dowry prohibition act 1961 essay

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Dowry Prohibition Act

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• India Code - The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
• People's Archive of Rural India - The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
• International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research - Evaluating the Efficacy of the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 in India: An Analysis of Legal Provisions, Enforcement Mechanisms, and Their Alignment with Changing Social Realities Addressing Emerging Challenges and Proposing Enhancements Strategies
• Cyberabad Metropolitan Police - The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
• Ministry of Women and Child Development - Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

Dowry Prohibition Act , Indian law , enacted on May 1, 1961, intended to prevent the giving or receiving of a dowry . Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry includes property, goods, or money given by either party to the marriage, by the parents of either party, or by anyone else in connection with the marriage. The Dowry Prohibition Act applies to persons of all religions in India .

The original text of the Dowry Prohibition Act was widely judged to be ineffective in curbing the practice of dowry. Moreover, specific forms of violence against women continued to be linked to a failure to meet dowry demands. As a result, the legislation underwent subsequent amendment . In 1984, for example, it was changed to specify that presents given to a bride or a groom at the time of a wedding are allowed. The law required, however, that a list be maintained describing each gift, its value, the identity of the person giving it, and the person’s relation to either party to the marriage. The act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code were further amended to protect female victims of dowry-related violence. Another layer of legal protection was provided in 2005 under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Amendments to the original Dowry Prohibition Act also established minimum and maximum punishments for giving and receiving dowry and created a penalty for demanding dowry or advertising offers of money or property in connection with a marriage. The Indian Penal Code was also modified in 1983 to establish specific crimes of dowry-related cruelty, dowry death, and abetment of suicide . These enactments punished violence against women by their husbands or their relatives when proof of dowry demands or dowry harassment could be shown.

Despite the revisions, however, the practice of dowry and dowry-related violence still occurs in varying degrees within several communities and socioeconomic groups of India.

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Critical Analysis of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

This post has been written by Deyashini Mondal, a first-year student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Any young man, who makes dowry a condition to marriage, discredits his education and his country and dishonours womanhood-Mahatma Gandhi

Dowry is an ancient evil practice prevailing in our country. Several women time and again become victims of this cruel custom. In order to stop this horrible act, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was enacted by the Parliament of India which specifies all the provisions related to dowry – its meaning, punishment, etc.

Dowry can be defined as any property (movable or immovable), valuable assets (jewellery, cash), etc., given or agreed to be given directly or indirectly to one party to the marriage (parents, relatives, etc.) to the other party to the marriage. There must be a connection between the property or asset demanded and the marriage. The customary payments in relation to the birth of a child or any other ceremonies are not considered to be dowry.

Due to the failure to meet the dowry demands, women are subject to specific forms of violence. Various cases have come forth to public notice where brides on failure to bring the promised or expected amount of dowry have been beaten up, locked in dingy rooms, tortured physically and mentally, kept without food for days, strangulated or burnt alive and forced to even commit suicide. In order to eradicate this horrendous social evil from the Indian society, in the year 0f 1961, the Parliament passed the Dowry Prohibition Act which applies to not only Hindus but also Muslims, Christians, Parsis, and Jews. This Act, however, had no effect and the evil practice continued to reign supreme. Several states in India amended the DPA, 1961 with a view to making it more efficient. They did not succeed in curbing, much less eradicating, the dowry menace.

It was deduced by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the dowry of 1982 that the main reasons for failure of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 are two: Firstly the definition of dowry according to Section 2 of the Act excludes all presents (whether cash or kind) from being termed as dowry unless they have been given as a consideration of marriage which is almost impossible to prove that the gifts or presents given at, after or before the marriage was given as a consideration of marriage. The undisputed reason is that no giver of dowry will ever come forward to say that he has given the gifts as a consideration of marriage, as giving dowry is as much of an offence as taking dowry.

Secondly, the Act did not have an effective enforcement instrumentality. No court can take the cognizance of a dowry offence except on complaint, made by a person within one year from the date of the commission of a dowry offence. It is unrealistic to expect the bride or bride’s parents or other relations to go to lodge a complaint. The parents are usually the victims of dowry. They are unwilling (and certainly reluctant) to come forward because of their apprehension that it may lead to the victimization of their daughter. Considering all the points the Supreme Court has observed in Vikas v State of Rajasthan [1] that not only the effective implementation of the laws but also the society must control the receipt and payment of dowry. It is the society that has to evolve ways and means to curb this evil.

