DV Bill - Questions to Renuka Chaudhury

Q.1 We all are aware that 498A is rampantly misused. Instead of solving that problem, you have introduced DV bill. Why? Are you not worried about innocent families being legally terrorized?

Q.2 Men too are victims of domestic violence. Then why have you not provided legal protection to men under Domestic Violence Bill?

Q.3 You gave a statement on national television saying, “It is men’s turn to suffer”. Is that true? If you did, what do you mean by that?

Q.4 Do you agree that verbal or emotional abuse in Domestic Violence bill is a subjective and relative term? How will you make sure that using these clauses, women will not misuse this law? 

Q.5 Domestic Violence Bill is applicable in live-in relationship, too. Do you have any statistics showing that women who are into live-in relationships are victims of domestic violence? It is unlikely that rural women will ever be in a live-in relationship.

Q.6 When we already have anti-dowry law 498A, then why have you incorporated the clause of dowry harassment in Domestic Violence Bill also?

Q.7 One clause says that if a woman does not have a legal title over the man’s property, if she has some interest, she can demand the property legally using domestic violence bill. Don’t you think this clause is violating men’s right? 

Q.8 A clauses says that if a man ridicules, humiliates or abuses the woman sexually or violates the dignity of the woman, he is subjecting the woman of domestic violence. How would you define dignity? Dignity is not gender-specific. It is the quality of character, values and behaviour of a person irrespective of the gender. Are you saying that men have no dignity?

Q.9 Even if the assets, bank account/locker solely belongs to the husband, the woman has the rights to demand from the man legally according to domestic violence bill. Are you not trying to legalize extortion for women through this bill?

Q.10 Domestic violence bill also includes economic abuse. If a woman is asking something in monetary terms that the man can’t afford, do you think that the man should be imprisoned for this?

Q.11 You are requesting the Government to sensitize the police officer toward women in handling domestic violence cases. Do you want the police officer arrest the accused if they find the case to be fabricated?

Q.12 The clauses in Domestic Violence bill says that after the marriage or live-in relationship ends, the husband must provide alternative accommodation or pay the rent to the woman. According to the Hindu marriage, bigamy is a punishable offense. But live-in relationship that has no legal standing, a woman can have a number live-in relationship at the same time. What do you have to say about it? Are you not providing an opportunity to women to use domestic violence bill to extract property of the man legally?

Q.13 Domestic Violence Bill has established a price to emotional distress and mental torture and ordering the man to pay to the woman as compensation. Do you think those women who are not actually mentally tortured will never want to make quick money out of this clause? Why?

Q.14 You have already included live-in relationship in Domestic Violence Bill. What will be the responsibility of the woman to prove that she did had a live-in relationship with a man? What if the relationship never existed?

Q.15 The bill says that the woman has the right to ask the Protection officer to restrain the family members of the man to come and live together or even visit the house. Is this not violating the fundamental rights of the family members of the man? If not, how?

Q.16 The bill also says that the woman has the right to ask the protection officer to direct the man to leave the house. Is this not violating the rights of men? Even if the house legally belongs to the man, he is kicked out of his own house. Is this how you like to protect women?

Q.17 One clause says that after the complaint is registered, the man will have no right to communicate with the woman in any ways. If a person is arrested, the police will provide the person the right to contact anybody. And here you don’t want the man to contact the woman at all. What are you trying to do?

Q.18 The clause says that even after the live-in relationship has ended; the man can’t evict the woman from his own legally possessed house. Are you saying that even after live-in relationship ends, the man is liable to provide the woman? When the live-in relationship is not legally recognized, then how can you constrain men’s fundamental rights?

Q.19 The clause says that even if the live-in relationship existed in any point of time ever in the past, the woman has the rights to complain against the man for domestic violence. This way the woman is given a way to take revenge and extort money legally from the man whom she had a live-in relationship in the past. What do you have to say about this?

Q.20 The clause says that upon the sole testimony of the woman, the court can conclude that domestic violence was committed by the accused. That means the accused is guilty until proven innocent, and the woman need not prove her allegations. Do you think that this approach is as per the legal principles? Are you not taking away the constitutional rights of men? How? This way the bill will be misused just like 498A. What do you think about this?

Q.21 You know 498A is massively misused. You also know that Domestic Violence Bill will also be misused. What do you want to do? Is this how women can be protected by taking away all constitutional rights of men?

Q.22 You said that this bill is only to protect women from domestic violence. But the bill can easily break millions of families. Is this what you want?

Q.23 Many families, lawyers, NGOs all over the country are objecting on the way the bill is drafted. You don’t seem to be worried at all. Do you think their objection is baseless? Are you going to ignore them like you are doing in case of 498A?  

Q.24 After all this, do you think you deserve to be the Minister of Women and Child Development? When you have introduced draconian laws like DV Bill and have not amended 498A, you don’t have any rights to ruin Indian family. What do you have to say?

Q.25 Are you not going to step down from the ministry for destroying Indian families and marriage? Why not?

10:14 AM - Saturday, November 11, 2006