498a
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498a is an Indian law in which a husband and his family are summarily arrested without any investigation when a complaint is lodged by the wife or any of her relative claiming that the husband or his relatives treated her cruelly. Once the complaint is lodged the husband and his family are presumed guilty and it is up to them to prove that they are innocent in a court of law. This law has been under much controversy due to its increasing misuse leading to breakdown of families. It does not cost anything to file a 498A, and there is no penalty (or even a fine) for filing a false dowry complaint which has contributed to a fast rise in the number of such cases in courts today.