How to Tackle Dowry Demands in India
Case 1: Twenty-five-year-old Anchal made a last phone call to her father. She was weeping bitterly on the phone and wanted to come home. Her husband Nitin, an IT manager had been beating her brutally while his parents constantly goaded her for not bringing enough dowry. The jewellery, car, household items and furniture her parents had shelled out at the time of marriage was not enough. Three days later, her father got a call from the police. Anchal had succumbed to burn injuries at the hospital after an ‘accident’ in the kitchen.
Case 2: The marriage venue and wedding arrangements were perfect. Twenty-seven-year-old school teacher Paridhi was looking forward to the arrival of her future husband Aakash. As the wedding party arrived at banquet hall, Paridhi heard angry, raised voices. Aakash and his parents demanded Rs 50 lakh from Paridhi’s family. They refused to step inside the venue till their demands were not met. A furious Paridhi telephoned the police. Aakash and his family were booked for dowry and taken to the police station.
Case 3: Namrata and Piyush got married in a grand ceremony. Things were fine for the first few weeks of marriage. One early morning, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, Piyush saw the police standing there. Before he could react, the cops were dragging him and his parents to the police station on charges of dowry. Aghast, he turned to Namrata for an explanation. Namrata accused him of violence and mental cruelty in presence of the neighborhood. In the coming days Piyush lost his job, finances and reputation. Years later, he was acquitted by the trial court. It turned out Namrata had accused Piyush falsely, so that she could marry another man.
Despite stringent laws and strict sentences being doled out by the Indian judicial system, dowry continues to remain a social malaise. Though it was originally conceived to protect women against harm and safeguard their rights, it is also now increasingly being misused against men by the women themselves. You need to opt domestic violence legal service and get familiar about laws to protect yourself.
So what are the dowry laws? The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force to prevent the give and take of dowry. It includes money, goods and property and applies on all religions. While the original Act remained largely ineffective, two new amendments were passed to grant it more teeth and this included 498-A and domestic violence for protecting victims of violence. The Indian Penal Code was also modified in 1983 to establish crimes of dowry-related cruelty, dowry death, and abetment to suicide. As per the law, dowry attracts an imprisonment for least 5 years along with a fine of 15,000 or the amount equivalent to the value of such dowry. A direct or indirect dowry demand attracts an imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, and a fine up to the amount of Rs 10,000.
Typically in Haryana, Rajathan, Punjab, Delhi and other states dowry complaints are made to the Crime Against Women’s Cell (CAW) where attempts are made to achieve an amicable resolution. Failing this, an FIR of dowry is registered.
How to tackle dowry demands
Over the years, India as witnessed rising number of cases wherein Section 498A of Indian Penal Code is being misused. Here, a husband, his parents, and relatives can be booked for subjecting a woman to cruelty to meet their unlawful demand of dowry and are immediately arrested despite insufficient investigation and the quantum of sentence is three years. It is a non-bailable section. The accused’s guilt or innocence is proved only in the court.
Here is what you can do to help yourself:
Case 2: The marriage venue and wedding arrangements were perfect. Twenty-seven-year-old school teacher Paridhi was looking forward to the arrival of her future husband Aakash. As the wedding party arrived at banquet hall, Paridhi heard angry, raised voices. Aakash and his parents demanded Rs 50 lakh from Paridhi’s family. They refused to step inside the venue till their demands were not met. A furious Paridhi telephoned the police. Aakash and his family were booked for dowry and taken to the police station.
Case 3: Namrata and Piyush got married in a grand ceremony. Things were fine for the first few weeks of marriage. One early morning, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, Piyush saw the police standing there. Before he could react, the cops were dragging him and his parents to the police station on charges of dowry. Aghast, he turned to Namrata for an explanation. Namrata accused him of violence and mental cruelty in presence of the neighborhood. In the coming days Piyush lost his job, finances and reputation. Years later, he was acquitted by the trial court. It turned out Namrata had accused Piyush falsely, so that she could marry another man.
Despite stringent laws and strict sentences being doled out by the Indian judicial system, dowry continues to remain a social malaise. Though it was originally conceived to protect women against harm and safeguard their rights, it is also now increasingly being misused against men by the women themselves. You need to opt domestic violence legal service and get familiar about laws to protect yourself.
So what are the dowry laws? The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force to prevent the give and take of dowry. It includes money, goods and property and applies on all religions. While the original Act remained largely ineffective, two new amendments were passed to grant it more teeth and this included 498-A and domestic violence for protecting victims of violence. The Indian Penal Code was also modified in 1983 to establish crimes of dowry-related cruelty, dowry death, and abetment to suicide. As per the law, dowry attracts an imprisonment for least 5 years along with a fine of 15,000 or the amount equivalent to the value of such dowry. A direct or indirect dowry demand attracts an imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, and a fine up to the amount of Rs 10,000.
Typically in Haryana, Rajathan, Punjab, Delhi and other states dowry complaints are made to the Crime Against Women’s Cell (CAW) where attempts are made to achieve an amicable resolution. Failing this, an FIR of dowry is registered.
How to tackle dowry demands
- Approach the police to file a dowry case and remember it can also be filed before marriage.
- If the police doesn’t register the case, you can report the matter to a judicial Magistrate/ Metropolitan Magistrate by making an application under section 156(3) read with section 190 of Code of Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC).
- You can also approach the dowry protection officer of your area.
Over the years, India as witnessed rising number of cases wherein Section 498A of Indian Penal Code is being misused. Here, a husband, his parents, and relatives can be booked for subjecting a woman to cruelty to meet their unlawful demand of dowry and are immediately arrested despite insufficient investigation and the quantum of sentence is three years. It is a non-bailable section. The accused’s guilt or innocence is proved only in the court.
Here is what you can do to help yourself:
- Collate evidence that supports your innocence and proves that you never demanded dowry.
- Apply for anticipatory bail if you feel you can be falsely implicated.
- Gather all evidence and try to have video/audio recording of conversation, text, whatsapp , email or any other message.
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