SC restores police power in dowry harassment cases
New Delhi, Sep 14: The Supreme Court on Friday restored the police power to act on complaints of dowry harassment under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud struck down its earlier verdict that family welfare committees scrutinise dowry harassment complaints and submit their reports before police acts on the same.
It held that setting up of family welfare committees and powers conferred on these was "impermissible".
"There are statutory provisions and judgments in the field and, therefore, directions pertaining to constitution of a committee and conferment of power on the said committee is erroneous," Chief Justice Misra said while speaking for the bench.
Restoring police power to arrest, the court however said that police will act with caution in these cases. "We think it appropriate to direct the Investigating Officer to be careful in dealing with the complaints of dowry harassment."
Referring to its earlier judgments, the court said that arrests in cases where offence of dowry harassment attracts punishment of imprisonment of seven years or less, the Investigating Officer will affect arrests only on satisfaction that such persons had committed the offence.
He has to be further satisfied that the arrest is necessary to prevent such persons from committing further offence, including disappearance of or tampering with evidence or requirement of further investigation.
The court had, by its July 27, 2017 order, said that District Legal Service Authorities would constitute the family welfare committees.
The court directed state Director Generals of Police to ensure that Investigating Officers probing the offences under Section 498A were imparted rigorous training with regard to principles stated by the top court in its earlier judgments relating to arrests made in such cases.
Modifying one of the directions issued on July 27, 2017, the court said on Friday: "If a settlement is arrived at, the parties can approach the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the High Court... shall dispose of the same."
The apex court did not find any infirmity with said direction which said that "if a bail application is filed with at least one clear day's notice to the Public Prosecutor/complainant, the same may be decided as far as possible on the same day. Recovery of disputed dowry items may not by itself be a ground for denial of bail if maintenance or other rights of wife/minor children can otherwise be protected."
"Needless to say that in dealing with bail matters, individual roles, prima facie truth of the allegations, requirement of further arrest/custody and interest of justice must be carefully weighed."
The court also did not find any fault with the July 2017 direction that "in respect of persons ordinarily residing out of India, impounding of passports or issuance of Red Corner Notice should not be a routine."
The court's Friday verdict came as errors were found in some of the directions issued by a bench of the top court in its July 27, 2017, judgment that held the "potential to enter into the legislative field", while interpreting a statutory provision.
The core issue is whether the court could, by the method of interpretation, have issued such directions, including setting up of the family welfare committees by the District Legal Services Authorities and conferred powers on them to scrutinise complaints of dowry harassment before police could act on them.
Disagreeing with the court direction on setting up of the committees for scrutinising complaints, the court said: "The legislature, in its wisdom, has made the offence under Section 498A of the IPC cognizable and non-bailable. The fault lies with the investigating agency which sometimes jumps into action without application of mind."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man suspected to have contracted GBS dies in Maharashtra; cases top 100 in Pune
Pune (PTI): A man suspected to have contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune has crossed 100, health officials said on Monday.
This is possibly the first death in Maharashtra suspected to have been caused by the GBS.
The man, native of Solapur, had come to Pune, where he is suspected to have contracted the disease.
He died in Solapur, an official said without giving more details.
"The total number of GBS cases in Pune on Sunday increased to 101, comprising 68 males and 33 females. Of these, 16 patients are on ventilator support. One suspected death has been reported in Solapur," the state health department official said.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department continued surveillance in the affected Sinhgad Road areas here.
A total of 25,578 houses have been surveyed so far, including 15,761 in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 3,719 in Chinchwad Municipal Corporation limits, and 6,098 houses in the district's rural areas, the official said.
GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs, loose motions etc.
Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients, according to doctors.
While GBS is prevalent in both paediatric and young-age groups, it will not lead to an epidemic or pandemic, they said, adding that most patients recover fully with treatment.
The state health department set up the Rapid Response Team to investigate the sudden rise in this infection after 24 suspected cases were found initially.
