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Disputed Position Of Directions Laid Down By Supreme Court In Rajesh Sharma's Case.
The Supreme Court is all set to deliver the judgment tomorrow in a case, where petitions have been filed seeking reconsideration of the directions to check abuse of Section 498A of the IPC laid down in the case Rajesh Sharma v Union of India.
In the case, the Apex Court directed that one or Family Welfare Committees must be constituted in every district by the district legal services authority and the work of such committee must be reviewed from time to time. It also ordered that the committee must be composed out of para legal volunteers or social workers or citizens who are willing to contribute towards it. The Court further added that every complaint under Section 498A must be looked into by the committee, who shall interact with the parties and the report must be submitted with the Authority within one month of the receipt of complaint. It directed that the committee may give its brief report and opinion in the matter and no arrest should be made unless the report has been submitted. Such report has to be considered by the Investigating officer. The court also directed that the members of the committee must be provided with adequate training and must be given honorarium. It stated that the complaints made under Section 498A and other offences must be investigated by only the Investigating Officer of the area who shall be required to undergo training within no time. The proceedings would be disposed off in the case, a settlement is reached upon. It also limited the issuance of Red Corner notice and did away with the personal appearance of all family members by permitting video conferencing.
Justice DipakMisra observed various views of High Courts and Supreme Court and predicted the reading of Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act while deciding the particular case. The counsel submitted that the Rajesh Sharma judgment has been delivered in 2017 and there has been no complaints since then. The Chief Justice however, disagreed with the judgment passed in Rajesh Sharma’s case by holding that they have no power to write the law. It had also been alleged that due to the judgment passed in 2017 women are being harassed since the allegations were made before the arrest.
