Table of Content💻
Introduction
In the 21st century, a kind of evil practice is going on which affects society badly. According to THE DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT, 1961, (Act No. 28 of 1961), Dowry means any property or valuable security given to be either directly or indirectly by one party to a marriage to another party. In other words, It is a sum amount of money demanded by the groom and his family for entering into marriage. It is a cognizable offence. The amount depends on a large number of factors, including region, religion, caste and sub-caste, groom's education, bride's skin tone, and the negotiation skills of both the families involved1. It not only occurred in villages but also in the middle class and educated families.
The gifts should be given voluntarily by parents, and relatives for support to the newly married couple to start their new life with each other. Demanding any amount of money or property from any party is an offence in India.
When the girl's family is capable, of giving gifts to the bride of their choice then it's not an issue but the wrong is that when the groom's family demands from the bride's incapable family, they have to take loans or debts from banks, landlords, relatives, and different sources, the whole life of girls parents spends to clear debts. This practice leads to financial burdens on the girl's family and the girl is considered a burden on the family members.
ISSUES
Women are abused and killed.
Dowry maintains gender inequality.
Women are considered a financial burden.
It traps poor people in debt.
It causes crime against women including domestic violence, abetment to suicide, etc.
Sometimes merit of girls is of no value, and the high ratings of dowry for different categories for boys are fixed, for example, doctors, engineers, professors, etc.
In a report published by the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 8,618 female homicides related to dowry disputes in 2011, and 3,239 suicides by women due to dowry issues and there is a 2.7% and 4.7% increase, respectively, from the previous year. It also reported a 27% increase in arrests under the Dowry Prohibition Act in 2011 from 2010 and there is an alarming 59% increase in total crimes against women in India over the period. 2 An Indian woman becomes a victim of dowry death roughly every hour as per the NCRB 2019 data.
CASE LAWS
Kamlesh Panjiyar vs. State of Bihar: In this case, the Appellant demanded Rs. 40,000 as dowry from the Respondent and it was paid to him. After the wedding, the Appellant asked for more Dowry but wasn't fulfilled by the Respondent's family. Due to this the Appellant began to torture the Respondent and caused many injuries. The Respondent died of the injuries. The Sessions Court found the Appellant guilty and punished him with imprisonment of 10 years. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Sessions Court. 3
In Satya Narayan Tiwari Jolly & Anr vs State of U.P. (2010 11 Scale 481), it had held: "Unfortunately, what is happening in our society is that out of lust for money people are often demanding dowry and after extracting as much money as they can they kill the wife and marry again…." 4.
The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961
is considered to be the primary legislation to abolish the prevalent practice of dowry in India. The main aim of the Act is to prohibit dowry Transactions by parties to a marriage. Demanding and advertising for dowry is also prohibited by the Act. The punishments for taking dowry and also for demanding it are provided in the Act. It made dowry a cognizable and non-bailable offence. Section 304B deals with dowry death in India. It states that if a woman dies within seven years of marriage by any burns or bodily injury or it was revealed that before her marriage she was exposed to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any other relative of the husband in connection to demand dowry then the death of the woman will be considered as dowry death. Section 113B of the Indian Evidence Act deals with the presumption as to dowry death. It states that if a woman dies concerning any demand for dowry and it was shown that soon before her death she was subjected to harassment or cruelty by any person. Then the court will assume such a person is responsible for her death.
MISUSE OF DOWRY PROHIBITION LAWS
Many numbers of men and their families were implicated falsely by extortionists In many cases, it is seen as a misuse of this act by the women against her laws. The loophole of the law is that it's not a ' gender neutral law', the government should be taken steps to make the above-stated law neutral because crime is a crime, and those who are committing they are liable to get punishment except for any caste, gender, religion, etc.
CASE LAWS
1. Savitri Devi Vs. Ramesh Chand & Others, 2003 (69) DRJ 6
this kind of Petition is misconceived and is being used as a tool to accuse the entire family of in-laws of ransom, the woman Is rather extorting money by putting false allegation under s498A and allegation of dowry.
2. Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar & Others, 2013 5
The Supreme Court has observed that ―Section 498A is a cognizable and non-bailable offense and has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the Provisions that are used as weapons rather than shields by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get The husband and his relatives arrested under this provision.
Data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that on average about 1,00,000 cases are filed under section 498a annually. The rate of conviction — where the accusation was proven — varied between 20% in 2011 and 14% in 2015. The conviction rate under all IPC sections was 46% in 2015. According to men, this gap in conviction rate is proof that a large number of false cases were being filed under section 498A. 6
CONCLUSION
The practice of dowry is not only illegal but also unethical. It is considered a crime. Proper implementation of anti-dowry laws may help. In addition, misuse of such laws must be checked Therefore, the conscience of society needs to be fully awakened to the evils of the dowry system so that the demand for dowry itself should lead to a 'loss of face' in society for those who demand it. Women's education and their empowerment with change in the social mindset is the way forward.
This article is written by Rita Kumari Roy, a B.A.LLB student at the University of North Bengal.
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