Dowry in India

Definition Of Dowry :-   Dowry or Dahej  is the

payment in cash or/and kind by the bride's family to the
bridegroom' s family along with the giving away of the
bride ( called Kanyadaan) in  Indian marriage . 
Kanyadanam is an important part of  Hindu marital
rites. Kanya  means daughter, and dana means gift. 

Dowry originated in upper caste families as the

wedding gift to the bride from her family.  The dowry
was later given to help with marriage expenses and
became a form of insurance in the case that her in-laws
mistreated her.  Although the dowry was legally
prohibited in 1961, it continues to be highly
institutionalized.  The groom often demands a dowry
consisting of a large sum of money, farm animals,
furniture, and electronics.

The practice of dowry abuse is rising in India.  The most severe in “bride
burning”, the burning of women whose dowries were not considered sufficient
by their husband or in-laws.  Most of these incidents are reported as accidental
burns in the kitchen or are disguised as suicide.  It is evident that there exist
deep rooted prejudices against women in India. Cultural practices such as the
payment of dowry tend to subordinate women in Indian society.

Though prohibited by law in 1961, the extraction of DOWRY from the bride's
family prior to marriage still occurs. When the dowry amount is not considered
sufficient or is not forthcoming, the bride is often harassed, abused and made
miserable. This abuse can escalate to the point where the husband or his family
burn the bride, often by pouring kerosene on her and lighting it, usually killing
her. The official records of these incidents are low because they are often
reported as accidents or suicides by the family. In Delhi, a woman is burned to
death almost every twelve hours . The number of dowry murders is increasing.
In 1988, 2,209 women were killed in dowry related incidents and in 1990, 4,835
were killed . It is important to reiterate that these are official records, which are
immensely under reported. The lack of official registration of this crime is
apparent in Delhi, where ninety percent of cases of women burnt were recorded
as accidents, five percent as suicide and only the remaining five percent were
shown as murder .

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According to Government figures there were a total of 5,377 dowry deaths in
1993, an increase of 12% from 1992. Despite the existence of rigorous laws to
prevent dowry-deaths under a 1986 amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
convictions are rare, and judges (usually men) are often uninterested and
susceptible to bribery. Recent newspaper reports have focused on the alarming
rate of deaths of married women in Hamirpur, Mandi and Bilaspur districts in
the state of Himachal Pradesh.
 

WHY IS DOWRY PREVALENT IN INDIA?

I think we can all agree that dowry deaths are  a social stigma that India should
get rid off. We cannot be seen as a progressive society if so many young women
are killed because their husbands and in-laws are unhappy with the dowry they
have received (some chilling statistics here and here on the number of reported
dowry deaths).

Even if the  real numbers are significantly larger, they would still represent a
tiny fraction of India’s population. But, it would be incorrect to conclude that
this a practice that affects only a few. For the effect of dowry is not felt solely
by the victims (and families of victims) of dowry deaths and harassment, but by
the entire society.

Dowry is a manifestation of a greater social evil, one where women are thought
of as a burden first on her parents and later on her husband and in-laws. Hence,
the groom’s family is supposed to be compensated by the bride’s parents for
taking this burden of their shoulders. Such a practice that stems from a belief
that roughly half the population of the country is not equal to the other half is
definitely detrimental for society, both from humanitarian and economic points
of view. From an economic perspective, it is high sub-optimal when one half of
the population is not allowed to contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Why then is dowry prevalent in India despite being illegal since 1961? This
practice seems to ignore the borders of religion, caste, state, education and
wealth. There might be an inverse correlation between education levels of the
bride and likelihood of her family giving dowry (or like Levitt and Dubner
suggested in Superfreakonomics, between spread of cable television and
domestic abuse in India). But there are enough cases in each of our personal
lives that show that television and education alone are not enough to do away
with the practice of dowry.

Not convinced, then ask yourself how you react when you hear of someone in
your family or friends circle, asking or giving dowry. Do you cajole, berate and

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threaten until we convince them or do you choose to look the other way and say,
“We are like this only”? Most of us (if we are being honest with ourselves) will
answer that we turn a blind eye to dowry when we see it happening in front of
us.

