Ex-army man falsely accused in dowry case, who earlier applied for permission to die, seeks amendments to dowry act

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Ex-army man seeks amendments to dowry act

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B Sridhar, TNN | Jul 14, 2013, 06.24 AM IST

<big>JAMSHEDPUR: Retired army man Ramnath Das, who had in January submitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking approval for mercy-killing after he and his family members were allegedly implicated in a false anti-dowry case, has filed a fresh petition to the President but this time for a public cause.</big>

Das (57), who was employed with the mechanical wing of the Electronic Mechanical Engineering Corp of Army, submitted a petition to the Rashtrapati Bhavan through East Singhbhum deputy commissioner's office on Saturday, seeking amendments to Section 498A of the IPC (anti dowry act).

"In this petition I have sought effective cooperation from the President in amending the 498A," said Das.

He said hundreds of innocent families in the country have fallen prey to the (IPC 498A) Act that unjustifiably favours women.

"The Act favours women unreasonably resulting in its gross misuse. It's high time the Act should be amended in the larger interest of those languishing in prison or facing potential threat from 498A," said Das.

A resident of Gadra under Pursudih police station area, Das claims he and his family of seven are victims of the loopholes that exist in the anti dowry Act.

"Inept handling of the anti dowry cases by the law enforcing agencies and time-consuming justice delivery mechanism has further aggravated the sensitive issue," said Das, who retired from Army in October 1989 following his last posting in Pune.

Apparently, annoyed over slow pace of the justice delivery system, Das had appealed to the President on January 29 this year to ensure early justice to him in the case or permit him to end life, willingly.

"Since my petition for mercy-killing is lying with the Rashtrapati Bhavan I am not going to re-approach for the same. In fact, now I want to dedicate my life fighting for the innocent lives jailed under IPC 498a," said Das.

Das's son Praveen, who is employed with Navy Mumbai based JSW Ispat Ltd, was married to Vibha of Kasidih on November 23, 2010 but following marital discord the matter reached police and eventually to the court.

Das, his wife Sunita and son Praveen, are out on bail at present. They were arrested under various sections of Anti dowry Act about sixteen months ago.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Ex-army-man-seeks-amendments-to-dowry-act/articleshow/21065017.cms