Geetika Verma
Abstract –Dowry deaths are the deaths of the married women who are murdered or killed by the in – laws and husband because of dowry. Dowry deaths are very common in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran. India reports the highest total number of dowry deaths. Dowry death is considered one the many types of violence which happen alongside with rape, acid throwing, domestic violence, sexual harassment, bride burning, female genital mutilation and eve teasing. Dowry deaths are one of the burning issues of India society for centuries. The young women who are not able to bear the harassment by the husband and in-laws for the dowry, some girl’s families did pay dowry during the marriage but their husband’s families still demand it again and again. The unnatural death because of dowries is not a new thing it did made headlines every day in the newspaper. The protection of women against dowry deaths and harassment is the duty of the government. To curb these dowry deaths the women should be educated and awareness of women against such things should be done. Dowry deaths are a curse for society.
INTRODUCTION –Dowry means the money, valuable, jewels etc. gifted by bride’s family to the groom’s family but for centuries it is being a demand for marriage from groom’s families, otherwise they back out from the marriage which is considered to be a big insult for bride and her family. This dowry concept in India grew very rapidly because of social inheritance and traditional mentality. The dowry in considered a tradition, in majority of cases the killing of bride and bride burning is done by the females themselves against their daughter-in-law. In most of the cases of dowry deaths the mother-in-law of the victim is the main abettor, initially the demand of dowry by groom’s family was just once but the hunger of money got increased and they start demanding money again and again from daughter-in-law’s family. When her family is unable to fulfil this demand of their daughter’s in-laws then the crime such as brief burning and dowry death takes place.
INDIAN PERSPECTIVE- Dowry demanding and dowry death is never been a new thing in India, it is the most loving thing of Indian society. Here it is somewhere because of our system only that all the dowry deaths are happening in our country. In Ancient India the rich kings gave lot of diamonds and valuables to their princess and by seeing all this it became a tradition and after this it became a strong demand by all the families of groom. Despite having a law prohibiting the giving or taking of dowry in any form (Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961) the practice flourishes amongst all sections of the society irrespective of their caste or class. Here it is believe that marriages are made in heaven but this is no more evident in India, the death by burning is a very normal thing in India today. They kill the woman because they can marry their son to other woman who will bring the dowry again for them. Stanley J.Tambiah claims the ancient Code of Manu sanctioned dowry and bridewealth in ancient India, but dowry was the more prestigious form and associated with the Brahmanic (priestly) caste. Bridewealth was restricted to the lower castes, who were not allowed to give dowry. He cites two studies from the early 20th century with data to suggest that this pattern of dowry in upper castes and bridewealth in lower castes has persisted through the first half of the 20th century.[1]
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE- On international level the dowry deaths are being a topic of concern and given rise to the global activist movement which wants to end this practice. It is been a topic of interest for United Nations also. United nations had taken a proactive stance against the dowry deaths and increased the level of education for the awareness of women against dowry. In 2009, UNICEF launched its first Strategic Priority Action Plan for Gender Equality, which was followed by a second Action Plan in 2010. The aim of these plans has been to make gender equality a higher priority within all international UNICEF programs and functions.[2] Human rights watch also criticize the India’s ability to completely curb the dowry deaths in India and not having strong laws for this.
CASE LAWS:
Preeti Gupta and another Vs. State Of Jharkhand and another
In this case Section 498-A of Indian Penal Code was challenged and Supreme Court regrets about the possible misuse of anti-dowry laws and recommend a detailed investigation.
IndraSain vs. State
In this case it was held that “consideration” was restricted to motive or reason, compensation or reward to marriage and would not, therefore, include any property demanded or given subsequent to marriage. The expression “any time after the marriage” has been brought to replace “after marriage” to eliminate a restricted interpretation of the statute.[3]
Pratibha Rani vs. Suraj Kumar
In this case Supreme Court held that taking possession of bride articles will amount to criminal breach of trust punishable under section 405 of penal code.
Inder Raj Malik vs. Sunita Malik
It was held by the Delhi High Court held that a person who is convicted both under section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act and section 498A of Indian Penal code will not come under the ambit of double jeopardy under article 20(2) of Indian Constitution.
CONCLUSION- Dowry deaths are the biggest curse for us but people doing bride burning and demanding dowry are punished, it is now illegal in India. There are movements started by women all over the India to curb dowry death, if the women and families will be educated then they will get aware against dowry. Women should work and be independent so that they can no more be a burden on families which harass them and women should not tolerate such things. They should stand and complain against such crimes instead of sittings and letting them do this. Dowry should be abolished in our country.
REFERENCES:
- blog.ipleaders.in
- en.wikipedia.org
- United Nations Charter
- 4.
[1]Tambiah, Stanley; Goody, Jack (1973), Bridewealth and Dowry, Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press(Feb 27,2020, 9:00 pm), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_system_in_India
[2]UNICEF Strategic Priority Action Plan for Gender Equality: 2010-2012(February 27,2020, 9:30 pm), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_death
[3]Gazala Praveen, Dowry deaths in India: A legal study, ipleaders blog(February 27,2020, 9:55 pm), https://blog.ipleaders.in/dowry-deaths-india-legal-study/
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