Punishment for dowry

Dowry is a punishable offence. Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 there are several sections as:

• Section 3(1) of DPA “ 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 five years, and with the fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry. ”
• Section 3 does not contravene articles 14, 19, 21, and 22 of the Constitution and therefore this section is not ultra vires of the said articles. The offence is founded in the relationship of the property demanded as abettor with the nature of demand. It should not bear a mere connection with marriage. Abetment is a preparatory act and connotes active complicity on the part of the abettor at a point of time prior to the actual commission of the offence.
• According to section 4 (1) of DPA “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 may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees. ”
• The mere demand for dowry before marriage is considered an offence. Even before the commencement of the marriage, demanding dowry in itself is punishable and so is its continuous demand after the marriage. Creating a list of ornaments and other household articles amount to the demand of dowry and the accused will be held liable under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

Judicial overview

The Bombay High Court in the case of Smt. Sarla Prabhakar Wagmare v. State of Maharashtra [2] under Section 498(A), I.P.C. observed that not all harassment or every type of cruelty amounts to an offence under Section 498(A). it must be established that the harassment and beating were with a motive to force the wife to fulfill or commit illegal and unreasonable demands of the husband and in-laws. In this case, the court held that there was no proof that the wife was forced to commit suicide or to fulfill the illegal demands of the husband.

In the case of Ashok Kumar v State of Punjab [3] , it was held by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the husband could not ben convicted under Section 306 and acquitted him on the grounds that there was no proof of the husband was committing cruelty against his wife which removes the presumption of his abetting his wife’s suicide.

The Supreme Court in the case of State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal [4]  held that the Court must be extremely careful while assessing the facts and circumstances of each case and the shreds of evidence adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding if there was cruelty committed on the victim that had in fact induced her to end her life by committing suicide

In the State (Delhi) v. Gulzari Lai [5] , the case was on circumstantial evidence. It was held that in the case of circumstantial evidence, motive plays an important work. The accused can be convicted if the circumstances add up to indicate that the accused is not innocent and was a part of the crime. Hence, in this case, the accused was acquitted by the Court. When appealed to the Supreme Court, it was held by the Court that it would be very difficult for them to interfere with the order of acquittal passed by the High Courts.

The sole purpose of enacting the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was to stop the offering and taking of dowry. A noteworthy aspect of this problem is the word or material dowry was never the problem. Rather it was the unreasonable demands and the violence that followed which arose due to the non-fulfillment of those demands and this eventually led to the increase in the problem.

https://www.latestlaws.com/articles/all-about-dowry-prohibition-act-1961-by-roopali-lamba/#:~:text=Dowry%20is%20an%20ancient%20evil,%E2%80%93%20its%20definition%20%2C%20punishment%20etc.

https://crlreview.in/the-dowry-prohibition-act-what-you-must-know/

http://www.cyberabadpolice.gov.in/information/PDF/acts-laws/act-dowry.pdf

[1] Vikas v State of Rajasthan, (2014) 3 SCC 321

[2] Smt. Sarla Prabhakar Wagmare v. State of Maharashtra, 1990 CriLJ 407

[3] Ashok Kumar v State of Punjab, AIR 1977 SC 109

[4] State of West Bengal v. Orilal Jaiswal , (1994) 1 SCC 73

[4] State (Delhi) v. Gulzari Lai, AIR 1979 SC 1382

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Cultural India

Dowry system in india – causes, effects & solution.