The reasons that I can see for dowry being so prevalent are that:

1. Indian society continues to view women as a liability. People who take dowry
believe that it is their right because they are taking on someone else’s liability,
and people who give dowry feel they need to pay compensation for passing on
their liability to someone else. At the heart of this is the feeling that women are
not breadwinners.

2. People, who ask for dowry, are sure they can get away with it from the law
and that there will be no societal sanctions imposed against them.

3. People, who give dowry, do so because they don’t want to be seen as

rebelling against traditions or because they feel that it improves their social
stature.

4. People who see it happening will look the other way even if they disagree
with the practice. This is because they don’t realize that dowry is an externality
for which they too are sharing the cost.

Getting rid of the scourge of dowry requires a multi-pronged approach. Here are
some conventional approaches that many are trying:

i. More opportunities for women of all strata and education backgrounds to

become financially independent.

ii. More awareness campaigns on how the entire society suffers if one family
accepts dowry.

iii. Better enforcement of the law.

And here are some unconventional ideas that might be a little tougher to
implement:

a. Increasing the minimum age of marriage for men and women to 24. This will
do wonders for our population growth rate as well.

b. Encourage more youngsters to date and find their own spouses (preferably
outside their own community) instead of relying on arranged marriages.
Marriage is a union of two people and not a contract between families. There

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could be some government subsidies given to people who marry outside their
community.

c. Encourage young couples to move out of their joint family house after
marriage. This way, they are not a burden on anyone but each other. This can be
done by offering cheap housing to those starting out in life.

d. Neighbourhood watch programs (like in the US to keep crime and drugs out
of the neighbourhood) could help law enforcement agencies by  educating their
neighbourhood on the evils of dowry and reporting anyone who indulges in
dowry.

India: 50 Years On, Dowry Is Still With Us

by Nandini Rao
It has been almost five decades since India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961, to prevent the giving and taking of "any property or valuable security
given ... at or before or any time after the marriage" of two parties. The law was
meant to protect women from this pernicious practice that denigrates them and
assesses their value in monetary terms. In spite of the law that criminalizes the
custom in no uncertain terms, the giving and taking of dowry continues to be a
part of contemporary reality. The result is there for all to see, in countless media
stories of married women emotionally and mentally harassed, beaten, burnt and
murdered for dowry.

In its concept note for the India Court of Women on Dowry and Related Forms
of Violence Against Women, Vimochana, a Bangalore-based women's
organization, noted "Dowry ... is publicly condemned but privately condoned
and practiced; a subject of moral outrage only when the girl's family finally
collapses under the weight of the incessant demands for more money, jewellery,
property...more material goods, or when it finally consumes and destroys its
ultimate victim, the wife".

So where are we going wrong? Maybe the legal system is at fault, or, more
chillingly, the very institution of marriage and family that cheapens women's
lives.

In India - and in many South Asian countries - the die is cast from the moment a
child is born. Even today, in many parts of the country, the birth of a boy is
heralded with drums being beaten and sweets being distributed, while the birth
of a girl is quietly pushed under the 'chatai' (mat) or 'charpai' (cot).

The National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3) of India, 2006, indicated a

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decline in child sex ratio (0-6 years) for rural areas, at 921:1000 (as opposed to
934:1000 in 2001). The NFHS-3 data indicates that in the age group of 15-49
years, 41 per cent women have no education at all (as opposed to 22 per cent
men). Girls are expected to eat less, work more, participate in childcare and
rearing and still stay healthy in the process. In other words, from a very early
age, a girl is taught to "sacrifice" her personal well being in the name of her
family and learn that she is the custodian of the 'izzat' or honor of the clan. The
root cause of many of the injustices and inequalities Indian women face today
can be traced to this code.

The notion of marriages being made in heaven is often heard in India. Since this
relationship is divinely ordained, women have no choice but to accept it or - to
use the ubiquitous and very Indian expression - adjust to it. The patriarchal
practice of relocating a woman after marriage in a different setting is the easiest
way to disorient her and if the marital family is hostile, her alienation is
complete.

