About nine per cent of cases of cruelty or <g data-gr-id="28">harrassment</g> of women registered in <g data-gr-id="35">2013,</g> were false or bad in law, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
However, “There is no direct evidence or study available to suggest that this (section 498A of the Indian Penal Code) is one of the most abused laws in the country,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in reply to a written question.
Quoting the National Crime Records Bureau data, the minister said that in 2013, a total of 1,18,866 cases were registered under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cruelty by husband or his relatives. The section deals with subjecting of a woman to cruelty by the husband or his relatives.
The number of such cases was 1,06,527 in 2012 and 99,135 in the previous year.
“After <g data-gr-id="25">police</g> investigation, 10,193 cases in 2011, 10,235 in 2012 and 10,864 in 2013 were found to be false or suffering from <g data-gr-id="26">mistake</g> of fact or law,” the minister said.
Chaudhary added that the Law Commission of India in two of its reports had recommended that Section 498A should be made compoundable with the permission of the courts.
“The government has accepted these recommendations,” the Union minister added. Replying to supplementary questions, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the process to make the provision compoundable had already been started, but assured the House that women would get justice if harassed.