Marriage is an integral part of society, a source of joy and festivities as well as of new beginnings. Yet, one of the longest standing evils associated with marriage from a woman’s point of view in the Indian society is the Dowry system. Despite a lot being said and done against the custom, it is still prevalent in the 21st century, in both subtle and obvious ways. The root of a host of social atrocities against women, the custom of presenting dowry is the crudest expression of the male-dominance in the society. It is most often the mandatory custom of a girl’s parents having to provide a considerable amount of cash, gold in the form of jewelry, electronic equipment, movable or immovable properties, to the groom and his family, at the time of marriage. Although the origin of the custom lies with parents trying to assure financial stability for their daughters, in current perspective it has translated into parents paying up for the assurance of well-being of their daughters. The jewelry and cash that a bride brings with her from her parents’ house is often referred to as “Streedhan” and in theory is the property of the girl, but in reality it is often treated as their rightful due by the groom’s family. The sum to be paid as dowry has no set standard, the yardstick greatly depends on the groom’s profession/social standing and is often perceived as the groom’s family as the compensation of efforts they have made to educate their boy. In a more subtle perspective, one may define this custom as the unquestioned idea that the girl’s family is inferior in standing with the boy’s family, no matter what her qualities are. Thus they need to be on their best behavior and offer lavish “gifts” to please the boy’s family. This ideal is so ingrained in the psyche of a large number of Indians, they either practically ruin themselves financially in order to pay for the appropriate price of the chosen groom, or make a bid to eradicate the prospect of this financial burden by selective gender-biased abortion or female infanticide.This exploitative system that has turned the custom of giving gifts and well wishes into a compulsory demand for money, respect and subjugation, is the one of the major contributing factors hindering the growth of the Indian society where being a woman is still viewed synonymous to being a burden.

Causes of Dowry System

1. Greed Factor – dowry demands often is exemplary of the collective greed of the society. Extortion in the name of social standing, compensation for the cost of groom’s education, his financial stability is a key feature of Indian marriages. Demands are put forward shamelessly and are expected to be met with silence. Threats of withdrawing the proposal looms on the bride’s family’s head at the cost of losing face in the community, and portions of the agreed upon sum is often demanded before the actual ceremony.

2. Society Structure – the dowry system is largely the manifestation of the patriarchal nature of the Indian society where men are considered superior to women in aspects of physical and mental capabilities. With the backdrop of such societal structure, women are often considered second-tier citizens, fit to assume only domesticated roles. Such perceptions are often associated of them being treated as a burden in economic terms first by the father and then by the husband. This feeling is further compounded by the dowry system which fuels the belief that girl child is a potential cause of drain of family finances.

3. Religious Dictates – Religious constraints imposed by the society on marriage customs, mainly suitability of groom have a contributing factor towards the dowry problem. These constraints do not condone inter-religious marriages or even between different religious sects and a suitable groom has to be found from the same religious backgrounds. These restrictions limit the number of suitable matches. Boys of marriageable age with desirable qualifications become a prize and this in turn encourages the practice of the catch being caught by the highest bidder.

4. Social Constraints – Aside from similar religious backgrounds, further constrains are imposed based on caste system and social status. Practices like caste endogamy and clan exogamy, has to be kept in mind while arranging a match. Preferred matches have to belong to the same caste, different clan and same or higher social standings. These limitations again severely deplete the pool of marriageable men leading to similar consequences for demanding dowry.

5. Social Status of Women – the inferior social standing of women in Indian society is so deep-rooted in the psyche of the nation, that this treatment of them as mere commodities is accepted without question, not only by the family but by the women themselves. When marriage is viewed as the ultimate achievement for women, evil practices like dowry takes its roots deeper in the society.

6. Illiteracy – lack of formal education is another cause for the prevalence of the dowry system. A large number of women are deliberately kept from schools either due to certain superstitions or from the belief that educating girls will take away from their eligibility as good wives.

7. Propulsion Towards Adhering to Customs – Indians value traditions a lot and they tend not to question customs. They follow traditions blindly and provide dowry because it is the norm handed down through generations.

8. Urge to Show Off – dowry is often a means for showing off social stature in our country. One’s worth in society is often measured by how much one spends in daughter’s wedding or how much gold one gives to them. This perspective heavily justifies the practice of dowry demands. The boy’s family in turns gains new heights of social standings based of the amount of dowry their new bride brings in which is indicator of how desirable their boy was in the marriage market.

