Misuse of dowry laws – Comments from the Chief Justice
The prevalence of dowry in today’s society is an open fact; most people see it in operation either in their own marriage, or in the marriage of their family members; or you see it on operation in the case of acquaintances. So as an example, I have seen dowry in operation in the case of a family friend where her in-laws insisted on a car as a part of the marriage (and even specified the type of car that was requested). They had accepted that this was a price to be paid for getting their daughter married (and one should fault them equally for being so desperate to get their daughter married). Of course, in all cases of dowry, the boy’s side is always evaluating the value they can get for their boy and have no qualms in demanding the same.
A lot of this dowry expectation is now baked into society, and there do no seem to be any easy solutions (people giving dowry expect that this is the price they need to pay to get their daughter married, and those demanding dowry do not care that such expectations are illegal in law). To make the scale more even, the Government of India has introduced a number of laws that seek to even the scales, and empower women. However, in trying to even the scale, the laws give a lot of power to women, and in some cases, there has been misuse. There have been many reported cases where the threat of usage of such laws (and consequent police action) is used as a level to force settlements; it has been pointed out in court cases and by many pro-male organizations. And when the Chief Justice of India points this out, you can be sure that this is a deep matter of concern:
Categories: Discrimination, Dowry, Judges, Judiciary, Law, Marital, Police, Women Tags: Discrimination, Dowry, Investigation, Judicial, Law, Police, Reform, Responsibility, Review, Welfare, Women
Bihar Police takes steps to safe-guard against 498 (A)
The Section 498(A) of the IPC is meant for prevention of crimes against women, something that this country has struggled with for quite some time now. If you read the actual Section, it talks about: “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”. This was meant to ensure that a woman subjected to harassment in her matrimonial home can take legal measure to protect herself. However, as with any law that favors one side of the dispute, it is subjected to misuse (and there are numerous complaints about the law being misused – refer to this link).
The main complaints against this law (from whatever I have read so far in various articles, web sites, and email) is that:
- the law has allowed the daughter-in-law to subject the entire family of her husband to its provisions
- the police do not investigate the case, but based on the complaint, have been known to drag all the accused (including elderly people and children)
So here is an update from a directive sent out by Bihar police:
Categories: Bihar, Dowry, Investigation, Law, Marital, Police, Punishment, Violence, Women Tags:
Asking for wife’s share of property not dowry
In the mix of the many dowry related laws and court clarifications / edicts, add another one. This one is something that strikes to make sure that family settlements are all equitable, and also rectifying one part of the provisions of the the dowry law. The current dowry laws are harsh, and put a lot of the onus of proving innocence on the husbands in case of dowry related deaths within 7 years of marriage. As with many laws, this one is subject to misuse. If the husband is not on good terms with his in-laws, and his wife dies within 7 years of marriage (and it becomes alleged that he was demanding dowry), then the law essentially puts the onus of proving innocence on the husband. This is not a very comforting feeling, given the basic provisions of fairness which all laws must meet (and let us be clear, such laws were made harsh because of the large number of dowry related deaths and harassment cases in today’s society). So this judgment of the court is a welcome clarification:
