SC's Historic Decision: No Arrests for 2 Months in Domestic Violence, Cases to Go to Family Welfare Committee First
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court has given a historic verdict in cases related to domestic violence and dowry harassment. Banning immediate arrest in cases registered under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the court has said that now after the FIR is registered, the police will not arrest the accused (husband or his relatives) for two months. This two-month period has been called the "peace period".
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the implementation of two-year-old guidelines of the Allahabad High Court across the country. This decision was given by a bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih while hearing a case related to a woman IPS officer.
After this decision of the Supreme Court, now the police will not take any immediate punitive action on any complaint lodged under Section 498A. According to the new guidelines, immediately after the FIR is registered, the case will be sent to the Family Welfare Committee (FWC) of the concerned district for a “silence period” of two months. During this two-month period, the police will not take any harsh action like arresting the accused, and the main purpose of the committee will be to try to mediate and settle the matter between the two parties, so that the relationship can be saved from breaking and the misuse of the law can be prevented. This rule will apply to all cases in which Section 498-A is also included along with other sections punishable with less than 10 years of imprisonment and there is no serious physical harm in the case.
The Supreme Court gave this order while hearing a case related to a woman IPS officer. The court has also ordered the woman officer to apologize by publishing an apology in the newspapers for harassing her husband and his relatives.
Interestingly, these guidelines issued by the Allahabad High Court in 2022 were based on a decision of the Supreme Court itself in 2017 (Rajesh Sharma vs State of Uttar Pradesh). However, in 2018, the Supreme Court had struck down these guidelines in another case (Social Action for Human Rights vs Union of India), due to which the Family Welfare Committees became inactive. Now with this new decision on Tuesday, the mechanism of Family Welfare Committee has once again become effective across the country.
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