Effects of Dowry System

1. Short Term Effects of Dowry System – these effects of the dowry system are immediate and are a permanent fixture in the daily news.

a. Injustice towards girls – dowry bears a huge financial obligation for the bride’s family. As a consequence, a girl child is viewed a possible source of drain on the family’s finances, ultimately an onus. This view evolves into gigantic proportions taking the shape of infanticides and feticides of girl child. Girls are often marginalized in the areas of education where boys of the family are given preference. They are thrust towards domestic chores from a very early age. A host of restrictions are imposed on them in the name of family honour and they are made to stay indoors. Child marriages are still practiced because age is counted as an index of purity. It also stems from the belief that young girls can be better molded into the household roles than older girls. The amount of dowry increases according to the girl’s age, fuelling the practice.

b. Violence against women – contrary to hopeful parents, dowry is often not a one-time pay up. Demands are continuously made by the husband’s family who consider the girl’s family as a never ending source of finance. Inability by the girl’s family often leads to verbal abuse, domestic violence and even deaths. Brides being burned by the in-laws are hardly a novelty in this country. Continuous physical and mental torture instigates women to go into depression and commit suicide. 2016 figures indicate that in India, 20 women die every day due to dowry related issues.

c. Economic burden – getting a girl married is associated with a hefty amount of money by Indian parents due to direct or subtle demands for dowry by the groom’s family. Families often borrow heavily, mortgage properties leading to major decline in economic health.

d. Gender inequality – the idea of paying dowry in order to get a girl married generates an increased sense of inequality among the genders, placing men superior to women. Young girls are kept from schools while their brothers are given access to education. They are regarded incompetent for roles other than housework and are often discouraged from taking up jobs. Their opinions are suppressed, not valued or ignored more often than not. Physical and behavioral restrictions are imposed on girls that are completely natural for boys.

2. Long Term Effects of Dowry System – the short term effects lead to the following long-term consequences

a. Gender imbalance – the much abhorred practices like abortion of female fetuses and killing of girl babies have resulted into an unnaturally skewed child sex ratio (CSR) in India. In states like Haryana and Rajasthan where these practices are most prevalent, the CSR stands at 830 girls per 1000 boys. This in turn leads to peculiar practices like polyandry and an increase in violence against women.

b. Loss of self-esteem in women – in a country which has experienced centuries of inferior attitude towards women, it is very hard to maintain a high level of self-regard if you are a woman. Naturally, women themselves are bound in the shackles of an idea that they are incapable of any contributions to the society. Their sense of self-worth hits rock bottom and they are increasingly subjugated to injustice.

c. Status of women –practices like dowry are social evils and a huge deterrent towards improvement of social status of women in India. Inferiority of women has been impressed upon the minds of the nation time and again by the demands of dowry.

Solutions to Dowry System

1. Law – several laws have been enacted to prohibit the practice of dowry and the injustice against women stemming from it. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed on 20th May, 1961 with an aim to eradicate the evil practice from the society. The act declares not only the practice of accepting dowry unlawful, but also penalizes giving of the same. It includes property, valuable security like cash and jewelry exchanging hand during the marriage. Making demands of dowry is punishable by a minimum imprisonment of 5 years and a minimum fine of 15,000 rupees. Incidences of cruelty by the husband or his family against the wife have been addressed in the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and Section 198A in the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 113A added in the Indian Evidence Act further provides the family of the bride to charge the husband’s family of abetting suicide of their daughter within 7 years from the date of marriage.

2. Enforcement – it is never enough to just introduce acts and amend sections to fight against a social evil. This requires strict and ruthless enforcement of such laws. That aspect still leaves a lot to be desired. Although such allegations are taken very seriously by the authorities, lack of proper investigative procedures often leads to the accused going free. The government needs to ensure a zero-tolerance policy for such offenders and ensure enforcement of the law through systemic changes.

3. Social Awareness – creating a widespread awareness against the evils of the dowry system is key first step towards eradicating the practice.Campaigns should be designed to reach the deepest strata of the society and aim to spread knowledge about the legal provisions against dowry. There also is the need to promote the need for educating the girl children.

4. Education and self-dependence of women – education is not just required to find your vocation in life, it is essential to gain eyes and ears to a world beyond the one you can immediately see. It is important or all of us to emphasize on educating the girls in order to fight widespread social evils like dowry. Knowledge of their rights will enable them to speak up against practice of dowry and ongoing marginalization. They will also be able to strive for self-dependence and not view marriage as their only salvation.

5. Overhaul of mindsets –India as a country requires major overhaul of its existing mindsets in order to push back against the iniquitous custom of dowry. They need to realise the fact that in today’s society women are perfectly capable of doing anything that men can. Women themselves need to come out of the belief that they are inferior to men and they need to depend on men to provide for them.

