The National Commission for Women (NCW) has said it may not have the mandate to comply with Union Minister Maneka Gandhi's request to examine complaints from men on false dowry harassment cases.
The Women and Child Development Minister recently wrote a letter to NCW Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam asking her to provide an avenue in the NCW's online complaint system to such men.
Kumaramangalam said the statutory body "has a very specific mandate".
"I can't just take a stand on this just like that. We will have to look into it from the point of view of our mandate. We are answerable to Parliament and I can't just take a decision very lightly, unless we discuss this in detail," she told PTI.
The NCW is a statutory body appointed to safeguard women's rights.
The 'Mandate of the Commission', as per Section 10 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, is to examine "deprivation of women's rights", "non-implementation of laws" and "non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines" framed to provide protection to women.
A men's rights group, which has been raising its concerns with the government over false dowry and domestic violence cases, called Gandhi's letter a "mere passing of the buck".
"Maneka Gandhi says it is not her mandate to listen to problems of men and she has quietly passed this on to the NCW asking it to listen to our problems, while the NCW says it has been set up to look into the grievances of women. This letter is just a passing of the buck and an eyewash," men's rights activist Kumar Jahgirdar said.
He added the group has also written to Prime Minister demanding to set up a 'national commission for men' which can look in to cases of false complaints about dowry and sexual harassment at workplace, among others.
The Supreme Court had, yesterday, voiced concern over "abuse" of the anti-dowry law and has directed that no arrest should "normally be effected" without verifying allegations as violation of human rights of innocents can not be brushed aside.
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