Being a caretaker of the 'izzat' of the family and, by extension, of the

community, gives rise to unreasonable expectations. A woman is expected to
accept her new reality unquestioningly. Irrational demands are often placed on
her family before, at the time of and even after the wedding, but they are
required to be entertained since the bridegroom's relatives always have the
upper hand in all matrimonial dealings. In return, the bride is expected to get the
"protection" of the man who she has married. Often, even this is denied to her.
Violence can easily become an inevitable part of a scenario where the
superiority of the man is acknowledged and the inferiority of the woman
reinforced at every turn.

With economic liberalization and the globalised market place, dowry

transactions have got even more commercialized. However Jagori, a women's
organization based in Delhi, cautions against an overtly facile understanding of
the phenomenon. In its info-pack, "Marching Together: Resisting Dowry in
India" (2009), it observes, "... while increasing consumerism has given dowry a
different dimension, it may be too simplistic to attribute its dogged survival
only to an atavistic culture ... Different sections (from within the women's
movement) have constructed the birth and survival of the practice through
different perspectives, resulting in a complex weave of multiple layers woven
through culture, economics, tradition, caste, hypergamy and ritual superiority.
Each of these strands intersect, pointing to the complexities of the practice.
They also raise a question mark on adopting legal redressal as the sole
mechanism for fighting dowry".

Today the giving and taking of dowry has been criminalized. Legislation to

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protect women against domestic abuse and violence include the Dowry
Prohibition Act, Sections 304B and 498A (of the Indian Penal Code) and the
Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005. Yet
women continue to hesitate to file complaints because they are worried about
the social repercussions of such a move for their families and themselves. Fear
of the financial consequences is also a dissuading factor and things are further
complicated if they happen to have children. Finally the patriarchal mindset
within the judicial system that often forces a compromise even if it means that
the affected woman ends up going back to the very situation of violence she was
trying to flee. br />
According to NFHS-3 data, one in every five women has faced domestic
violence in her life. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2007
statistics show that from 2006-2007 there was a 6.2 per cent increase in the rate
of cases filed under dowry deaths. However, cases of dowry deaths and cruelty
by husbands and their relatives only constitute about 21 per cent of "Violent
Crimes" and "Crimes against Women". This fairly low estimation makes one
wonder how many women victims of dowry harassment fall between the cracks
of the criminal justice system or opt out of it altogether. According to
demographic and health surveys, married women with no education are much
more likely (46 per cent) than other women to have suffered spousal violence.
However, spousal violence also extends to women who have 12 or more years
of education, with 12 per cent reporting violence.

Going by these figures no woman is really safe, it seems, from the menace of
domestic violence and dowry harassment. So who is responsible for ending this
violence? When will we start saying "dowry murders" rather than "dowry
deaths"? When will Indian society, irrespective of caste, religious, class or
community backgrounds, accept women as equal partners within the family? It
is only when a woman is seen as being "complete" in herself, socially,
economically and culturally; when society accepts that marriage is a woman's
choice and not her destiny, will the crime of dowry even begin to get
addressed. 

March 7, 2010

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The Acceptable Abuse: Women and
Dowries in India
By
neonorth
Published: January 20, 2010Posted in: Featured, News

By:  A.B. Thomas

As India quickly emerges into a world power, an issue has arisen that affects the
caste system from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich: the material
value of dowries. The tradition of dowries is strong in India, so much so that
instead of being pushed aside as Western materialistic and monetary
expectations turn the cultural expectations from the spiritual to the secular, the
prices of dowries have soared as a result of  the new benchmarks for quality of
life modern Western society has set. The largest sector in India to have felt the
brunt of this increase are not the castes; whether it be the poorest to the richest;
but the feminine gender contained in each of those castes.