Recent Posts

• Essay On Dowry System

Dowry System Essay

500+ words essay on dowry system.

Marriage is a beautiful relationship between two people where they are bonded by love and begin their new life together. In India, there is a custom of giving some gifts either in cash or gold or both before and after the wedding to the bride and the groom out of affection. It is considered as love and blessings for the newly wedded couple that help them in starting their new life. However, during the last three or four decades the Dowry System has become associated with the status of a family. Now, it has become compulsory to give money and gold to the groom’s family. This has given birth to the dowry system. In this essay on the Dowry System, we will highlight the points related to dowry in marriage and how it has affected our society. Moreover, at the end, we have discussed some steps to be taken to stop the dowry system.

Dowry System

Dowry has been conveniently defined as money, goods or estates, which a woman brings to her husband’s home after marriage. The system of dowry in marriages has been haunting our society for a long time. This is a social curse, which has gone unchecked, though time and again it has tormented people in general. Lust for money and acquiring high social status for one’s family has given birth to the social evil called Dowry. It has become the root cause of suicides and murders of brides. Bride burning for want of dowry has become a way of life. Different communities have different marriage customs, but the custom of giving dowry is shared by all the communities.

The dowry system is a great evil that still exists in society. It is an act of discrimination against unmarried girls, whose values are defined based on the prices of their respective dowries. It is an example of greed and selfishness and is a great curse, especially for the parents who belong to the lower middle class. This is the reason why people get depressed and feel cursed at the birth of a daughter. Moreover, the dowry system paves the way for other crimes against women like female foeticide, female infanticides, dowry death, cruelty by husband and his relatives.

How Can the Dowry System be Stopped?

A dowry system is a social stigma that needs to end. Every girl should go to her in-law’s house with pride. In India, every 5 out of 10 families face the dowry system. There are many laws made by the government but the custom of dowry persists in our society. So, there is an urgent need that we all start taking action against it. The first step is to start from our homes. At home, we should treat both boys and girls equally by providing them equal opportunities. We should educate both of them and give them freedom to be fully independent. The upbringing of the girls should not be limited to household work and marriage. In fact, they should be nourished in such a way that they feel free to make their choice, put their demands, ask questions, think openly and have the guts to fulfil their dreams.

There is a need to create awareness campaigns in different sections of society to make people aware of it. The campaign includes voluntary organization, civil marriage, launching of the youth movements etc. Eradicating the dowry practice will give equal rights to women and boost their confidence level. It will help in the growth of the family, society and nation. The sooner the dowry becomes a thing of the past, the better for our society.

Frequently asked Questions on Dowry System Essay

How can we write an effective essay on the dowry-system.

Students need to first understand what and how the Dowry system functions. This will automatically help students to write a descriptive essay.

Why is the Dowry-system an important topic for essay writing?

Students must be informed about such illegal practises happening around them. This will help them become responsible citizens of India.

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• The Awful Sin of the Society – Dowry

Dowry Prohibition Act

Dowry Prohibition Act is an Indian law which was enacted on 1 st of May   in the year 1961. This act was levied to prevent giving or receiving any form of dowry. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed in the year 1961 which justifies the term ‘dowry ’ which includes the property, goods, or money that is given by either of the parties who is engaged in the marriage. This can be given by the parents of either of the party or by anyone else who is in connection with the marriage. The Dowry Prohibition Act is applicable to all persons irrespective of caste or religion in India.  

Let us learn about the same and get an awareness check on the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 , which is issued by the government of India and is mandated rigorously. 

What is Dowry?

Dowry is a very common and prevalent word in the society which is related to marriage. It is usually said to be an amount or gifts which are given by the family of the bride to the groom and his family at the wedding. Where in the beginning it was the voluntary choice of the parents of the girl to give her gifts during the wedding ceremony, in the present society it has become a norm. 

Dowry History and Overview

In ancient times, marriage rites were performed in the Vedic period which was associated with the famous ‘ Kanyadan ’. This is laid down in Dharmashastra that this praise-worthy act of Kanyadan is not complete until the bridegroom was given a ‘Dakshina. So, the actual rite was as follows: when a bride is given over to the bridegroom, he was to be given something in cash or in kind, this would fulfill the meaning of ‘ Dakshina . Thus, in those times Kanyadan became common with giving ' Dakshina '.  

