A 2020 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report concluded that of the more than one lakh cases against husbands and their relatives subjecting wives to cruelty, more than 5,000 were false. That is a staggering number of innocent people who were subjected to unjustified and life-altering persecution. Although more than 16,000 such cases were dismissed by 2020 for being false, or having insufficient evidence, it also raises disturbing questions about how many of the thousands of other accused might also be ultimately found innocent.
It begs the question of the fairness of the law. One of the most fundamental principles of legal philosophy was summarised by the 18th century English jurist William Blackstone as, "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." By that yardstick, Indian laws of this nature have failed miserably and are an abomination.
This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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