Estimates place the ratio of  women at eight for every 10 men in India. In the
mainstream Indian culture, a married man is considered  an elevation in the
man’s status within his community. The increasing ratio of men to women in
India’s populous has been discussed as a masculine problem although almost no
attention has been focused on the major area that has caused this imbalance of
genders in the Indian culture: dowries. The payment of monies and/or land,
animals, furniture as well as other assets of the bride’s family, the dowry, called
‘Dahej’, along with the bride, called Kanyadaan, is still considered an important
aspect of the majority of Indian marriages, even  though the practice of dahej
YASH JAIN ROLL NO 70 F1 Page 7
was legally prohibited in 1961 by the Indian government. As India’s wealth and
status in the world climbs, so does the costs to the bride’s family as to what is
acceptable for a dahej.  The families feel  ‘burdened’ by having daughters to
disconsolateness. It takes marrying off only one daughter to destroy the average
Indian family’s savings.  Having two, three or more daughters guarantees that
family’s economic, emotional, social and psychological implosion.

The cost of the dahej does not end for some women once the marriage has
begun. If the amount of the dahej is considered insufficient by the bridegroom’s
family, or if the bride’s family is remiss on payment of the dahej, women are
made to suffer for the ‘sins’ of their families. The actions taken towards those
women can be anywhere from  harassment or abuse; to having kerosene  poured
on the woman then set alight, called ‘bride burning’, in its severest form of
showing dissatisfaction. While accurate records are not kept by the Indian
government on the number of ‘bride burning’ incidences,  5,377 were reported
as such in 1993.  It is estimated that this is approximately a mere five percent of
the incidences that have actually occurred are called murder, with the majority
of  burnt brides classified as accidents or suicides by the family. According to
one social agency,  in Delhi a woman is burned to death almost every twelve
hours. Though the price some married women pay to have the honoured title of
‘wife’ would appear high, the cost to women yet to marry is as treacherous.

The struggle for women in India begins before they are born; families do not
look at girls as blessings to their numbers. Many families will celebrate the birth
of a son but will mourn for the birth of a baby girl as the family sees not what a
baby girl will bring to the lives of that family, but the cost that baby will bring
to the family in the future. In North America or Europe, when a little girl goes
missing,  it is worthy of being national news no matter how small of a town she
comes from; in India it is estimated that almost 1,000,000 girls and women have
disappeared yet little is said about this statistic. Orphanages in India are stocked
with a large number of girls who have been abandoned by their families on the
orphanage’s door steps or simply left at the side of a road with the knowledge
that they were not tossed aside because of who they are but for what their future
will cost their families.

With the universality of foetal technology access such as ultrasounds, an entire

new lucrative career has opened up in India. The poorest of pregnant women
and their families will give all that they can in order to have these tests made in
order to determine the sex of the child  the woman is carrying. Although it is
illegal for a doctor to tell the woman what the sex of the baby is in India, the
nurses, whether out of true concern for the welfare of the women or for the price
of a bribe, often will tell the woman the sex of the baby,  whether they actually
know the sex or not. This has led to a secondary lucrative business in India;

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abortion clinics. There are no official statistics for the reasons for the around 6.7
million abortions performed in India a year, but with the gender bias against
women as strong as it is, one can extrapolate that a fair percentage of those
operations  are not because of genetic defects or medical issues with the women
who have them performed.

There are two questions that come to mind when looks at the custom of dahej.
At what point will the men of India decide that the percentage of available
women to marry is far enough below the average to create a handicap to
marriage, and subsequently a  loss of respect for their brothers and sons? What
will the condition of the female gender be when India has reached its desired
entry into the Western World’s definition of ‘developed’? Will the practice of
dahej still exist as openly as it does currently?

To judge India by North American and European standards on the treatment of

women is hypocritical in both the widest and narrowest of thought; the two
societies both have their fair share of dirty secrets when it comes to the equality
of women. What occurs in India happens on the two continents as well,
although it is far less openly accepted or as final as the ‘bride burning’.  One
only needs to look at the occupancy rates in women’s shelters, at  court records
and internet snuff sites. The difference between Europe and North America and
India is on the will of the criminal justice system to prosecute those who get
caught. Perhaps the real question will not be whether India’s government will
look at the dahej as something more serious than they are treating it now but
whether India is ready to accept putting these actions farther into the shadows to
satisfy the palettes of good international etiquette.

