New Delhi, April 16 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea seeking to make Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) gender neutral, stating that isolated instances of misuse cannot justify changes to a law enacted to safeguard women from cruelty in matrimonial homes. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh observed, "Just because of certain instances of misuse of Section 498A of IPC and Section 85 of BNS, can a sweeping statement be made that women are harassing their husbands and in-laws? Nothing can be further from the truth." The Court emphasized that in the vast majority of cases, women remain the primary victims of harassment and abuse within matrim...