lack of patience in marital life, especially among the newly-married couples, is resulting in an increase in the number of complaints of disputes on Women’s Helpline in the State Capital. A total of 2013 complaints of such disputes that also involve other family members were reported at the helpline, Dehradun in 2014 while 100 such complaints were reported in January 2015, said the helpline in-charge Deepika Rana on Monday.
Rana said that in view of the misuse of Domestic Violence Act by some women complainants, the Supreme Court has recently directed the states not to send the accused to prison before police conduct a proper investigation. In domestic violence cases, if the accused do not cooperate with police to complete the investigation and if they change their locations frequently, police have, however, valid ground to arrest the accused. Even he can be sent to jail after he is produced in the court, she said.
In complaints related to dowry, marital disputes, domestic violence and other disputes, sections 323, 504, 498 a, 506 of IPC and ¾ Dowry Act are normally invoked against the accused, she added. Sources said that despite being crammed with such complaints, Women’s Helpline lacks the basics of facilities. It has not even enough number of almirahs to stack and store the documents. There is no computer either to keep the data safe.
Things look grim against the backdrop of statistics revealing that around 10 to 15 complaints related to dowry, marital disputes, domestic violence and the like are reported daily at district’s women’s helpline. Rana said a total of 2013 cases of domestic violence were reported in the women’s helpline between January 1 and December 31, 2014 in Dehradun. 1548 cases were addressed through counseling while 465 cases were referred to district court and police stations concerned. In January this year, around 100 cases were reported out of which 21 were solved through counseling and the remaining are still pending.
She said, “To resolve marital and family disputes through reconciliation, Voluntary Bureau, comprising circle officer, an experienced lawyer, academician, psychologist, noted journalist, socialist and others, has already been set up at Women Helpline. The meeting of the bureau is held each Sunday. The professionals are invited to discuss the complaints. Both the parties are called in the bureau to have things mutually resolved.” One sub-inspector, one head constables and ten women constables are deployed to give teeth to Women’s Helpline.