DOWRY IN INDIA PUTTING THE MARRIAGE ON STAKE

Dowry is a social evil which is ‘hated’ by most of the ‘educated’ Indians but
‘practiced’ very proudly in their own lives. It shows the crude difference
between theory and reality, delivering a speech and living that out, ethics and
practicality.

Dowry is over-discussed, but still remains prevalent in our society with all its
strength. Dowry is such a nuisance which has been making our daughters a
burden to their parents. How can the poor couples living in the poverty-stricken
rural India indulge the thought of giving birth to a female child while they
themselves are victims of this awful custom of dowry? It is a nightmare for
them, having a daughter as they know that they have to accumulate a significant
amount of money as dowry to be given during their daughter’s marriage, which

YASH JAIN ROLL NO 70 F1 Page 9

would not be possible for them in a normal way. They are so poor that they
cannot afford to pay dowry. And, even today, marriage in rural India and to an
extent, in urban India also is impossible without dowry and women’s status in
the society and family are connected to her marriage. Unfortunately and
unreasonably, a woman remains secluded and sometimes cursed by the family
members, neighbours and others if she is not married at a ‘proper’ age. To an
extent, dowry is responsible for many other social evils like female infanticides,
killing of female babies immediately after birth, early marriage, various sorts of
domestic violence against women, bride burning and so on and so forth. The
statistics presented below will show the incidence of dowry deaths in India.

Table 1

Table 2

It is evident from Table 1 that dowry deaths had been on the rise from 2006 to
2008 at the national level. Table 2 indicates the states where dowry deaths are
high amongst others in India. It shows that dowry deaths are increasing in
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Orissa and West Bengal also have
high rates of dowry deaths. Point to note is that these are only the reported
cases; the actual number may differ from it.

The origin of dowry is found in our past. According to Sonia Dalmia and
Pareena G. Lawrence (2005), The Hindu Law of Mitakshara encouraged the

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custom of dowry in ancient India which guaranteed a son’s inheritance to his
parents’ property at birth, but the girls were not entitled to the parental
possessions. In such a situation, the system of giving daughter a handsome
amount of money at an appropriate time, usually at her marriage, was a kind of
compensation to the inheritance system. Followed, the daughter did not have
any right over her parents’ property. It helped preventing division in the family
belongings, particularly the immovable ones like land, house etc. as dowry
generally consisted of movable properties.

There were three upper caste practices in India namely Kanyadhana,

Varadakshina and Stridhana which also supports dowry. Gifts to virgin bride
was called Kanyadhana, whereas voluntary gifts given by the bride’s father to
the groom was conceived as varadakshina and voluantary gifts given by the
relatives and others to the bride was Stridhana (P. Srinivasan and Gary R. Lee :
2004). In all, these were contributions to the groom and his family from the
bride’s side, no matter they were voluntary or non-voluntary.

The modern India could not go far from ancient India in the sense that girls are
not treated equal to boys and dowry is considered to be an integral part of
marriage even today. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 did a little to eliminate
it from our society.

AMENDMENT TO DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT 1961

In order to provide more teeth to dowry-prevention laws, the Government has
decided to make it mandatory for couples to notify the list of gifts exchanged
during their wedding ceremony.

The rule will come about through an amendment to the existing Dowry
Prohibition Act 1961 (DPA).

The list of gifts, in form of a sworn affidavit, has to be notarised, signed by a

protection officer or a dowry prohibition officer and kept by both the parties.
Failing this can invite heavy penalty including a three-year term in jail for not
only bride and groom but also their parents.

The ministry of women and child development (MWCD) is moving a cabinet

note seeking amendment in the existing provisions of DPA, official sources
said.

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The amendments are expected to be placed before cabinet for its approval this
month end and is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the coming budget session,
the sources said.

