New Delhi, Feb 3: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to declare unconstitutional laws primarily "targeting men" and "unfairly presuming men as aggressors in domestic disputes".

Dismissing the petition, a bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K. Vinod Chandran remarked: "Go raise this before Parliament."

The plea sought direction to declare Sections 2, 3, 4 and 8A of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Sections 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and its equivalent in the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, Sections 2 and 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as unconstitutional and invalid for violating fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and India's international human rights obligations.

"The impugned provisions primarily target men, allowing allegations to be treated as proof of guilt and creating a framework of presumed culpability that contravenes the fundamental principle of 'innocent until proven guilty'," said the petition filed through advocate Pankaj Sharma.

These laws unfairly presume men as aggressors in domestic disputes, thereby violating the right to a fair trial, it added.

"Dowry is misrepresented as a practice inherent to Hinduism, despite historical evidence of its origin in Roman, Greek, and Christian traditions. Hindu religious texts do not advocate for dowry practices; thus, laws that target Hindus in this context are arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion," it further said.

As per the petition, Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, by linking dowry with Hindu marriage practices, insinuates a false narrative that disparages the Hindu culture by artificially creating an association that has no factual or historical basis. Similarly, it said that Sections 3 and 4 of the said Act also insinuate surreptitiously that the vice of dowry is committed and goes to the extent of strengthening the concept of dowry by penalising Hindu men on the mere presumption of dowry demand, or the presumption of taking or abetting the taking of dowry.

"Section 8A of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, imposes a burden of proof of innocence upon the accused, contravening the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, a principle that forms the bedrock of natural justice," it added.

The petition said that under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, women are presumed to be "aggrieved persons" based on their allegations, and automatically categorises men as "respondents".

"The dowry laws and Section 498A of the IPC are misused as tools for harassment and extortion, especially against men and their families. These laws reflect a presumption of guilt, thereby denying men their right to a fair trial," contended the petition.

Such weaponisation also reveals the malice embedded in these laws, promoting injustice rather than fairness, which violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India, it added.

Placing an implicit presumption of guilt upon men while presuming women as victims, disregarding individual circumstances or evidence, represents discrimination based on sex, infringing upon Article 15 of the Constitution and perpetuating societal bias, said the plea.

--IANS

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