SEXUAL HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS A legal and ... - The ICHRP

upees or the amount of the dowry whichever is more. Any agreement to take dowry is
considered void. It also makes provision for the recovery of dowry by the wife as the law is
intended for the benefit of the wife whose property is illegally detained. Thus any dowry
received before, at or after the marriage is to be returned to the wife within three months of
the marriage or the date of its receipt. In case the woman dies before the property is
transferred to her, her heirs are entitled to it except where death occurs within seven years of
the marriage in which case the property transfers to her children if any or else to her parents.
The Supreme Court of India has interpreted the provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act,
liberally to include several scenarios in which dowry may be demanded for instance after the
marriage and at times as consideration for a proposal of marriage as families attempt to
circumvent the provisions of the law through different means. For instance, the court has held
that the furnishing of a list of ornaments and other household articles at the time of the
settlement of the marriage amounts to a demand of dowry and in keeping with the objective
of the law ordered the High Court to ensure that all the articles were restored to the wife. 420 In
S. Gopal Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh 421 the Supreme Court stated that,
"The alarming increase in cases relating to harassment, torture, abetted suicides
and dowry deaths of young innocent brides has always sent shock waves to the
civilised society but unfortunately the evil has continued unabated. Awakening of
the collective consciousness is the need of the day. Change of heart and attitude
is needed. A wider social movement not only of educating women of their rights
but also of the men folk to respect and recognise the basic human values is
essentially needed to bury this pernicious social evil."
Apart from the general provisions in the Indian Penal Code relating to murder and bodily
harm, specific provisions relating to cruelty, harassment, suicide and death relating to dowry
have been introduced in the Indian Penal Code. Thus, Section 304B provides for punishment
in the case of a dowry death. The section is attracted where the death of a woman is caused
by burns or bodily injury or occurs other than under normal circumstances within seven years
of her marriage and where it is shown that prior to her death, she was subjected to cruelty or
harassment by her husband or his relatives in connection with any demand for dowry. This
provision is complemented by the Evidence Act, which creates the presumption of a dowry
death when it is shown that prior to her death the woman was subject to cruelty or harassment
in connection with a dowry demand. 422 This shifts the burden of proving that the death was
not related to a dowry demand to the accused. A dowry death is punishable with a minimum
mandatory sentence of seven years, which may extend to a life sentence and is a non-bailable
offence. A person may be convicted simultaneously under the general criminal provisions
regarding murder (in which case the punishment may also extend to a death sentence) and
abetment of suicide as well as the special provisions relating to dowry deaths and cruelty.
The courts have thus, admitted letters written by the deceased to her father pointing out
dowry demands and instances of cruelty, prior to her death as circumstantial evidence in such
cases 423 , considered the fact of cruelty and harassment by the mother and sister-in-law of the
parties, but does not include dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law
(Shariat) applies”
420 Madhu Sudan Malhotra v. Kishore Chan Bhandan 1988 (Supp) SCC 424
421 1996 (4) SCC 596
422 Section 113-B, Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
423 Kailash Kaur v. State of Punjab 1987 (2) SCC 631
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