Introduction

The Supreme Court on Tuesday highlighted its concern over the widespread misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which addresses cruelty inflicted by husbands and their families on married women. This observation was made in the case Dara Lakshmi Narayana and Others v. State of Telangana and Another.

A Bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice N Kotiswar Singh pointed out that the provision, originally designed to safeguard women from domestic abuse and harassment, is increasingly being misused by some women as a tool to pressure their husbands and in-laws into meeting unreasonable demands.

The Court remarked, “In certain cases, Section 498A of the IPC is invoked not to address genuine grievances but to coerce the husband and his family into fulfilling unjustified expectations of the wife.”