The amendments include having lesser penalty for the dowry givers, allowing a
woman to file case where she permanently or temporarily resides, to include
parents and relatives of the bride as aggrieved persons and who can complain
and link the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) with the
dowry laws for quick relief.

The definition of dowry is also being widened by changing the word "in
connection with marriage" to "given before the marriage, at the time and at any
time after the marriage".
In case of a woman's death, all property obtained as dowry would need to be
reverted back to the parents of the woman or her children.

The justification for this is that the taking of dowry by the husband itself was
illegal, the dowry liable to be returned in her lifetime on her death cannot give
rise to a claim of inheritance.

Ministry wants a clear distinction between "gifts" given voluntarily from those
given under duress or compulsion. It also wants expression "presents" used in
Section 3 (2) of the DPA to be substituted with "gifts" to indicate the voluntary
intent behind the exchange. The expression "gifts" finds definition in law under
the Gift-Tax Act 1958.

"There are no penalties provided for the failure to maintain lists of gifts
exchanged in connection with the marriage. The maintenance of lists of gifts is
crucial for the effective implementation of the law," the National Commission
for Women (NCW), that had prepared the amendments, explained.

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LAW RELATED TO DOWRY AND ITS
DEFINATION AS PER LAW

Dowry
As per section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act

"Dowry" means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be

given either directly or indirectly

(a) By one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage, or

(b) By the parent of either party to a marriage or by any other person, , to

either party to the marriage or to any other person,

at or before ... or any time after the marriage ... in connection with the
marriage of the said parties ...

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Stridhan

Stridhan is, generally speaking, what a woman can claim as her own
property within a marital household. It may include her jewelry (gifted
either by her family or by her in-laws), gifts presented to her during the
wedding or later, and the dowry articles given by her family.

Gifts given by the parents of the bride are considered "stridhan", i.e.
property of the woman, traditionally representing her share of her parent's
wealth.

The Dowry Prohibition (DP) Act

Introduced and taken up by then Indian law minister Ashoke Kumar Sen,
this Act[4] prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as
consideration for the marriage". where "dowry" is defined as a gift
demanded or given as a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a
precondition are not considered dowry, and are legal. Asking or giving of
dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of
up to Rs. 15000 or the amount of dowry whichever is higher and
imprisonment up to 5 years. It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry
legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states.

Section 4 of the said Act states:

4. Penalty for demanding dowry.- If any person demands, directly or

indirectly, from the parents or other relatives or guardian of a bride or
bridegroom, as the case may be, any dowry, he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months, but which

YASH JAIN ROLL NO 70 F1 Page 14

may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand
rupees.

Provided that the Court may, for a adequate and special reasons to be
mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term
of less than six months.

However, as per section 3 of the Act,[6] both the giver and the receiver are
sought to be punished.

3. Penalty for giving or taking dowry.- [(Note: Section 3 re-numbered as

sub-section (1) thereof by Act No.63 of 1984, sec.3) (1)] If any person, after
the commencement of this Act, gives or takes or abets the giving or taking
of dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than [(Note: Subs. by Act 43 of 1986, Sec.3) five years, and with
fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of
the value of such dowry, whichever is more:]

Provided that the Court may, for a adequate and special reasons to be
recorded in he judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment of a term of
less than [(Note: Subs. by Act 43 of 1986, Sec.3) five years.]

(2) [(Note: Ins. by Act 63 of 1984, sec.3) Nothing is sub section (1) shall
apply to, or in relation to, -

(a) Presents which are given at the time of a marriage to the bride (without
any demand having been made in that behalf).

(b) Presents which are given at the time of a marriage to the bridegroom
(without any demand having been made in that behalf).

Provided that such presents are entered in a list maintained in accordance

with the rules made under this Act.

Provided further that where such presents are made by or on behalf of the
bride or any person related to the bride, such presents are of a customary
nature and the value thereof is not excessive having regard to the financial
status of the person by whom, or on whose behalf, such presents are given.

YASH JAIN ROLL NO 70 F1 Page 15

IPC Section 406
This section, for offences related to Criminal Breach of Trust, is usually
applied in investigation of Stridhan recovery from the husband and his
family.

Offences under this section are bailable and cognizable.

Section 406.

Punishment for criminal breach of trust

Whoever commits criminal breach of trust shall be punished with

imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three
years, or with fine, or with both.

IPC Section 304B

This Section of the Indian Penal Code was inserted by a 1986 amendment.

The wording of the lawstates:

Section 304B. Dowry death

(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or
occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of
her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected
to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband
for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be
called "dowry death" and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have
caused her death.

Explanation:-For the purpose of this sub-section, "dowry" shall have the

same meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 ( 28 of
1961).

(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment

for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to
imprisonment for life.

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IPC Section 498A
Section 498A was inserted into the Indian Penal Code in 1983 via an
amendment.

It reads:

498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to

cruelty.

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman,

subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation-For the purpose of this section, "cruelty" means-

(a) Any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the
woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or
health whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) Harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to

coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for
any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any
person related to her meet such demand.

This section is non-bailable, non-compoundable (i.e. it cannot be privately

resolved between the parties concerned) and cognizable.

Prosecution for a non-compoundable offence can only be quashed by a

High Court of India under its powers under section 482 of Criminal
Procedure Code of India. Usually, cases under 498A are quashed by
mutual agreement when the husband and wife reconcile with each other, or
agree to divorce by mutual consent.

After registration of an FIR for a cognizable, non-bailable offence, the

police in India can arrest any and all of the accused named in the
complaint.

Domestic Violence Act (2005/2006)

Main article: Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005

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The above being criminal remedies, a civil remedy was brought into the
picture in 2005 (amended in 2006). This was called the "Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act".

For the purpose of this act, Domestic Violence includes the demand for
dowry:

For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of
the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it -

(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-
being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so
and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional
abuse and economic abuse; or

(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view
to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful
demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or

(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related
to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or(d) otherwise
injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved
person.

This Act empowered the lower courts to issue "protection orders" on the
complaint of a woman against her male relatives. The protection orders
could include restraining orders on the husband and others, monetary
compensation, and residence orders.

Though it is a Civil remedy, violation of protection orders result in

Criminal penalties (including imprisonment).

Criticism of Anti-Dowry Laws

Criticism by Judiciary

The Supreme Court of India and the various High Courts have noted the
gross misuse of IPC 498A in various judgments:

 Supreme court declared 498a as "Legal Terrorism" while giving

judgment in matter of Sushil Kumar Sharma Vs. Union of India
(UOI) and Ors - Jul 19 2005 (Citation: JT 2005 (6) SC 266).

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Criticism outside India
Several reports of the abuse of Section 498A have involved couples based
outside India especially in the US & Canada. The United States
Department of State has published the following travel warning:

A number of US men who have come to India to marry Indian nationals

have been arrested and charged with crimes related to dowry extraction.
Many of the charges stem from the US citizen’s inability to provide an
immigrant visa for his prospective spouse to travel immediately to the
United States.

The courts sometimes order the US citizen to pay large sums of money to
his spouse in exchange for the dismissal of charges. The courts normally
confiscate the American’s passport, and he must remain in India until the
case has been settled.

It is stated in Travel Advisory by US, since the police may arrest anyone
who is accused of committing a crime (even if the allegation is frivolous in
nature), the Indian criminal justice system is often used to escalate personal
disagreements into criminal charges. This practice has been increasingly
exploited by dissatisfied business partners, contractors, estranged spouses,
or other persons with whom the US citizen has a disagreement, occasionally
resulting in the jailing of US citizens pending resolution of their disputes.
At the very least, such circumstances can delay the US citizen's timely
departure from India, and may result in an unintended long-term stay in
the country. Corruption in India, especially at local levels, is a concern, as
evidenced by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index of
3.5, ranking India in 72nd place of the world’s countries.

In a well publicized case, Dr. Balamurali Ambati, who earned his MD at

age 17, and his family were detained in India for over three years in a suit
related to alleged dowry demands by the family for his brother's wife
Archana, which delayed Dr. Ambati's entry to the ophthalmology program
for two years, leaving him to begin his residency in 1998. All charges
against him were dismissed in October 1996 and all his family members
were acquitted in June 1999.