While, this must be noted that, the ' Dakshina ' was offered out of love and affection and it did not constitute any kind of compulsion or it didn't mean it was a consideration for the marriage. This was completely a voluntary practice without any demanding overtones.

Now, as time progressed, selfishness, illogical behavior, and inhumanity dawned on society. The actual meaning of dowry has disappeared and coercive elements like force and demand have crept in in society. This evilness in society has taken deep roots not only in the marriage ceremony but also in post-marriage relationships.

What was originally intended to be a non-mandatory offering given by the bride’s party to the bridegroom has now gone out of proportions and has assumed the overtones of demand. 

The social reformers who were from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have struggled very hard to abolish this system. This evilness in society was spreading filth and danger for the brides. As, if the bride’s family could not pay the bridegroom according to what is being demanded they would kill or torture the bride. 

In a bid to eradicate this evil from society, the State Governments of Bihar and of Andhra Pradesh initiated " The Bihar Dowry Restraint Act, 1950 " and " The Andhra Pradesh Dowry Prohibition Act, 195 8" for their respective States, but both these enactments failed miserably. 

Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 

The Dowry Prohibition Bill was legally passed in the Joint Sittings of both the Houses of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Thus, this is how the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force. After which it received the assent of the President on the 20th of May and thereby the Dowry Prohibition Act was passed in the year 1961 which was legally binding on every other citizen of India irrespective of caste or religion. 

Dowry Prohibition Act Amendment

Following are two amending acts which complimented the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961:

The Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 1984.

The Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 1986.  

Salient Features of Dowry Prohibition Act 

1. short title and commencement of the act:.

The rules which are levied on are known as the Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules which was initiated in the year 1985.

The rules shall come into effect on October 2 nd in the year 1985 . This is the date that is being appointed for the effective force of the Dowry Prohibition Act. 

2. Rules which Mandate the Accordance of the Presents are to be Maintained:

The list of presents which are given at the time of the marriage to the bride will be maintained by the bride only.

While the list of presents which are given at the time of the marriage to the bridegroom will be maintained by the bridegroom only.

3. Every List of Presents That are Being Referred to in Sub-Rule (1) or Sub-Rule (2) Above:

shall be prepared during the course of the marriage or as soon as possible after the marriage:

this shall be in writing;

this shall contain- 

a brief description of the present.

an approximate value of the present gifted.

the name of the person who has given the present to each other. And,

the relation of the person giving the present to the bride or bridegroom, a description of that relationship.

4. This shall be signed by both the bride and the bridegroom .

Did You Know?

There are more than  8000 cases where women were killed as a result of India’s dowry system each year.  In many cases, a woman is being murdered by her husband or in-laws as her family could not raise the desired money. In other times, the women were forced to suicide after suffering harassment from her in-laws due to failure of paying the money.  

There are also cases where husbands or in-laws throw acid on a woman or set her on fire for this dowry.

“The violence ranges from brutal beatings, emotional torture, withholding money, throwing them out of the house, keeping them away from their children, keeping mistresses openly,” or in extreme cases, “ burning the wife alive, ” Savra Subratikaan, she is a women’s rights worker in New Delhi told the media.  

This is a pure disgrace to our society that these elements did exist. One cannot say that the dowry system got completely demolished, as in remote areas behind the jurisdiction of law, this evilness is still surviving. In fact, this is a shame to the entire humanity that brides are being killed and tortured for their own self-interest. Awareness on this topic should not stop, hence today as we learned this phenomenal topic we should carry and spread the knowledge further and keep ourselves alert to sense such evilness so that we can take steps to end it immediately.

FAQs on The Awful Sin of the Society – Dowry

1. What is the punishment for giving or receiving dowry?

Penalty for giving or taking dowry is that if any person, after the commencement of this Act, gives or receives or abets the giving or taking of the dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment that extends to six months, or with fine which will extend to five thousand rupees, or with both of this punishment.

2. Is dowry a crime?

Asking for dowry is a crime of course even before the marriage and Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is applicable. Taking or receiving dowry is also a crime and is punishable for both parties. One can also report this matter to the Dowry Protection Officer in the state.

