ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DOWRY PROHIBITION Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE expression dowry m ancient time applied to that which a wife brought for her husband in marriage, goods given in marriage or the marriage portion. May be, it was conceived of as a nest -egg or security for the wife in her matrimonial home, especially since, most of the systems regarded a married woman as an addition to her husband's family. But in course of time, it assumed a different shape and degenerated into a subject of barter, acceptance of the woman as a wife depending on what her parents would pay as dowry, varying with the qualification and the status of the bridegroom's family. As felicitously put by Krishnaswami Aiyar, C.J. on behalf of the Full Bench in Sundaram Iyer v. Thandaveswara Iyer [1946 Tra LR 224].

(2.) THE position cannot be said to have improved since then. Possibly, a social revolution is needed to put an end to the menace. Refusal by the bride's father to pay dowry, refusal of the girls to get married if dowry is insisted upon and the attaching of a social stigma to those who demand dowry, can alone ultimately put an end to this system or at least reduce its prevalence. Obviously, the enactment of a law prohibiting this evil should go a long way in tackling the menace. The Parliament in its wisdom enacted the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (Act No. 28 of 1961). The objects and reasons were set out as follows :

(3.) THIS led to the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act bringing in stringent criminal provisions to combat the menace and to some amendments in the Dowry Prohibition Act itself giving it more teeth. The objects and reasons for the amendment by Act 63 of 1984, were set down as follows :