Table of Contents
ANTI DOWRY LAW AND ITS MISUSE
Author: Rachna R Kurup,
2nd year , 4th sem,
College – Symbiosis Law school , Hyderabad.
INTRODUCTION
Dowry is one of the biggest social evils in our society. The number of women who are abused for dowry is never decreasing and therefore this practice shouldnever be tolerated. Dowry was a very ancient concept in which the bride’s family provides the bride with money , gold ornaments or property as a token of love , affection and for the financial benefit of the bride and also served as a tool to make the bride financially independent after marriage. Dowry or wealth was given to the bride and not to the groom but during the British period,they prevented women from inheriting any property and therefore all the wealth given to the bride was later owned by the groom and gradually the groom’s family or groom started asking large sum of money , property ,gold ornaments etc. and started looking brides as a sources of income. This made women a financial burden in their families. When the dowryamount was insufficient the bride is often abused, threatened, harassed or thrown out of the house by the husband or his family. She undergoes immense physical and mental torture which abet many women to commit suicide.
Due to the miserable lives of many women in the country, the parliament passed some of the most revolutionary laws such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence, Act 2005 and the Dowry Prohibition, Act 1961, Section 498 A IPC ,which says that the bridegroom and his family will be automatically arrested if a women gives complaint for dowry harassment and , Section 304B of IPC which deals with dowry death as a specific offence and prescribes punishment for the same. . But the other side of the coin is often ignored.The penal provisions related to the dowryare so stringent that , in many cases women misusethese law with malafide intention to get rid of her husband or to create a havoc in the husband’s family. It has now became a very usual scene in India where women get all the benefit under the anti dowry law but the condition of her husband and his family is disregarded. The anti dowry law has safe guarded many women from the tortureand abuse of the husbandor his family to a great extend but the law fails to provideany provision for the protection of the husbandor in laws when the
law is used with a malafide intentionby the women by chargingfalse case againstthe husband for gettingrid of him or for having wrongfulpossession over the income , propertyor assets of the husband.
According to a report by the Jaipur police, the no of fake cases against men was 4,206 in the year 2016. The law makers targeted on the protection of the women who are affected by the dowry but they ignored a part which should prescribe the remedy for the husband when the women uses this law with a malafide intention. This research paper mainly focuses on the anti dowry laws in India and its misuse by the women. This study will bring out the drawback of anti dowry laws with respectto the position of men and to find about the prevailing laws in our country for protecting the rights of men and how they can be safe guarded from any false allegations and accusation by the wives
Research questions
1. What is the concept / history <
span style="letter-spacing: .2pt;">of dowry system ?
