Delhi High Court Flags Misuse of Anti-Dowry Law, Quashes FIR Against Man

The Delhi High Court has raised concerns over the growing misuse of the anti-dowry law, stating that it is being used as a tool to harass husbands and their families. The court made these remarks while quashing an FIR against a man accused of harassing his wife for dowry and property, noting that the couple had been living separately since 2014. Justice Amit Mahajan, in an order dated February 7, emphasized the increasing trend of implicating husbands and their relatives in matrimonial disputes, sometimes based on exaggerated allegations.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Sanchar Anand, argued that the allegations were vague and filed with malicious intent to cover up the wife’s adulterous conduct. The plea stated that the couple separated in 2014 after the husband found photos of his wife with another man. In 2019, a court granted him a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. However, the wife’s counsel, Anurag Sharma, maintained that the divorce did not impact the case’s merits and insisted that specific allegations were made in the FIR.

The high court ruled that the FIR contained sweeping accusations without specific dates or details, deeming its continuation an abuse of the legal process. This ruling coincided with a Supreme Court directive urging lower courts to be cautious against the misuse of domestic violence laws. The apex court has repeatedly warned against the tendency to drag entire families into legal battles based on general allegations without concrete evidence.

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