The Supreme Court on Friday will announce its verdict on the petitions filed against the stay on the immediate arrest in the dowry harassment case violating Section 498-A. The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice (CJI) Deepak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, will commence hearing in the case at 10.30 am.
The court will decide whether the husband and his relatives should be arrested on the complaint of harassment lodged by the wife. Earlier, a two-bench judge in July 2017 had said that to stop the abuse of Section 498-A (protect women from cruelty and harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), it is necessary that no arrest should be made before an initial investigation is done on every complaint.
The court ordered the formation of a three-member Family Welfare Committee in every district. The court had said that the committee will look into any complaint related to violation of Section 498-A.
If the committee finds the accused person guilty only then he can be arrested.
However, this verdict was challenged. In a petition filed in the SC, it was said that the apex court can’t make such changes. It further said that it was the responsibility of the court to protect women but after this verdict, no arrests were made in cases related to harassment of women.
Source: Zee News