Dowry system in India
The dowry system in India[1] 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.
[11] The practice of dowry deaths and murders continues to take place unchecked in many parts of India, which has further added to the concerns of enforcement.
[12] Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code required the groom and his family to be automatically arrested if a wife complains of dowry harassment.
The findings of MacDonell and Keith are similar to Witzel, and differ from Tambiah; they cite ancient Indian literature suggesting bridewealth was paid even in brahma and daeva marriages.
Arrian's second book similarly notes, They (Indians) marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women as soon as they are marriageable are brought forward by their fathers in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running or someone who excels in any other manly exercise.
This event was part of the marriage treaty between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal.
The marriage treaty, signed on June 23, 1661, included the seven islands of Bombay as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles II.
[30][31] Women's education, income, and health are some significant factors that play into the dowry system, and for how much control a woman has over her marriage.
For example, Indian Muslims call dowry as jahez which has two categories: The first comprises some essential articles for the outfit of the bride as well as for conjugal life.
[5][23] When dowry evolved in the Vedic period, it was essentially followed by the upper castes to benefit the bride, who was unable to inherit property under Hindu law.
[3] Many times, as part of this mutual 'give-and-take', an attempt is made by the groom's family to dictate the quantum of each gift along with specific demands for dowry.
[30] In some cases, dowry is used as a threat or hostage type situation, in order to extract more property from the bride's family.
Some of these offences include physical violence, emotional abuses, and even murder of brides and young girls prior to marriage.
A 2005 Canadian documentary film, Runaway Grooms, exposed a phenomenon of Indo-Canadian men taking advantage of the dowry system.
[42] These men would travel to India ostensibly seeking a new bride, but then abandon the woman and return to Canada without her as soon as they had secured possession of her dowry.
The cruelty could be in the form of verbal attacks or may be accompanied by beating or harassment in order to force the woman or her family to yield to dowry demands.
[49][50] Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, commits suicide by hanging herself or consuming poison.
Some of these offences include physical violence, emotional abuses, and even murder of brides and young girls prior to marriage.
Bride burnings are the most common forms of dowry deaths for a wide range of reasons like kerosene being inexpensive, there being insufficient evidence after the murder and low chances of survival rate.
[52] India, with its large population, reports the highest number of dowry related deaths in the world according to Indian National Crime Record Bureau.
Although the changes in Indian criminal law reflect a serious effort by legislators to put an end to dowry-related crimes, and although they have been in effect for many years now, they have been largely criticised as being ineffective.
Additionally, the judiciary also includes a murder charge under Section 302 IPC as this allows courts to impose death penalty on perpetrators of the offence.
Section 406 IPC, pertaining to offences for the criminal breach of trust, applies in cases of recovery of dowry as it is supposed to be for the benefit of the woman and her heirs.
[70] The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides that for the prosecution of offences under Section 498A IPC, the courts can take cognizance only when it receives a report of the facts from the police or upon a complaint being made by the victim or her family.
[71] Section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act specifically incorporates all forms of harassment, injury and harms inflicted to coerce a woman to meet an unlawful demand for dowry.
[74] According to the National Crime Records Bureau statistics, in 2012, nearly 200,000 people including 47,951 women, were arrested in regard to dowry offences.
The note detailed his grievances, naming his wife, her relatives (her mother, brother and uncle) as the cause of his suffering and the Judge Rita Kaushik of Jaunpur Court who was hearing her case.
[78] In 2010, the Supreme Court spoke about the misuse of anti-dowry laws in Preeti Gupta & Another v. State of Jharkhand & Another and more detailed investigation was recommended.
[80] In July 2014, in the case of Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar & Anr.,[81] a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court reviewed the enforcement of section 41(1)(A) of CrPC which instructs state of following certain procedure before arrest, and went on to observe that the 498A had become a powerful weapon in the hands of disgruntled wives where innocent people were arrested without any evidence due to non-bailable and cognizable nature of the law.
[11] Despite the Indian government's efforts, the practice of dowry deaths and murders continues unchecked in many parts of India and this has further added to the concerns of enforcement.