2. What are the anti-dowry laws prevailing in our country?
3. What are the drawbacks of anti dowry law and how it is misused by women?
4. What are the effects of the misuse of these provisions?
5. What are the recent development with regards to the misuse of anti dowry law?
Research objectives
1. To understand the concept of dowry system.
2. To understand about the anti dowry laws existing in the country .
3. To find out the drawbacks of these laws .
4. To understand different ways in which the anti dowry laws are misused by the wives or their family members.
5. To find out the effects of the misuse of anti dowry laws
6. To find out the recent developments with regards to the misuse of anti dowry law.
Outcome
One of the deadliest social evil, also known as dowry has been curbed by the state by introducing the anti dowry law which has helped many women in our society from dowry abuse and also reduced the number of dowry deaths in our country but the laws are so stringent and harsh that they are cognizable non compoundable and non bailable offence. These laws are often used by the women with malafide intention to put the husband and his family in trouble. Many police officers, on the basis of the mere complaint and without further investigation file case against them and put the husband and his family behind the bars. As a result the husband and his family undergoes severe mental agony and torture. Here the law is slightly discriminative on the basis of sex by providing women with immense power. The state should very soon introduce new amendments to end the havoc faced by many men in our society due to the false allegations raised by the women. The state should also introduce strict punishment for women for using the provision with malafide intention and also the police officers should carry out proper investigations and collect sufficient evidences before charging them under s.498A of IPC or any other related provisions to make sure that the allegations raised by the women is true and without any guilty intentions
Synopsis
Marriage is a union between a man and woman which is often turned ugly in the name of dowry. Many lives of women has been shattered because of this dowry system . Women are abused ,ill treated and subjected to violence if the husband or his family is not satisfied with the dowry received. Therefore to curb this evilthe state has come up with the anti dowry laws such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence, Act 2005 and the Dowry Prohibition, Act 1961, Section 498 A IPC, Section 304B of IPC ( Dowry death as a specific offence which has minimum punishment of 7 years of imprisonment and maximum imprisonment for life) to protect women from any such abuse but there are many situations in which it was found that these laws has been misused to harass the husband or his family.A mere complaint from the women’s side against the husband and his family can be enough to arrest the husband without warrant and also to prosecute them under s.498A of IPC and put them the behind bars. According to this law, if any women gives complaint regarding dowry harassment then bridegroom and his family will be automatically arrested . A mere complaint with a malafide intention from the women and lack of proper investigation by the police officers has put many innocent men in the jail. The misuse of the anti dowry law has created a major issue in the present society but there is currently no law to deal this situation . It is shocking and also saddening that many women had fallen down to level where they cannot be trusted and because of these specific group, women who are real victims of dowry harassment face the consequences. This paper isa study to understand the concept of dowry system and to find out the cause, effect and consequences of the misuse of anti dowry law and also its recent development.
Bibliography
Books Referred
· K.D Kaur , Textbook on Indian Penal Code, Fifth edition, Universal Law Publishing
· P.K Mujumdar, R.K Kataria ,Law of Dowry Prohibition, Cruelty And Harassment, 2009,Orient Publishing Company.
Online sites
· http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l467-Misuse-of-Anti-Dowry-Laws.html
· http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2034/Dowry-laws:-Loopholes-and- Possibilities-of-misuse.html
· https://www.legallyindia.com/views/entry/section-498a-of-ipc-its-use-misuse-html
· https://www.myadvo.in/blog/anti-dowry-laws-in-india/
Research Papers
· A Critical Study on Misuse of Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, 1860 1A. Hashika and 2M. Kannappan, Volume 119, Acad publication
· Determinant Factors Behind the Abuse of Anti-Dowry Laws in Indian Society.,Jasleen Dua SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science (SSRG – IJHSS)- Volume 5
Legal Database
· Manupatra
· SCC Online
· Lexis Nexis
EVOLUTION OF DOWRY IN INDIA
Dowry is basically a transfer of valuable property or security given to the groom before or at the time of marriage of the daughter. Dowry was not in practice during the Vedic period. In olden times, the idea of dowry was supported by Manu. but at thosetimes the practiceof dowry was in a more prestigious way as it was associated with the upper castes. Lower caste people were not allowed to give dowry but instead ‘bride wealth ‘was given to family of brides belonging to lower caste. The difference betweendowry and bride wealth is that dowry is given bythe family of the bride to the bridegroom at the time of marriagewhile bride wealthis similar to dower or Mehr in which the bridegroom givesmoney or valuablesto the father off the bride at the time of marriage or before it.
In olden times the main objective of giving dowry was to make the bride financially independent. At those times dowry was given by the father of the bride in the formof valuable gift to the bride so that she may use it whenever she needs it. At that time dowry was given to the bride and to the groom or his family. Dowry was treated more as a tool which will make the girl financially independent. Women were treated with great respect and were given importance in matters of state matters and decision making especially during the Vedic and indus valley civilization period.
In Medieval India
During the Britishperiod , they came up with a system of private ownership of land which was completely a new idea in India. It was duringthis time the British prohibited women completely from owning any property or land. At this time the parents used to give security in the form of cash and as the British prohibited women from owning any wealth and therefore the money she received at the time of her marriage will now belong to her husband.
The Modern India
Now, in the present time, dowry is used to satisfy greed and is seen as a tool by the husband and in laws with mala fide intention to collect more money from the bride’s parents. Dowry is now a very huge problem in the society. There are possessing heavy threat to the lives of women. But in recent times, anti-dowry laws are often seen misused by women with malafide intention to put the husband and his family in trouble as these laws are non-compoundable offences.