3. What is the impact of the dowry system on society?

The Dowry system causes a deep impact on society. It leads to:

Create discrimination against Women

Women becomes liability

Female Infanticide

Increase in crimes against women

Affects the career and education of the girls

Pressure on girl's parents

Home / Hindu Law

The laws prohibiting dowry under hindu law,  30-nov-2023.

• Allahabad High Court
• Supreme Court
• The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA)

Introduction

• The ancient marriage rites in the vedic period are associated with ‘Kanyadan’. It is laid down in Dharamshastara that the meritorious act of Kanyadan is not complete till the bridegroom was given a dakshina.
• A bride is given over to the bridegroom, he has to be given something in cash or kind which constitute varadakshina.
• Kanyadan became associated with varadakshina i.e., the cash or gifts in kind by the parents or guardian of the bride to the bridegroom.
• The varadakshina was offered out of affection and did not constitute any kind of compulsion or consideration for the marriage. It was a voluntary practice without any coercive overtones.
• The voluntary element in dowry has disappeared and the coercive element has crept in. It has taken deep roots not only in marriage ceremonies but also post-marital relationships. What was originally intended to be a taken dakshina for the bridegroom has now gone out of proportions and has assumed the nomenclature 'dowry'.
• The social reformers who were from the nineteent h and early twentieth centuries have struggled very hard to abolish this system. This evilness in society was spreading filth and danger for the brides.
• In a bid to eradicate this evil from society, the State Governments of Bihar and of Andhra Pradesh initiated ‘ The Bihar Dowry Restraint Act, 1950’ and ‘ The Andhra Pradesh Dowry Prohibition Act, 1958’ for their respective States, but both these enactments failed miserably.
• On 24 th April 1959 the ‘Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959’ was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The bill was referred to a ‘Joint Committee’ of both the ‘ Houses of Parliament’.
• Neither House of Parliament agreed with the amendments as reported by the Joint Committee and ultimately the bill was considered at the joint sittings of both the Houses of Parliament held on 6 th and 9 th May, 1961.

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

• Indian law, enacted on May 1, 1961 , intended to prevent the giving or receiving of a dowry.
• In this act, dowry means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly.
• The original text of the ‘Dowry Prohibition Act’ was widely judged to be ineffective in curbing the practice of dowry.
• Specific forms of violence against women continued to be linked to a failure to meet dowry demands. In 1984, it was changed to specify that presents given to a bride or a groom at the time of a wedding are allowed.
• The law required, that a list be maintained describing each gift, its value, the identity of the person giving it, and the person’s relation to either party to the marriage.
• IPC was also modified in 1983 to establish specific crimes of dowry-related cruelty, dowry death, and abetment of suicide.
• These enactments punished violence against women by their husbands or their relatives when proof of dowry demands, or dowry harassment could be shown.
• Another layer of legal protection was provided in 2005 under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Penalties under Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

• According to Section 3 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, if any person after the commencement of the act gives or takes, abets the giving or taking of dowry shall be punished with an imprisonment for a term not less than five years and with fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of dowry , whichever is more.
• According to Section 4 of the act if any person directly or indirectly demands dowry from the parents, relatives or guardians of the bride or the bridegroom shall be punished with an imprisonment of not less than six months and which shall extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees.
• According to Section 4-A, the advertisement in any newspaper, journal or through any other medium or a share in the property, business, money, etc. by any person in consideration for marriage shall be punished with an imprisonment which shall not be less than six months and which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to fifteen thousand rupees .

Provisions of Dowry Death under IPC and IEA

Indian Penal Code, 1860

• 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 relatives shall be deemed to have caused her death.
• 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.
• Whoever, being the husband or the relatives of the husband of a woman , subject 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.

Indian Evidence Act, 1872

• Presumption as to dowry death (Section 113 B): When the question is whether a person has committed dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her death such woman had been subjected by such person to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the court shall presum e that such person had caused the dowry death.

Related Case Laws

• The Allahabad High Court held that the deceased had before being set on fire by her in-laws written a letter to her father that she was being ill-treated, harassed and threatened with dire consequences for non-satisfaction of demand of dowry. Thus, an offence of demanding dowry under Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 had been committed.
• In this case Supreme Court held that there must be proximate and live link between the effects of cruelty based on dowry demand and the concerned death.