Marriage or extortion plan? Prathyusha Challa’s viral video starts discussions about false harassment cases against men

Prathyusha Challa, a graduate of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Gandhinagar, recently opened up about her brother’s ongoing struggles with a “false” IPC 498 case. It has stretched on for five years.

While the original video has been viewed 13,000 times in three weeks, a clip of the video was shared on X (formerly Twitter). The social media video has gone viral and received 3 million views. Many social media users claim that they have gone through similar situations.

Prathyusha Challa shared that her brother’s birthday in December was overshadowed by anger and helplessness. Her brother had recently attended a hearing in Rajahmundry, where the petitioner (his wife) was absent, and the judge postponed the trial yet again.

The judge reportedly questioned why Sandip wouldn’t settle the matter. Their lawyer was criticised for seeking swift justice, she said

According to Prathyusha Challa’s YouTube video titled “Is Suicide the only Solution?”, Sandip is an assistant professor in Hyderabad. He married a woman from Rajahmundry in February 2019 in an arranged marriage via a matrimonial website.

“The marriage lasted for merely ten days and was not consummated since my sister-in-law was not interested. The ten days she stayed with us, she misbehaved, spoke foul language with my parents, did not let my brother into his own room and continuously blackmailed us that she would commit suicide,” Prathyusha Challa said in the video.

“This marriage was clearly a plan of extortion by my sister-in-law,” she added.

She claimed the “extortion” involved the sister-in-law, her family and even her boyfriend. Ten days after the wedding, the sister-in-law left their home voluntarily and filed a 498A case against Sandip, his parents and Prathyusha herself.

Prathyusha Challa explained how the last five years had taken a toll on her family’s mental and physical health. Sandip has had to travel from Hyderabad to Rajahmundry over 40 times for hearings. Prathyusha said she had lost professional opportunities due to the pending case.

What is Section 498 of IPC?

Section 498A of IPC deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a woman. It includes physical or mental harassment, often linked to dowry demands.

Under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the same offence falls under Section 84.