The Historical Journey of Anti- Dowry Laws
There was an alarming rise in the number of dowry related crime such as murder of the bride by setting her in fire, hanging, poisoning and compelling her to suicide , mental and physical abuse etc. Duringthe 1900s the victims of dowry crimes were increasing and there was a need for a reform in the laws. Dowry prohibition act, 1961 was prevalent at that time but there was no decrease in the rate of crimes related to dowry. No proper investigations were carried out. One of the earliestprotest againstthe dowry systemwas made by in the year 1975 at Hyderabad by progressive organization of women. Almost2000 people protestedagainst the dowry system in India. In the year 1979, another protest took placed in Delhi because of a women named Tarvinder Kaur as she was burned to death by her in laws as they were denied their desired dowry. The highest number of dowry crimes were in Delhi during70s and 80s. There were protest all over the country including in statesof Karnataka, Maharashtra, west Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab etc. Later women activists started giving awareness to women about their rights and educated them that dowry was illegal and was a prohibited act. Many rural women were unaware of the fact that dowry was illegal. Most of them though that in order to get a good husband they shouldgive adequate dowry.The dowry system was so deep rooted in our society that the crime sand victims kept on increasing .due to the huge protest the law makers were compelled to make various amendments. the criminal law (second amendment act was passed in the year 1983 and a new provision section498A was insertedto the IPC,1860. Later another amendment was made in section 174 of the CrPC where it was made mandatory that post mortem of the womenmust be conductedin case of deathtook place within 7 years of marriage. Also other enactments such as dowry prohibition act 2005 came thereafter which provided safety to women against the dowry abuse.
Laws in support of anti-dowry in India
The dowry prohibition act was the first dowry related all India legislative enactment. This act came into force on July 1, 1961. Section 3 of this act of this legislation prescribes punishment if any person gives, takes or abets giving or receiving of dowry. the person will be liable for a punishment of imprisonment for minimum of five years and a fine of rs.15,000 or the value of the dowry received , whichever is higher.
The act punishes any person who directly or indirectly asks for dowry. according to this act, the person will be punished with an imprisonment of minimum 6 months and up to 2 years along with a fine of rs.10000.The burden of proof lies on the person upon whom the offence is charged and not on the victim or her family.
Section 498A1
Section 498A of IPC deals with cruelty towards women. This provision was introduced to protect women from cruelty by her husband or his family members. According to this section, if the husband or his family subject the wife to any kind of mental or physical cruelty then he will be punished with imprisonment upto a term of three years along with fine.
Cruelty means
1) any wilful conduct which is likely to drive the women to commit suiide or causes any grave injury or danger to life or health (both mental and physical)
2) 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 to meet such demand.
498A of IPC is a cognizable, non compoundable and non bailable offence.
Section 304B2
According to this section , if the death of a woman is caused by burns or bodily injury within 7 years of her marriage and if it was proved that she has been subjected to harassment and abuse by her husband or his relative for or in connection with dowry then the husband or his relatives will be liable for the offence of dowry death.
If any person commits the offence of dowry death, he shall be punished with an imprisonment for a minimum term of 7 years but can extend to life imprisonment.
It is also a cognizable and non bailable offence.
Section 113 A of evidence act3
Section 113 of evidence act deals about Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a married woman. If a woman commits suicide within 7 years of marriage and if it is shown that her husband and his relatives had subjected her to cruelty for or in connection with dowry,then the court may presume that the suicide has been abetted by her husband or by his relatives
Section 113 B of the Evidence Act, 4
This section mentionsDowry Death if it is shown that soon before the death of the womanshe has been subjected to cruelty or abuse by any person for or in connection with dowry then the court shall presume that Such person has caused the dowry death. Here the meaning of dowry death is same as section 304B of IPC.
Misuse of Anti-Dowry Law
In todays worlds, the laws are such that they are mostly inclined towards the women. The mentality of women have changed with the changing time and society but the laws haven’t changed with the changing mind of the women. The rate of criminality among women is increasing and its often seen that women are misusing most of the laws for harassing and torturing men . Strict nature of these law is the main reason for the misuse. They are non bailable, and non compoundable .
Anti dowry laws are seen misused by women at larger extend especially section 498A of IPC
. These are mostly used by women to torture or blackmail husband. Misuse of anti-dowry law to blackmail husband has become a common practice. The no of fake 498A cases are increasing at an alarming level which has even made the supreme court to term it a legal terrorism. The anti-dowry laws are completely biased towards the women and is maliciously used by women :
· To come out of the marriage due to the failure to adjust.
