Registering complaints against dowry harassment will not be a “routine affair” any more. It will require the prior approval of a senior police officer in the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The subsequent arrests, of the husband or his relatives on the basis of such complaints, can also be made only after a “thorough investigation” and prior approval of the DCP or the Additional DCP concerned.

The Delhi High Court has issued these directions to “salvage and save the institution of marriage”. The directions prevent any “routine” registration of dowry complaints with the police and the crime against women cells by women and their relatives.

Trivial fights, ego clashes, “heat of the moment” decisions, noted the court, were largely behind most of the dowry complaints.

“The offence of cruelty by husband or his relatives (as covered in Section 498-A of the IPC) was added in 1986 to curb the unlawful demands for dowry. But since its enactment, this provision has been subjected to systematic and sustained attack... This law has been called unfair and responsible for the victimisation of husbands by their wives and her relatives,” said Justice Kailash Gambhir.

Section 498-A, which defines dowry harassment, is a non-bailable offence. If found guilty, an accused may face imprisonment up to three years and a fine. “What is not comprehended by young minds while invoking the likes of Section 498-A of IPC is that such provisions, to a large extent, have done incalculable harm in breaking matrimony of the couples,” said the judge.

The Bench has also directed the Delhi Legal Services Authority, National Commission for Women and NGOs dealing in women’s issues to set up a conciliation desk at the crime against women cells.

Justice Gambhir drew instances from his professional experience as a judge and said many a time the husband and his family forever slammed shut the door of conciliation solely because of the harassment they faced, owing to complaints filed by the wife and her relatives.

The court was hearing the case of an aged couple who had moved an anticipatory bail plea after their estranged daughter-in-law registered a complaint of dowry harassment against them.