Basic safety and precautions
Keep documents out of reach of your wife/other party.
Collect your important documents like passport, educational certificates etc and move to a safe place – a bank locker, parents’/ friends’ house etc. In any case, keep them locked if they are at home and your wife is staying there too. The reason is that many a time wife can allege something in her complaints and request court to impound husband’s passport. The other possibility is she may steal them and use that as bargaining chip later. She may give it to court to be impounded etc.
498A & Divorce
Man should not file for divorce.
Many men may be living in unhappy marriages, or wife may already be separated for long period. It may lead to thinking that the wife also wants divorce, so filing divorce on some grounds like desertion etc may be valid. The problem with this approach is that laws and socio-cultural system are not favourable towards men seeking divorce. Many 498A cases are immediately filed by wives/other parties when men file for divorce or separation. Unless you want to really get divorce and don’t mind a 498A on the way!
Do not settle for divorce without 498A being settled
One should not try to hurry and get divorce with 498A still pending.