Section 498A was introduced in the year 1983 with the object to protect married women from cruelty caused by her husband or his relatives. The expression ‘cruelty’ has been defined in wide terms so as to include physical or mental harm to the body or health of the woman and indulging in acts of harassment with a view to coerce her or her relations to meet any unlawful demand for any 2 property or valuable security. Harassment for dowry falls within the sweep of latter limb of the section. Creating a situation driving the woman to commit suicide is also one of the ingredients of ‘cruelty’.
The legal conception of cruelty, which is not defined by statute, is generally described as conduct of such a character as to have caused danger to life, limb, or health (bodily or mental), or as to give rise to a reasonable apprehension of such danger. It has been said that to test cruelty by asking if it is cruelty in the ordinary sense of that term" is a dangerous test and further that it is doubtful whether any definition of cruelty applies equally well to cases where there has been physical violence and to cases of nagging, or to cases where there has been a deliberate intention to hurt and to cases where temperament and unfortunate circumstances have caused much of the trouble. If the court finds that one spouse has, by reprehensible conduct or departure from the normal standards of conjugal kindness, caused injury to health or a reasonable apprehension of it on the part of the other spouse then it is cruelty if a reasonable person, after taking due account of all the circumstances of the case, would consider that the conduct complained of is of so grave and weighty a nature that the complainant should not be called upon to endure it. To be a ground for matrimonial relief, the cruelty relied on must be cruelty occurring during the subsistence of the marriage but acts committed after cohabitation has ceased may be relevant in establishing a complaint.
The offence under Section 498A is cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Complaints of an offence under section 498A IPC can be filed before Crime Against Women Cell/ Mahila Thana/ Parivar Paramarsh Kendra of the concerned district where concerned officials summons the husband and the other in-laws of the complainant by issuing notice and/ or intimating telephonically and try to mediate both the parties for reconciliation.