2 year BALLB
Kerala Law Accademy Law College
Section deals with domestic violence in IPC
Indian Penal Code section 498 and 498-A
Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. The domestic violence can be physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, or sexual abuse.
Globally, the victims of domestic violence are overwhelmingly women, and women tend to experience more severe forms of violence.
In India, 30 percent of women have experienced domestic violence at least once from when they were aged 15, and around 4 percent of ever-pregnant women have experienced spousal violence during a pregnancy.The reported rate of this crime in India was 18.5 in 2001 and 28.3 in 2018 per 1,00,000 women aged 15–49 years, marking a significant increase of 53% over this period. Wide variations were seen in the rate for reported cruelty by husband or his relatives in 2018 at the state-level. In India according section 498 and 498-A of Indian penal code deals with domestic violence. In India domestic violence is punishable under IPC and domestic violence Act.
Indian penal code the section 498 explains enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman and 498-A explains husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.
Explaining Section 498 Indian penal code
498.
Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman. Whoever takes or entices away any woman who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of any other man, from that man, or from any person having the care of her on behalf of that man, with intent that she may have illicit intercourse with any person, or conceals or detains with that intent any such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Classification of Offence. The offence under this section is non-cognizable, bailable, compoundable and triable by any Magistrate.
Explaining section 498-A
498-A . Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.–For the purpose of this section, “cruelty” means :
(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the
woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or
(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to
coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.]
Classification of Offence.-The offence under this section is cognizable if information relating to the commission of offence is given to an officer in charge of a police station by the aggrieved person or by any person related to her by blood, marriage or adoption or if there is no such relative, by any public servant belonging to such class or category as may be notified by the State Government in this behalf, non-bailable,non-compoundable and triable by Magistrate of the first class.
In conclusion,
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
The acts made by the parliamet for the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence. Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act 2005
This is an act of the Indian Parliament enacted to protect women from Domestic Violence. It prohibits a wide range of Physical, Sexual, Emotional & Economical abuse against women and all these are broadly defined under the Act.