Journal of African Development

This paper critically analyses the effectiveness and issues of the cruelty provisions of the Indian family law as part of the recent changes of the criminal law provisions. It also examines how these provisions, though meant to protect individuals against domestic abuse, have been used unscrupulously and how this has created an imbalance between securing individuals and losing an opportunity to prosecute legally. The research also examines how these dynamics can be applied to legal systems in Africa and compares findings to enhance the creation of effective and fair family law systems. The replacement of the Indian Penal Code with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita implies a lot of change in the legal framework of the gender based crimes, which implies that the thorough consideration of the cruelty provisions is required. This discussion will carefully subdivide the actual changes proposed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the areas of cruelty and judge how it will either mitigate the well being of the victims or contribute to the already existing problems of legal abuses. More so, this paper shall evaluate whether there is sufficiency in the new criminal law to deal with issues of gender bias in the application of laws especially the misuse of laws by women to their benefit even though there have been constitutional moves to promote equality