For the past few days, a post is going viral on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms with the claims that a husband can be jailed if he continues to drink after his wife's denial. The viral post reads, "If you wife denies and says no to your drinking and if husband continue, it's now a crime with FIR + Jail Time confirmed!"
"News BNS Law- Hurting your wife mentally or physically is now crime under section 85B linked to alcohol or even anger."
Similar posts suggesting are going viral on Facebook suggesting husbands can be arrested and can face up to 3 years of jail if they continue to drink alcohol after wife says no.
True Scoop reached out to Senior Advocate of Punjab & Haryana High Court Mandeep Singh Sachdeva and asked whether the viral claim on social media is true or not.
Advocate Sachdeva stated that the claims that are going viral on social media are totally false. There is no law right that says that a husband can be jailed if he continues to drink alcohol if his wife tell him not to.
On being asked about the claim that social media posts are citing 83B sections, Advocate Sachdeva said that husband getting jailed for mental or physical cruelty to their wife is not new. However, if a husband continue to drink alcohol if his wife says him stop, there is no law that states that he will be jailed upto 3 years.
True Scoop then cross checked on Google and it found that the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes violence, abuse or cruelty (physical or serious mental) in domestic situations; alcohol‑related violence can be covered under those cruelty/assault provisions, not simple drinking itself.