People's Democracy

Brinda Karat Flays Retrograde SC Verdict

Ms Brinda Karat, MP and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), wrote the following letter to Dr M Veerappa Moily, hon�ble minister for law and justice, regarding the retrograde judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on August 4 regarding a case under Section 498 A of the IPC.

I WRITE to draw your attention to what can only be considered a retrograde judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on August 4 regarding a case under Section 498 A of the IPC. You may have seen the press reports of the said judgement reported in the national press today. According to the learned judges, kicking your daughter-in-law, threatening her with divorce or verbal torture does not amount to cruelty. Such a judicial understanding of cruelty will be a license for domestic violence, both mental and physical. It may also encourage wife-beaters. If unchallenged, it will undo the positive steps taken by the government and parliament to provide a just legal framework to address the increasing number of cases of domestic violence and protect the lives and dignity of women within the domestic sphere.

I request you to urgently study the said judgement and to ensure that a review petition is filed at the earliest. The government must play a proactive role in protecting the rights of women, especially when these rights are sought to be eroded by judgements which reflect an insensitive reading of the law.