Introduction

1. The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods,

cash, and real or movable property that the bride’s
family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives
as a condition of the marriage. ... In some cases, the
dowry system leads to crime against women, ranging
from emotional abuse and injury to even deaths.
 In India, it has its roots in medieval times when
a gift in cash or kind was given to a bride by
her family to maintain her independence after
marriage. During the colonial period, it became
the only legal way to get married, with the

History of British making the practice of dowry

mandatory. The trend in present India, with its
booming economy, is now encouraging ever-
Dowry System higher bride prices among all socioeconomic
strata. But the rising bride price has brought
with it an increase in violence against women.
 Dowry violence is usually perpetrated by the
husband or the in-laws in a bid to extract a
higher dowry from the bride’s family. The
dowry price paid at the time of marriage
may be significant, but the greed of
husbands and in-laws can grow after
marriage. This frequently translates into
physical, mental or sexual violence against
the bride. The violence ranges from slashing
genitalia or breasts with razors to burning
her alive by pouring kerosene on her. In
some cases, women are driven to suicide
Factor that favour evil of dowry
 Religion and traditional
 Sex determination
 Education status
 Urban living
Number of deaths Since 2005-2021.
 In 2020, reported dowry death cases in India
amounted to nearly seven thousand. This was a
gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this
number was approximately 8.5 thousand. The
dowry system in India incorporates payments in
the form of capital, durable goods, real estate
among others, made to the bridegroom from the
family of the bride as a condition for marriage.
 *Anti Dowry Law.
 The Indian Penal Code lays down the anti-
dowry law with regards to dowry deaths,
under Section 304B and cruelty or domestic
violence for dowry demands, under Section
498A. The IPC makes the crime non-
bailable, which means that the accused
husband or family member cannot get a bail
once arrested by the police.
 However, the anti-dowry law is not violated
in the following case:
 When the gift is given by the bride’s
parents of their own choosing to the newly
married couple without being pressured or
asked.
 The list of such gifts is drawn up by the
family lawyer along with the cost of gifts
and a declaration that they were given to
the couple out of the parents’ own choice.
 The groom’s family has a copy of the list of
gifts and they are given only for the
couple’s use.
*Misuse of Anti -
Dowry law
Misuse of anti-dowry law to blackmail
husband has become a common practice.
The number of false 498A cases or cases
of misuse of anti-dowry laws has even
made the Supreme Court of India to term
it as ‘legal terrorism’. The biased nature
of this law has enabled women to file a
false case against their husbands for
reasons such as:
To get out of the marriage due to her
inability to adjust to the new family.
Blackmailing the husband to extort
money.
 To implicate the husband in a false
case and rekindle with a man she was
previously associated with or got
into an extra-marital affair with.
IPS SECTION 304 ON WOMAN DEATH.
(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily
injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances
within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon
before her death she was subjected to cruelty or har­assment by
her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection
with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called “dowry
death”, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have
caused her death. Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-
section, “dowry” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of
the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).
 (2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with
imprison­ment for a term which shall not be less than seven
years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.]
Misuse of 498A IPC LAW
A violation of this section is done by women by creating frivolously false allegations
against their husbands with the goal of getting some money or just paining the family.
This section’s abuse is increasing chop-chop and therefore the ladies usually
apprehend their husbands.
 Section 498A was designed and inserted into the legal framework by the
lawmakers with the idea of protecting women from cruelty, harassment and other
offences. But when cross-investigations are performed to test the validity of these
laws, the number of acquittals relative to convictions was greater. Thus, one who
brought 498A into action conceiving it as a shield against cruelty for women, i.e.,
the Supreme Court, is now considering it as legal terrorism. Because misuse of
Section 498A diminishes its true credibility. That is one of several reasons for
calling it an anti-male law. Although there are widespread complaints, and even
large-scale misuse has been recognized by the judiciary, there is no reliable data
based on the empirical study regarding the extent of the alleged misuse.
I
Fake Complaints
 Everyyear more than 10000 Complaint of
dowry Harrashment are found to be false.
Given that Close to 90000 To 1 lakh case are
invested every year the figured laws country in
6.
• Conclusion
 The greed for dowry and undeniably the dowry system
as a tradition calls for the severest criticism. It is
apparent that legislative measures such as the Dowry
Prohibition Act have not met with the targets for which
they were intended. Possibly legislation in itself
cannot succeed in removing such an evil, and the
solution must eventually be found in the principles and
willpower of the society and its active expression
through legal and constitutional methods.
Thanks For Watching
Name Yash
Class 11th
Sec B