· To obtain money or property from thehusband
· To accuse the husband in a false case and go back with a man she was previously had a relationship with or got into an extra marital
Nowadays it’s a common practice that whenever there is matrimonial a problem, women tend to take the advantage of the anti-dowry law to cause suffering and worry the husband and his family. Presently most of the cases filed the women against the husband and his family are proved to befalse. In the year 2011-12 the no of false cases registered was 193 while the no of false cases in the year 2015 was 10000. t was found that in most of the times women try to include all related members of the family of the husband by filing a complaint under anti dowry laws.
Nisha sharma case5 was a famous anti dowry casein the country. Nisha sharmacharged a case for demanding dowry against her fiancé Mr.Munshi Dalal. The case got wide spread coverage from the media. The case ended 2012 when the court acquitted the accused. The chief justice said that nisha was in a relationship with another guy whom she wanted to marry and therefore was charging her fiancé with false allegations to get out of the marriage .
In the case of Balbir Singh v. state of Punjab6 the court observed that the main objective of introducing such penal laws are to eradicate the torture and harassment suffered by the women for or in connection with dowry and therefore such provision cannot be misused by relatives of the women who have decided to commit suicide for reasons other than cruelty.
In the case of Jasbin Kaur v. state of Haryana, in this case the high court said that a estranged wife
may try to rope in most of the husbands relatives into the case in a effort to get whatever she from the separated marriage.
may try to rope in most of the husbands relatives into the case in a effort to get whatever she from the separated marriage.
In the case of Kans Raj Vs. State of Punjab7, In this case the court said that the relatives of the husband cannot be punished just because they are relatives. The court also said that if the fault is on the part of the husband then the relatives cannot be roped into the case for demand of dowry.
In the case of State v. Srikanth8 The High court of Karnataka held that unlessthere is sufficient proof, the relatives of the husband including the brother and sister in law cannot be held liable
In the case of Bhupinderkaur and othersv. state of Punjab and others, The court said that it is very clear from reading the FIR that there is no allegations against the petitioners. The court was also satisfied that the accusedpersons who were below the age of 18 at the time of marriage and lodging of the complaint was falsely implicated. Also the allegations made by the petitioner against them was very vague.the petitioner also roped in all the other relatives of the accused.
In the case of Preeti Gupta Vs. State of Jharkhand 9the SuprmeCourt seriously analysedsection 498 of IPC and The court said that “It is a matter of common knowledge that exaggerated versions of the incidents are reflected in a large number of complaints”
Most of the times it isfound that women try to use these anti dowry law to fulfil their personal grudges of Sushil Kumar Sharma Vs. UOI10 , in this case the Supreme Court observed that complaint under section s. 498A was filed only to fulfil personal vendetta and held that, ‗It may therefore become necessary for the Legislature to find out ways how the makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with‘, the Court also discussed the concept of Legal Terrorism. There are many cases throughout the country wherethe fact of false allegation on the husbandand his family against crueltybecause of want of dowry is filed.
. In the case of Tr. Ramaiya Vs. State , in this case the court said that most of the cases filed against the husband and his relatives are in the heat of the moment and children are being the victim due to these problems and fights
in the case of Savitri Devi Vs. Ramesh Chand & Others11, in this case the court held that women are misusing these laws by charging false allegations against the husband and his family to extract money. The court also said that these lawsis being abusedby the police officers as they are not conducting proper investigation before charging the husband and his family and also the misusal of the provision by the women is to such an extent that these laws are proving to be a failure in the reduction the dowry issue.
In the case of Saritha V. R. Ramachandran 12in this case the court analysedthe changing trend and misuse of anti dowry laws and therefore asked the parliament and the law commission to make changes in the laws by making it non cognizable and bailable.
