Dowry law in India

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Payment of a dowry, gift — often financial, has a long history in many parts of the world. In India, the payment of a dowry was prohibited in 1961 under Indian civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498a of the Indian Penal Code were enacted to make it easier for the wife to seek redress from potential harassment by the husband's family. Dowry laws has come under criticism that they are misused by women and their families.

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[edit] Dowries

Gifts given by the parents of the bride are considered "stri-dhan", i.e. property of the woman, traditionally representing her share of her parent's wealth [1].

[edit] The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act

This act [1] prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage". where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry, and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs. 5000. It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states.

[edit] IPC Section 304B

The Dowry deaths law[2] defines a "dowry death" as any of a wife in the first seven years of marriage without requiring evidence on a complaint that she had been put under unreasonable pressure to supply a dowry. It provides for prison sentences for over seven years for those causing dowry death. The usual practice is a 3-6 months of prison sentence on the basis of accusation[citation needed].

[edit] IPC Section 498A

Section 498A was inserted into the penal code in 1983 it reads

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.

In practice, cruelty is taken to include the demanding of a dowry. This section is non-bailable, non-compoundable (complaint that can't be quashed) and cognizable (arrests without investigation or warrants) on a report from a woman or close relative. Another examples of a cognizable law in India was the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act.

This law makes it mandatory for the police to file charges against the husband, his parents and other relatives/friends (whoever being named on the complaint by the wife or her close relatives) and put them in jail. There is no penalty (even a fine) for filing a false case. Many individuals have claimed this is being abused by the wife or her close relatives.

In urban India, the majority of families have adequate knowledge regarding section 498A. Under this law, although both giving and taking of dowry is illegal, the dowry seeker generally faces greater punishment. The Malimath committee in 2003 proposed making amendments to this section, although such amendments have been opposed by women's groups. The Centre for Social Research India has released a research report[3] opposing amendments to section 498a. According to this report, in the studied cases there were no convictions based solely on section 498a. Although the report states that 6.5 percent of the studied cases were falsified. They also state that many people believe the law has been abused by "educated and independent minded women." A police official asserted that in his district one-third of dowry murder cases were found totally false by the police. [4].

On 20 July 2005, Justices Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Seema of the Indian Supreme Court declared Section 498a to be 'constitutional', while warning against its misuse, leading to "legal terrorism". They stated: "Dowry Law is a shield, not an assassin's weapon"[5].

[edit] Alleged Abuse of Dowry Laws

It has been claimed that in many instances, the Dowry laws are being misused, since they presume that the husband and his family are guilty, unless they can prove their innocence. A key feature is that the allegation of dowry harassment does not need to be supported by any evidence. The burden of proof is entirely on the husband's family to show that there was no harassment. The application of this section has become controversial because of considerable abuse.

It has led some parents to ask their sons and daughters-in-law to move out and live elsewhere. This is completely opposite of the traditional Indian expectation that the son and his wife will take care of his elderly parents.

Several reports of the abuse have involved USA-based bridegrooms. The United States Department of State has published the following travel warning [2] :

“A number of U.S. citizen men who have come to India to marry Indian nationals have been arrested and charged with crimes related to dowry extraction. Many of the charges stem from the U.S. citizen’s inability to provide an immigrant visa for his prospective spouse to travel immediately to the United States.
“The courts sometimes order the U.S. citizen to pay large sums of money to his spouse in exchange for the dismissal of charges. The courts normally confiscate the American’s passport, and he must remain in India until the case has been settled.”

In a well publicized case, Dr. Balamurali Ambati, who earned his MD at age 17, and his family were detained in India for over 3 years in a suit related to alleged dowry demands by the family for his brother's wife Archana, which delayed Dr. Ambati's entry to the ophthalmology program for 2 years, leaving him to begin his residency in 1998. All charges against him were dismissed in October of 1996 and all his family members were acquitted in June 1999 [3]. During the course of the trial the Ambatis produced a tape in which the father of Archana, demanded US $500,000 to drop all the charges.

[edit] Reports

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Dowries

Women's Issues

[edit] References Cited

  1. ^ Hindu Woman's Right to Property (Past and Present), Review author[s]: Ludwik Sternbach, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1962, p.94 American Oriental Society
  2. ^ http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html
  3. ^ http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/users/sawweb/sawnet/news/news408.txt
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