New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday flagged the “worrying trend” of women misusing laws on dowry harassment, domestic violence and POCSO by filing frivolous and vexatious complaints against husbands and in-laws. The court said that the genuine cases are being blurred and obscured due to the “huge” number of false cases filed by the spouses as a way of “arm twisting” to reach a more attractive settlement.A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that nowadays when a relationship turns sour, a “marital bouquet” is presented against the estranged husband and wife.“This set of cases often involves spurious and hollow allegations and false claims of harassment, cruelty and marital difficulties, often bearing little or no substance and generally not supported by any material or other documentary evidence,” the bench said.The Supreme Court said, “We also take judicial cognizance of the fact that the courts of law are being misused and the burden of such vague and vexatious litigation between spouses is increasing.”The bench said that there are many cases where women are actually looking for relief from the acts of their spouses and the onus is on the courts to separate the wheat from the chaff. It added that care should be taken to ensure that the rights and liberties of innocent parties are not trampled upon or arbitrarily taken away by dishonest and baseless litigation.“A recent trend in this regard is when the wife resorts to filing false complaints under the POCSO Act, alleging that the husband has committed undesirable acts of a sexual nature against the minor daughter. At the center of such a suit is a child who is often used by his mother against his father, against his will and wishes, to make false and vexatious complaints against his father… out of revenge or a high monetary settlement As a tactic of arm twisting to get by or simply to annoy.” Said.The court passed the order quashing criminal proceedings under POCSO filed by a girl against her father, uncle and other family members. The court said there was no evidence to prove the allegations and the girl was taught by her mother.“Courts have to exercise utmost restraint while considering such suits and criminal proceedings as any missteps and excesses can have a cascading effect on the mental and physical health of the parties involved and the sanctity of the institution of marriage.”