During the course of the trial the Ambatis produced a tape in which the
father of Archana demanded US $500,000 to drop all the charges although
the details of this particular case are still debated in India.

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Criticism by Social Groups

Criticism by Men's Rights movements

According to the Men's Rights movement in India, the laws suffer from the
following shortcomings:

 Gender Bias: The laws do not recognize cruelty and domestic

violence against men. The police in India almost never registers
complaints of extortion or violence against men in a domestic
relationship, whereas registering a complaint under 498A (where a
woman is the aggrieved party) is widespread.
 Vague definitions of Dowry and Stridhan.
 Presumption of guilt. IPC 304B assumes that if the accidental death
of a wife happens within 7 years of marriage, it should be assumed to
be murder, unless the husband can prove his innocence.[13] Similarly,
the Dowry Prohibition Act (section 8-A) states that "Where any
person is prosecuted for taking or abetting the taking of any dowry
under Sec. 3, or the demanding of dowry under Sec.4, the burden of
proving that he had not committed an offence under those sections
shall be on him."
 Duplication of existing laws: Laws already exist to deal with offences
against intimidation, violence, extortion and murder. A "dowry
death" can be considered a murder, and a demand for dowry can be
considered extortion under existing laws. The additional laws,
instead of reforming the police, mostly serve to shift the burden of
proof onto the accused.
 A corrupt police force which often does no investigation before
arresting innocent people.
 Human Rights violations: In most cases involving Non-Resident
Indians, their passports are impounded and they are restricted from
traveling outside the country.
 No penalties, in practice, for false complaints or for perjury.

Police Circulars

The Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as various State governments, have

issued notifications and circulars which limit the arbitrary arrests made by
Police during investigation of dowry-related offences.

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Demands for Amending the law
The Malimath committee in 2003 proposed making amendments to this
section although such amendments were opposed by Women's groups.

The Centre for Social Research India has released a research report [3]
opposing amendments to section 498A. According to this report, in the
studied cases there were no convictions based solely on section 498A. The
report however states that 60.5 percent of the studied cases were falsified.
They also state that many people believe the law has been abused by
"educated and independent minded women." A police official asserted that
in his district one-third of dowry murder cases were found totally false by
the police.

However, on December 17, 2003, the then Minister of State for Home
Affairs, I.D. Swami said: “There is no information available with the
Government to come to the conclusion that many families in India are
suffering due to exaggerated allegations of harassment and dowry cases
made by women against their husbands and other family members
involving them in criminal misappropriation and cruelty.”

On 20 July 2005, Justices Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Seema of the Indian
Supreme Court declared Section 498A to be constitutional."The object is to
strike at the root of dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision a new
legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used as a
shield and not an assassin's weapon. If [the] cry of "wolf" is made too often
as a prank, assistance and protection may not be available when the actual
wolf appears," the Bench said..

In August 2010, the Supreme Court asked the Government of India to

amend the Dowry Laws to prevent their misuse.

Social Repercussions
In urban India, the majority of families have inadequate knowledge
regarding section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Even temporary imprisonment followed by acquittal leads to loss of social

standing.

Divorced men and women who are involved in litigation find it almost
impossible to get married again.

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HOW TO STOP DOWRY SYSTEM?

Gradually the society can get transformed to a dowry free marriage

system....well basudha dowry system is a curse for our society and also its a evil
for our society .everyone should oppose it and protest against it.to erase this
system every family should be aware about this and one thing should be
remember by every bride family that if any groom or ant boys family demand
for dowry the bride family.

Dowry is an age old system. It was in vogue even in prehistoric age. However,
over the period of ages dowry is being looked from different beneficial
angles/aspects. Now a day, it has become a menace take it as a challenge for
them2. They should take pledge to stop it from their time.3. The dowry
demanding is a crime. If somebody violets anybody can be punished under
[4.Penalty for demanding dowry.

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