BACK TO SECTIONS(2014) 8 SCC 273
IPC 1860REPEALED
Section 498A
Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty
Replaced by: BNS 85
Non-BailableCognizable: CognizableMagistrate First Class
THE STATUTE
Original Text
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Simplified
Section 498A was inserted in 1983 to address dowry-related harassment and domestic violence. 'Cruelty' means: (a) any wilful conduct likely to drive a woman to suicide or cause grave injury to her health; OR (b) harassment to coerce her or her relatives to meet any unlawful demand for property. Both husband AND any relative of the husband are covered — in-laws, siblings-in-law, all can be charged. The provision is cognizable and non-bailable. The Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) guidelines significantly limited automatic arrests: magistrates must apply the 9-point checklist before authorising arrest.
Legal Evolution
Arnesh Kumar (2014) was a landmark response to widespread misuse of Section 498A — the Supreme Court noted that the provision was being used as a tool for 'legal terrorism' and issued guidelines requiring Magistrate oversight of arrests.
Landmark Precedents
Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014)
RELEVANCE
Directed that arrests under Section 498A require Magistrate oversight — mandated a checklist before arrest authorisation to prevent misuse.
Practical Scenarios
"Persistent demands by husband and in-laws for a car as dowry, accompanied by physical beating — Section 498A."
"A woman driven to attempt suicide due to mental torture and humiliation by her husband — Section 498A."
"Mother-in-law regularly abusing the bride to coerce her parents into giving more gold — Section 498A."
Common Queries
The husband AND any relative of the husband — including in-laws, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and parents-in-law — if they participated in the cruelty.
No — Section 498A is Non-Bailable. However, after Arnesh Kumar (2014), police must justify arrest necessity and Magistrate oversight is required.
Physical violence, mental torture, persistent dowry demands, threatening to harm the woman to coerce her family, and wilful conduct endangering her life or health. Mere marital discord does not amount to 498A cruelty.