufficient evidence to prove that the demand... had been made by the Dalal family a night before the wedding”.
The court also acquitted Nisha’s classmate Navneet Rai, who was also booked on the charge of giving false documents against Nisha.
The court ruled that Nisha was close to Navneet Rai and had wished to marry him instead of Munish. Nisha’s family had also approached Navneet for the marriage but when the proposal did not work, her marriage was fixed with Munish. Nisha who was not happy with her marriage then levelled false allegations of dowry demand.

 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nisha-sharma-dowry-case-court-acquits-all-accused/918505/