EFFECTS OF MISUSE OF ANTI DOWRY LAWS
Dowry prohibition law prevailing in our country are very stringent and harsh. They are cognizable , non-compoundable and also non bailable. The anti-dowry laws in India gives power to the police officers to arrest and put the accused behind the bars without any warrant. A mere complaint from the side of the bride is sufficient to arrest, harass and torture the husband and his family members.Anti-dowry laws are without any doubt providing protection to women who are harassed, abused and tortured in the name of dowry. The main objective of these laws were to protect these women from dowry harassments but as time passed it is often seen that the women are misusing these laws with malevolent intention to put the husbandand in laws in trouble or to extract money or property from them. For this purpose they file complaint against the husband and his family for demanding dowry or abusing in the name dowry and the police officers without any proper investigation immediately arrest the accused as the offence is non bailable and non compoundable, as a result the accused goes through severe mental agony and harassment. Not only the accused but his relatives are also brought into the case. The mental torture and harassment that they go through duringthe trials is endless and sometimes it forces them to commit suicide. According to several reports, more than 1/3 of the case filed against the husband and his family by the women are found to be fake. Many victims of these false cases showed their agony on how their wives are creating problems in the house for pettyreasons and engagingin fights with theirfamily. There are also cases where women are seen lashing their old age mother in laws. The main problem is that society does not expect women to indulgein these type of criminal behaviour, they assume that women does not engage herself in such cruel and blatant act. According to a recent report, Deeptanshu Shukla , a IITian won a case against his wife where she filed a false case against him and his family. The police kept Deeptanshu and his family in the police custody and caused severe mental torture. Due to the guilty minds of certain women , many men are seen suffering depression and various other mental and health problems. The Senior Advocate Pandit Parmanand Katara before the bench of Justice H. L Dattu said that “the application of sect
ion 498A by the police and courts are arbitrary, unconstitutional and void in law and hence is violative of Article 14, Article 20 and Article 21 of the Constitution.”13
ion 498A by the police and courts are arbitrary, unconstitutional and void in law and hence is violative of Article 14, Article 20 and Article 21 of the Constitution.”13
According to a recent report,the suicide rate of marriedmen in India is higherthan the married women. Lot of cases are existing in our country were the husband committed suicide due to the harassment and torture caused by the fake cases filed by the wife against the husband and his family. The strict and harsh anti dowry laws rather than helping the genuine ladies who are victims of dowry and cruelty have now become a tool for women to blackmail and torture their husbands. If a women files a complaint againsther husband under section 498 of IPC the police without conducting proper investigation arrest the husband and his family and puts them through huge torture without even confirming whether the allegations are true or false.. As there is no immediate chance of bail, after the arrest of the husband and his family the reconciliation chances will be completely lost and thus the immediate arrest of the police will be of no use.. The arrest will result in breaking the relationship therefore practical realities should be considered before dealing with matrimonial matters.
THE RECENTDEVELOPMENTS IN LAWS TOWARDS MISUSE OF ANTI DOWRY LAWS
Due to the misuse of anti dowry laws by certain women, the supreme court in the case of
Tr.Ramaiyya v. state gave the following guidelines to the police department to be followed:
1. The registration of FIR should not be in the regular or routine manner.
2. before registering the FIR the police shouldmake an effortto carry out proper investigation.
3. Without the prior approval of DCP/Addl. DCP. Cases under s.498 A/406 IPC should not be registered.
4. The police should make an effort for the reconciliation of the parties before the registration of the FIR, and if there is no chance of reconciliation then the police should take necessary steps. The first step should be to give back the dowry back to the complainant
5. After proper investigation and the prior approval of the ACP/DCP the arrest of the main accused should be made.
For arresting the family members of the accused, prior approval of DCP should be present on the file. a report by times of India has published in which the supremecourt has expresseddeep concern over the wives misusing the anti-dowry law against their husband and families.
The apex court said that no action should be taken against the husbands without conducting proper investigation and finding out the validity of the allegations made by the wife.
To curb the misuse of the anti-dowry harassment laws, the present government has set a proposal to make the offence under section 498A of IPC compoundable by amending the provision of 498A IPC. Amendment of section 498A of IPC will make ;
1. the offence bailable,
2. compoundable
3. and non cognizable.
4. The police officer will not be allowed to arrest the accused immediately after filing the FIR unless the parameter mentioned in section 41 of CrPC which gives the police the power to arrest with warrant is satisfied and also the officer should have the prior permission of the S.P or equivalent officer14
In the case of Arnesh Kumar v. state of Bihar 15the supreme court said that section 498A of IPC is a non bailable and cognizable offence and has become weapon rather than a shield by dissatisfied wives. The supreme court also laid down these guidelines:
1. Every districtshould have a family welfarecommittee that will examine dowryrelated cases before the police can arrest the accused
2. The bail application should be decided on the same day itself
3. Exemption from personal appearance should be granted or video conferencing should be allowed.
4. For people residing outside India, passport impounding or red corner notice should not be made.
5. A committee will be formed by the district legal service authority which will have three members who may be found suitable and also willing
6. The dowry harassment cases will be investigated by a designated investigation officer who have undergone training for 4 months.
