23,000 Men File Harassment Complaint Against Wives, In-Laws In A Year: Turn To PAURUSH For Help

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Sandeep Malviya, Jawahar Dhingana, Garauv Parmar are among the 23,000 men who have knocked the door of PAURUSH - People Against Unequal Rules Used to Shelter Harassment- in last one year, seeking help against the alleged harassment by their wives and in-laws.

Sandeep Malviya after getting married in Bhopal in May 2015 shifted to Bengaluru a few years later along with his wife. In April 2019, she left Bengaluru along with her daughter and took her entire jewellery saying that she was going to her parents’ place in Sehore district to attend a wedding. She never returned.

The woman blocked her husband on the phone, WhatsApp and Facebook. When he sought the intervention of community elders, in 2020 she filed cases against her husband and his family members who didn’t even live with him. The man has so far attended more than 100 hearings in different cases with no relief in sight.

The case of Jawahar Dhingana, married for 25 years, is not different. About four years ago, his wife walked out on him along with two adult sons. She then filed a case seeking maintenance. The family court ordered Jawahar to pay Rs 4,000 per month as maintenance. He says that his wife is educated and is working. Both his sons aged 22-23 years are also working. Despite this, he is living alone in a rented accommodation and paying maintenance to his wife.

Additionally, a case of domestic violence has also been filed against Jawahar and his aged parents. Garauv Parmar has been making rounds of courts and police stations for the past three years. Gaurav married his classmate Raina Yadav in 2016. In 2022, she filed cases under Section 498 A of the IPC, domestic violence Act and Section 125 of the CrPC against him. Now she is living in the house owned by him along with her family. He has been turned out from his home.

The man says that he is sick of making endless rounds of courts and police stations. According to PAURUSH, the organisation working for such men, married women are increasingly using laws and legal provisions as weapons to harass men and their family members. Dowry Prohibition Act, Domestic Violence Act and some sections of the IPC are being misused, they say.

Over the past one year (from March 2024-March 2025), around 23,000 calls were received on the helpline set up by Paurush. “We have saved hundreds of men and their families from going to jail and falling into depression or even committing suicide. Ashok Dashora, President of Paurush