Oh God!!! Its Friday

I am currently having the privilege of handling the Free Mumbai helpline to guide the victims. Though the job is tough but satisfying as it creates a 2 way feel good factor. But it is more touching and frustrating. Frustrating to see the senior citizens and innocent people living in threat of flase 498a striking them for not dowry but some ego problem of their D-I-L. They are in a phase called after marriage and before 498a. It is also now called as a pre-498a stage. Where the daughter-in-law has pledged to put all the inlaws behind bars. And those people whose relatives are already 498a stuck and behind bars or victims who are just bailed out.

A Guy marries a girl for happiness. He too has dreams just like any one else…. Well just like the girl who walks in. Things settle down in some days where both the parties settle down with the realities of life that is actually 'hatt ke' from fantasies. The ones who do not come to terms with this fact suffer at their own cost of money and definitely time.

In India where there is a vast population in urban areas with a very less man-land ratio the laws are made keeping mind the rural population and applied to the majority too. This unity in diversity is causing it adverse effect now.

But what I have noticed is that most of the arrests that have been made are on Friday evening. The reasons are that the next 2 days being weekend off ensures that the husbands and his parents and relatives spend atleast that many days in jail till the court opens on Monday. And if that day happens to be a govt holiday then the proceedings are in a suspension for a further while. The other popular days are days before holidays esp if the holiday is on Friday, then Thursday is apt to arrest as the proceedings are halted for 3 days minimum and the husbands and his innocent ailing parents are in jail. I would rate these cases from past trends as more than 90%.

This is indeed proves to be a well planned and timed attack with a well spun web that ensures harassment, demoralisation of the vicitims. There is no other justification to this. As many arrests have been after 1-2 years of separation too and that to on a Friday.

Otherwise Friday is known for the events like

- Good Friday (anniversary of crucifixion of Christ.)
- Assassination of Kennedy and Lincoln or
- Even assassination M K Gandhi
- Also known for viruses attack

And now it is getting known for
- False and planned 498a arrests of Innocent husbands and family members of his side.

An innocent husband of an estranged wife is afraid of 498a, 406 and Friday.

This calls in for a P-I-L (no harm in filing this too) to atleast stop arrests on Friday or on days that precede holidays with 498a in its current state of inflexibility of non bailable nature. Atleast in partial favour of Legal jurisprudence of 1000 guilty men escaping the clutches of law but not 1 innocent person should be punished for the crime that is not committed by him.

Hey people, Please comment on your experiences too on Friday arrests.

Eagerly,

Jinesh Zaveri.