Dowry Death
DOWRY: Section 2(1) of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 says that “ any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given this is called dowry. One party of marriage (bride side) to the other party of marriage (groom side).
SECTION 304B of IPC
According to this section 304 (B) (1) talks about the “offence of dowry death”, and 304 (B) (2) is about the “punishment of dowry death”.
Section 304 (B) (1)
According to this death will be considered as dowry death when death is caused by ‘burn’, ‘bodily injury’, or any other reason which is not ordinary, death is occurred because of cruelty or harassment by the husband or any relative of the husband which is connected to dowry.
If this circumstance happens then this will be counted as a dowry death under the law.
Section: 304(B) (2)
This section talks about the ‘Punishment of dowry death’
The minimum punishment is 7 years of imprisonment which may extend to life imprisonment according to case facts.
Essentials of dowry death:
1. Woman’s death must occur in abnormal circumstances which are given under section 304(B) (1).
2. Death must occur within 7 years.
3. Women must have been subjected to cruelty and harassment by husbands or husbands’ relatives.
4. Cruelty or harassment must happen just before the death of a woman.
5. There must be a connection between harassment and the demand for dowry.
If we want to file a dowry case then these essentials are very important.
DEVINDER SINGH V/S STATE OF PUNJAB
This is a very famous case of dowry death. In this case, the wife dies within 7 months of marriage and she dies due to a burn which is not normal. The eye witness says that the accused demanded a dowry and was also harassed for a dowry. she also complained to her relative that she has been harassed and cruel for dowry. The prosecution also proved that the husband used to harass the wife for dowry.
Case: STATE OF PUNJAB VS IQUBAL SINGH
Dowry deaths are mainly found in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. India has the highest number of dowry deaths which is 8,391 according to 2010 which means 1.4% of death is just because of dowry.
We can say it is a very typical way of domestic abuse by the husband and his family. Most of the death occurs because in India most girls married before the age of 18 and they are unable to bear the harassment and torture so they end their life, like suicide, taking poisoning or burning.
Sometimes the bride is killed by her husband or by her in-laws. We have noticed that dowry death issues occur in all religions. If we think about this then many people may say that it has been practised in an earlier era but no now dowry has a new form like gifting gold, expensive things and much more as gifts. If we try then we can stop this practice,
Sometimes bride’s father is forced to give dowry and under that pressure, he commits suicide. dowry not only affects the bride it also affects the bride’s family, there is a prohibition act which is widely judged to make inactive the practice of dowry demands but can we say this prohibition act help us to protect against dowry death?
We can take an example of some states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and many more states which still practice the dowry system if we try to follow rules and regulations of the Indian constitution then our family will not understand what they think about society and they also want that her daughter will not face any difficulties in her in-law’s house. illiteracy plays important role in it when people will illiterate then we can not expect our society to understand the circumstances of modern society.
DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT, 1961
This act is passed to prohibit our society from taking and giving dowry. There are some rules and regulations set for the bride and gorm.
This act says that if anyone is found guilty of giving a dowry then that person will be held liable for a punishment of 7 years and if a person is found guilty of taking a dowry then he will be liable for a punishment of 7 years. We should support our law and stop the dowry system in India.
JUST SAY NO TO THE DOWRY AND SAVE THE LIVES OF WOMEN