7. The districtcourt or the sessions or any other senior judicialofficer nominated by them will complete the proceedings in cases where a settlement is reached. . It includes closing of the criminal case against the husband and once in a year the review of the committee will take place.
Kanaraj vs. State of Punjab the court said that the in laws cannot be held liable for the wrong committed by the husband. They cannot be held liable for mere conjecture and also the tendancy of the women to trap the in laws along with her husband
In the case of Akula Ravider v. State Of A.P the court said that just because the deceased was young and the cause was of was not accidental , it cannot be deemed s dowry death and it was held that in case of death it should be proved that the death was out of the course of nature.
Conclusion
Dowry is one of the greatest curse in our country and to eradicate this curse the criminal law has made several changes to safeguard women such as dowry prohibition act, 496 of IPC, and 408 of IPC etc. A Law which was made as a guard for women has now became a weapon for them. Anti-dowry laws in our country are no doubt guarding women from the dowry harassment but it is also being misused by some disgruntled women for their personal vengeance. The number of false cases of dowry harassment against husband is increasing and now the issue has become so serious that government is forcedmake changes in the Anti-dowry laws prevailing in our country. It is very important to understand that the women who really suffers due to the dowry harassment especially the rural women are not properly aware about their rights and also fail touse this law. Violence towardsmen by women is not a new thing in Todays worlds and it has been increasing with the financial independence of women. Even though the Supreme Court gave variousrecommendations to protect the genuinely affectedand innocent people and to identify false complaints and not to register them, these suggestions are still ignored.
Suggestions
· Penaltyfor making false accusation: stringentaction should be taken against every women who puts false allegations against her husband, this will make sure that women approach the court with clean hands.
· Penalize corrupt Investigation Officers: if an investigation officer without
proper investigation charge case against the husband and family and if court feels that fair investigation has not been done by the police officer then the investigation officer should be penalized for negligence.
proper investigation charge case against the husband and family and if court feels that fair investigation has not been done by the police officer then the investigation officer should be penalized for negligence.
· Gender Neutral: India is a country which guarantees gender equality, therefore both men and women should have equal rights and also new law should come to protect these husbands and his family from false charges..
· Speedy trail : Speedy trail will guarantee justice and also make sure innocent people who are charged with false allegations will be getting proper redressal.
Footnote:
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1 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 purposes of this section, “cruelty” means—
(a) any wilful 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 propertyor valuable security or is on accountof failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand
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2 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.]
3 Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a married woman.—When the question is whether the commission of suicide by a woman had been abetted by her husband or any relative of her husband and it is shown that she had committed suicide within a period of seven years from the date of her marriage and that her husband or such relative of her husband had subjected her to cruelty, the Court may presume, having regard to all the other circumstances of the case, that such suicide had been abetted by her husband or by such relative of her husband.1[113A. Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a married woman.—When the question is whether the commission of suicide by a woman had been abetted by her husband or any relative of her husband and it is shown that she had committed suicide within a period of seven years from the date of her marriage and that her husband or such relative of her husband had subjected her to cruelty, the Court may presume, having regard to all the other circumstances of the case, that such suicide had been abetted by her husband or by such relative of her husband.” Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” shall have the same meaning as in section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).]
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4 resumption as to dowry death.—When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her death such woman has been subjected by such person to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the Court shall presume that such person had caused the dowry death. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, “dowry death” shall have the same meaning as in section 304B, of the Indian Penal Code, (45 of 1860).]
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5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisha_Sharma_dowry_case
6 AIR 1957 SC 216v
7 (2000) 5 SCC 207
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8 2002 CriLJ 3605
9 AIR 2010 SC 3363
10 JT 2005 (6) SC 266
11 (2003) DMC 328
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12 2002 (6) ALD 319
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13 https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/sc-to-check-validity-of-wife-harass-law/cid/318731
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14 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/government-plans-to-amend-anti-dowry- harassment-law/articleshow/46571163.cms?from=mdr
15 (2014) 8 SCC 273