What is the official definition of mediation/counselling in CAW cells?
The official version of what mediation or counselling at CAW cell can be gleaned from this excerpt from page 2 of Standing Order 281 of Delhi Police which brought CAW cells into existence:
Mediation (Counselling) The objective of this mediation cell is to give a platform to warring parties to settle their differences through the intervention of trained mediators. A mediation Cell of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Authority is also running in the CWC premises. The objective of this mediation cell is to give a platform to warring parties to settle their differences through the intervention of trained mediators with an objective of reducing the litigation and offering solutions outside the court. This unit is headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and assisted by other officers. Other districts can also refer the cases to this mediation cell by forwarding a copy of complaint with a consent form signed by both the parties giving their willingness for opting for mediation.
Above information should be kept in mind, but unfortunately, the official information may not turn out to be of much use to husbands and family facing CAW cell. Just one example is given below on why the credibility of CAW cells is questionable:
Here is a 2019 case where a whole Mahila Thana with 48 women and 2 men employees was shunted out because of quarrel over distribution over bribe money between sub-inspector and her superior!: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/entire-mahila-thana-shunted-out-after-si-takes-poison-over-distribution-of-bribe-money/articleshow/70681362.cms
Delhi High Court judgments on CAW Cell procedures and powers
Before we go into real life guidelines on how to handle CAW cell if you are a husband, following important points should be kept in mind which are based on Delhi High Court judgments on various aspects of CAW cells.
1. CAW cell is meant to safeguard marriage so FIR should not be registered immediately.
2. CAW cell cannot investigate and examine evidence.
3. CAW Cell is only a conciliatory body, cannot compel persons to appear before it.
4. CAW Cell can recommend Closure Report if no merit found in wife’s complaint.
The gist of above judgments is that CAW cell is not meant to register immediately an FIR upon wife’s complaint to them because their job is to facilitate conciliation if possible.
They cannot investigate on the complaint like it’s done on an FIR and hence giving evidence in your favour may be useful only to the extent of negotiating things with wife and it won’t stop further proceedings in future like formal registration of FIR.
The most interesting but not known point is that CAW cell cannot compel you to appear in front of them (even if they send written notice), so if you are prepared to face the FIR which mostly happens anyway, you could skip attending any of CAW counselling sessions. This could be useful for some men who are prepared to to fight Legal Terrorism sooner rather than later and they could save a few months in the process, too.
Finally, in last of above 4 judgments, a husband got a closure report after CAW cell but such a happy scenario is rarely heard – so I won’t suggest to place too much hopes based on just one such case.
Real life guidelines on how to handle counselling in CAW cells
1. CAW (Crime Against Women) cell conducts so called counselling, where basically they put pressure on husband to either agree to wife’s demands (e.g. for living in separate house from husband’s parents), or else be ready for FIR on himself and other family members.
2. Based on experiences by almost every husband, a husband should not try to get sympathy or fair hearing (sunwai) from police – it will never happen so if one is ready with that expectation then one will not feel dejected or disheartened. Also, police may ignore all evidence shown by husband, so again have low expectations. No need to bribe the police and trying all kinds of setting and jugaad type approaches – because that’s how corrupt elements in police get the habit of persecuting people and getting bribes. Moreover, there is little evidence that bribing police works at all for husbands.
2. Most of counselling sessions fail, and get converted into FIR under section 498A/406 etc. 498A FIRs are quite common, so don’t panic and make any hasty decisions out of fear. Do not admit to any false allegation made by wife under pressure. Do not sign anything which can be used against you in a court or a legal mediation as an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
Ask for written notice
3. Even for attending CAW cell, you should ask for written notice for counselling session. Once FIR is done, It’s mandatory for police to send written notice under CrPC 41 to call accused, so don’t go to PS just based on phone call.
Read about CrPC 41 below:
Now CAW cell is a pre-FIR stage so some people may say that written notice can be done away with – “it’s just counselling”, “we are only trying to understand the matrimonial issue between husband and wife”, and so on. The problem is how many in police use the CAW cell proceedings as a way to test psychology and mental toughness of husbands and their families – with a view to getting bribes (read above news). If you start going to CAW cell based on phone call once, they will do it again and again because it makes job of unscrupulous police persons easier! Also, if you are going to CAW without written notice, what ready proof do you have if you want to claim later (say in any court or legal proceeding) that you had gone to CAW cell on so and so dates?
4. Especially if you are coming from another city, you should not go to CAW cell without written notice. Many a time, a trap is laid for innocent husband when he goes to police/CAW for counselling and the opposite wife/in-law gang will assault him near the police station or another place, and they will immediately file complaint to police that it is the husband who threatened and assaulted them. This alleged incident will then be used to create jurisdiction for IPC 498A case in wife’s city. If husband goes carrying a written notice, then husband will have a good reason and document to say that he has come to attend CAW cell counselling and not for any other purpose.
Dealing with counselling sessions
5. Typical complaint points made by rogue and #LegalTerrorism kind of wives to CAW cell are that husband is not caring, she is being suppressed, husband’s parents are torturing her, she is ready to live with husband if he takes a separate house from his parents, and so on. There will be many glaring contradictions in the complaint like any good CAW cell complaint, so one should prepare with the mindset how to handle this “beginning of the end” rather than with hope of reconciliation etc, which almost never works out even if it happens. Most of the time in such temporary reconciliations, the husband takes up a separate house to live with wife – only to be making rounds of police stations again within 6 months time! Note: if anyone has any statistical data/RTI reply about number of reconciliations vs number of total CAW complaints which can contradict my claim, then feel free to comment on this article alongwith link to copy of that statistics/RTI reply etc.6. Most counselling may extend up to 3 sessions, but sometimes it has been reported that husband has gone to CAW cell even for 6-7 times!6. Ask for copy of wife’s complaint. In the grand Indian police tradition, it will be refused citing that this is a counselling so copy of complaint need not be given. In any case, you can file RTI on the same CAW police station later to get a copy of the complaint.
