In January this year, Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas (representing the Centre) informed the High Court that the State’s bill could not be processed for want of requisite data.
The Court was told that the Central government had written to the Maharashtra government on January 19, 2024, stating that a response from the State on the matter was still awaited.
The Court’s attention was also drawn to another letter dated December 12, 2022 which indicated that the Centre had suggested the withdrawal of the State bill so that it could be further refined.
The High Court added that the Union’s earlier affidavit did not mention these letters and failed to clarify that the bill could not be processed due to a lack of data from the State.
Rather, the affidavit indicated that the Ministry’s opposition to making Section 498A compoundable was on the ground that it was not in the interest of women. The Court remarked that this juxtaposition of the affidavit and correspondence created a misleading picture.
The Bench had then directed the State to take steps to submit a fresh bill, incorporating additional data and addressing the anomalies pointed out by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. This exercise is yet to be done.
Meanwhile, the IPC has now been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and a provision corresponding to Section 498A of the IPC has been incorporated in Section 85 of the BNS.
Section 85 is not a compoundable offence under Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsa Sanhita (BNSS), which has replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Source: Barandbench
