Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
The Bombay High Court recently observed that the social menace of dowry still continues in our society and even the so-called rich people demand dowry from the poor parents of the bride.
The Bombay High Court recently observed that the social menace of dowry still continues in our society and even the so-called rich people demand dowry from the poor parents of the bride. Last week, Justice Bharat P. Deshpande presided over a single-judge bench that overturned the Nanded trial court's decision to pardon a woman's husband and in-laws for mistreating and harassing her since her parents had not met their dowry demands. Justice Deshpande observed that “In spite of strict legislation and punishments imposed by the courts from time to time, many cases are coming to the courts of law. Greed is not dependent upon the status of persons. Demand of dowry even by rich persons against poor family members of the wife is rampant,”The sessions judge was also made accountable by the high court, who had observed that the accused could not have demanded dowry because they were aware of the deceased's parents' low socioeconomic situation.
In this case, the deceased woman’s father had filed a criminal revision. The woman had passed away due to 97% burn injuries in 2001 and her parents had claimed that she was often ill-treated as she failed to fulfil their demands for dowry. The High Court did point out that the Sessions Court had overlooked the fact that the dying declaration had not been approved by a physician who had certified that the deceased was of sound mind and could make the declaration. Therefore, the court quashed the acquittal order and allowed the criminal revision filed by the deceased’s father.
This case has again brought the issue of dowry on the forefront and has raised a doubt on the effective implementation of the dowry prohibition act, 1961. Apart from this, section 304B of the IPC criminalises dowry and provides clarification on dowry deaths. A woman must have died within seven years of her marriage from burns, other physical injuries, or "otherwise than under normal conditions" in order to establish a case of dowry death, according to Section 304B. She should have suffered mistreatment or harassment due to dowry demands from her husband or in-laws "short before her death." The dowry deaths in India are a major societal evil which is on a rise day by day. The chart below shows the number of dowry deaths in India from 2018-2020.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau
The above chart clearly shows that the number of registered dowry cases and dowry deaths in India has been increasing over the years. The chart shows that there was a fall in the registered cases and the number of dowry deaths in 2020 but this can be largely attributed to the covid-19 pandemic during which a nationwide lockdown was imposed and as a result there was fall in the registered dowry cases in India. Out of the 13307 registered dowry cases in the year 2019, 7141 cases were of dowry deaths. This means that the dowry deaths accounted for more than 50% registered cases. According to the NCRB, around 19 women were killed per day for dowry in India. It is evident from the chart above that the dowry and dowry deaths remain a serious challenge for India and more needs to be done in this regard.