7. Do not sign anything which can be used against you in a court or a legal mediation as an admission of guilt or wrongdoing. If you do give a signed statement, then ask for a copy of that with some official acknowledgment/ seal of CAW PS etc. If they don’t give you that copy, then you can include that too in your RTI application. If you made to sign something under force or pressure, then immediately file a written complaint to State Human Rights Commission about violation of your human rights to life and liberty. Only by doing such actions, this tendency of corrupt police elements will get curbed over time.
List of Articles/Stridhan/Recovery of Articles
8. This is the most important business conducted during CAW cell proceedings. Most often, the CAW cell proceeding is used by rogue wives to both make claims to an inflated list of jewellery as their stridhan which was never given to them, and also to use this police based ‘counselling’ to test her husband and in-laws’ mental strength – done with the hope that they will crumble at the first test itself and succumb to her extortionary demands.
9. So a list of articles will be most likely given to husband in 2nd or 3rd session – with the expectation that he should file a written reply with a list of his own about wife’s articles/jewellery in his/family’s possession which is he expected to return to wife as per law. Before accepting wife’s list one should check that it should be properly addressed to a CAW official and not just a piece of paper and should be properly signed by wife along
with name and address. There is no need to argue or get perturbed about the wrong or inflated list of items in that list of articles given by wife.
with name and address. There is no need to argue or get perturbed about the wrong or inflated list of items in that list of articles given by wife.
10. In next CAW session, you can give your own list of articles which are supposed to belong to wife as per law about stridhan (read Dowry, Stridhan article on this site to learn what constitutes stridhan). Your reply statement can include this point that you are willing to return the items provided wife can produce the bills for the jewellery items gifted to her by her parents. Most of the time the wives will not produce any bills. In case she does give bills, you can later go to that shop for verification whether it is a genuine bill or not. Many husbands have been able to successfully file complaint with sales/tax department for non-genuine bill given by jewellery shop to such wives! Attack is the Best Defence.
11. People including some legal and no so legal experts may advise you to agree to wife’s list of articles, else you will have difficulty in getting anticipatory bail. None of that has to do with how law is supposed to work – so if you fall for such supposed ‘legal hacks’, then you are only yourselves to be blamed. Instead, read about Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar judgment and CrPC 41 articles on this site. You should give your own list of articles based on what is actually in your/family’s possession, without worrying about what wife has mentioned in her list.
12. It is very common to hear that wife has taken not only her own stridhan jewellery, but also husband’s mother’s jewellery when she decamped from husband’s house! Now for some advice which even lawyers are not giving to husbands: your mother’s jewellery is your mother’s stridhan, and no one including your wife has any legal right to that stridhan. So your mother (she only) has full legal right to file IPC 406 criminal case on wife to recover her stridhan from your wife. Refer to article on this site about How to file criminal FIR/complaint case if police refuses to register it.
Safety and Protection before and after CAW cell counselling
13. Based on experience, once a complaint has gone to CAW cell, you can write on a piece of paper that one day the marriage is going to officially end – which of course doesn’t mean that you will be given or in any case are entitled to be given a divorce on a platter! So one should prepare for all the scenarios which are likely to come your way from now until that eventually happens. Read this site and especially important posts to prepare for the journey ahead.
14. Put yours and family members’ phones on call recording mode. Sometimes other side will threaten or lure you with settlement offer etc, so keeping the phones on record mode is highly advised. Most husbands ignore this simple advice when the time is still right, and later when they get slapped with IPC 498A type of cases, they are left with only allegations of extortion by wife/in-laws but no evidence to back it up.
General advice and being prepared
15. Write all events since marriage /engagement and make list of all evidences you have with you.
16. Learn about how to file RTI. When you need it, you can file it quickly. Police will give CAW complaint copy if you file RTI – they won’t give it otherwise.
17. If you fear wife may come to your home and do any drama in front of neighbours etc., then it is strongly advised install a CCTV at front door of house facing outside. This will either mitigate the possibility of a publicly enacted drama in front of your home, or at least give you good evidence to puncture their lies if it does happen.
18. Very important thing to deal with more urgent than 498A: Learn about maintenance under DV Act and CrPC 125. That is almost always done by wives once they file 498A. Interim maintenance may be awarded within 6-9 months of wife filing these cases and if you don’t fight properly she may be given high maintenance by court! Collect wife’s work and income proofs if she was working earlier or is working now. Make sure that your advocate submits all such proofs to court and does arguments before interim order is decided.
For many husbands, CAW cell counselling is one of the first steps they face in the journey of #LegalTerrorism foisted on them. Many husbands are given this false hope by supposed well-wishers, legal experts that CAW cell counselling may be just because of misunderstanding between the couple, “wife only wants her jewellery right now”, “wife has only issue with husband’s parents which will be sorted out once he is ready to take a separate house”, things may get better in time, and so on. But based on the experiences shared by countless husbands, CAW cell counselling is just a beginning to a journey where false allegations, cases may get filed on husband and even his unrelated family members. There is no need to live with false hopes. One reason as to why women resort to CAW cell is that it is a good legal way for them to get their jewellery (if with husband) BEFORE they plan on their next steps of #LegalTerrorism. Taking of jewellery from husband’s house before leaving is a well-known predictor of false cases coming in husband’s way in future.
Finally, I suggest to take this Quiz on CAW Cell/Mahila Thana Procedures and Counselling to cement your understanding of points in this article, and other practical knowledge about how to deal with CAW cells and Mahila Thana as an accused husband.
You can also check all the available quizzes here!