Legal Solution for False Dowry Harassment Charges Against UK/USA Residents & Non-Resident Indians NRIs in India-1: Latest News & Updates in 2025 on Cruelty, Domestic Violence & Dowry Harassment Charges
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Constitutional Defence Strategies and Cross-Border Legal Protection under the New Indian Criminal Law
Laws become venomous when they are misused and misinterpreted. Taking the contemporary events of false dowry harassment charges on US/UK residents by their wives has drawn our attention. Section 85 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, which has copied its essence from section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, is picked as a legal weapon to target the overseas Indians with systematic misuse, making this an epidemic.
Do you know? As per the documentation of emergency bail lawyer India for overseas Indians, 70-80% of dowry harassment cases are filed against international residents through fabricated annexures for the greed of financial gains, immigration leverage, or divorce settlement manipulation.
These instances are outlined in section 85 of the BNS 2023, under the ambit of cruelty by husbands or relatives of husbands. Punishment of imprisonment up to 3 years, paired with a fine, they are further categorised as cognizable and non-bailable offences.
This further expands in Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 in section 187, which has elevated the 15-day custody period to 90 days. The aftermath of this transforms the fabricated allegations into long-term suffering through harassment, with a six-fold increased detention risk for accused individuals.
Latest News & Updates on Cruelty, Domestic Violence & Dowry Harassment Charges
After Enduring 8 year 8-Year-Long Battle, UK Man Acquitted
A Guragon court acquitted a 45-year-old Indian-origin British citizen and his family of the devised plot of dowry harassment and cruelty case filed by his wife. In this, the additional sessions judge, AK Bishnoi, stated that the allegations put forth were fabricated and false. In 2009, after a UK Resident married in India, it was revealed that his wife gave a wrong picture of her academic qualifications for the sake of marriage.
[Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/8yrs-on-uk-man-acquitted-of-dowry-harassment-charge/articleshow/61774619.cms]
UK-based Husband Granted Liberty to prosecute wife for a malicious case.
The couple who got married in May 2020, and after the marriage, the husband moved to the US on an H1B visa, after which his wife imposed false dowry harassment charges on him and got a way to demand 3 crores from him through this legal entanglement created by her. Karnataka High Court dismissed this case by citing the grave attack on the process of law. Further, the court noted that 614 grams of silver and 160 grams of gold were given as Streedhana and no dowry demands were made. Justice M Nagaprasanna granted him liberty to prosecute his wife for this malice.
[Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/hc-grants-us-based-man-liberty-to-prosecute-wife-in-dowry-case/articleshow/111372527.cms]
No Arrest in Dowry Cases Until Charges Verified, Supreme Court Ordered
In the purview of the bubbling trend among women where Section 498A of IPC is weaponised in marital disputes against a husband or his relatives, the Supreme Court urged to put an end to such frivolous cases that are a breach of human rights. The court orders for the regulation of family welfare committees in each district for measuring the veracity of the case, and directed that no arrest should be made on such complaints until the allegations are ascertained sincerely.
[Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/no-arrest-in-dowry-harassment-case-without-verifying-authenticity-of-complaint-sc/articleshow/59796255.cms]
Delhi High Court Ruled False Dowry Harassment Charges as Extreme Cruelty
Delhi high court ordered that false allegations of dowry harassment or rape put on by a woman amounts to extreme cruelty that cannot be condoned. This came into effect after an appeal was made by the woman, wherein she challenged the divorce decree of a family court that was in favour of her estranged husband on the grounds of cruelty.
[Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hc-false-charge-of-dowry-harassment-rape-extreme-cruelty/articleshow/103345960.cms]
Supreme Court Calls for Legislation Modifications to Prevent Misuse of Cruelty Clauses
The Supreme Court highlighted the need for legal reforms to prevent the misuse of provisions related to cruelty against women, while quashing the case. It was noted that the complainant had made vague allegations lacking specific details of any criminal conduct. Concerned with this persistent issue, the Court directed its registry to forward the judgment to the Union Law and Home Secretaries, urging them to consider the matter for urgent legislative attention.
[Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/consider-changes-in-law-to-avoid-misuse-of-cruelty-against-women-clauses-supreme-court-5583477]
Supreme Court February 2025 Judgement – An Analytical Lens
In February 2025, a significant judgment was made by the Supreme Court under a dowry harassment case where a woman put mental and physical abuse charges on her husband. She accused him of demanding an additional dowry of Rs. 10 lakh and also put a stain of infidelity on him.
The observation of the Court was that there was a paucity of specific details, like a clear timeline, dates, or concrete incidents, which highlighted the seriousness of false accusations. The Court was firm in its approach by calling for backing up such claims with specific instances to hold someone criminally liable.
This judgment is a door that acknowledges the cry of genuine victims and their legal protection by blocking the way for misuse through unsupported allegations.
[Source: https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/27168/27168_2022_15_1501_59263_Judgement_07-Feb-2025.pdf]
Authored by: Adv. Anant Sharma (Connect on Linkedin)
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