The Silent Express

  Have you ever tried searching the term “false cases” in the Google search bar? Well it is not surprising that the suggestions that come up are abundant with Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.   India is a country where marriage is considered as one of the most sacred institutions and yet it is also the only country with so many laws that in the garb of protecting the institution is actually destroying it from its very roots. One of the most controversial laws that have been doing the rounds of the Indian courts since its inception has been the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Never before has a law been so glorified and so misused as this particular law with the exception of IPC Section 498A. While it is an accepted fact that domestic violence in any relationship or household is considered as a violation of human Rights in almost any part of the world today, implementation of an effective and transparent mechanism to actually prevent such cases has been a dream that has tu...

With the repeated imposition of lockdowns and increasing use of video chats the sextortion rackets have made life miserable for men in various parts of India A complaint at the Nagpur cyber cell of a 35-year-old Mumbai based businessman is the latest documented case of this relatively new blackmailing tool. The lockdown and later the partial restrictions related to the COVID19 pandemic has seen a surge in the number of complaints from male victims wherein they are being blackmailers, is threatening to make their videos and images viral on social media or send them to their relatives. A 54-year-old fashion designer had to pay up a substantial sum owing to such extortion. The increasing peril of sextortion can be attributed to both social and psychological factors. A man is usually reluctant to file a complaint or come out in the open with their problems when they are threatened due to the associated social stigma and the lack of compassion that he faces in most cases when he tries...