Will it be a Dowry

Dowry is a concept which does not include gifts. But if the gift is taken the colour of 'dowry' , then the husband has to prove it was 'gift'. Well, courts do not accept the concept of 'dowry' to be accepted by wife.. so, it will be a gift from her husband..  

Hi Suchitra,

Thanks for your reply.

We are not claiming that wife accepted dowry.

Both exchanged gifts during marriage time.  Now they are claiming that those gifts were given as dowry.

All we can prove is that we spent more on her than vice versa. Will that help to prove that what she gave was in fact a gift and not dowry?

In a failed marriage, the wife tries to get even with the husband’s family by filing false dowry.  In doing so, she tries to portray that husband’s family is greedy and did unlawful demand.

For example, husband spends 100 rupees on wife and in turn wife spends 50 rupees on husband and both have the evidence to prove it.  In this situation, will the wife’s claim has any weightage?

Thank you,

Legal help.

Dear legal ....
The Supreme Court has ruled that demand for money and presents from parents of a married girl at the time of birth of her child or for other ceremonies, as is prevalent in society, may be deprecable but cannot be categorised as dowry to make it a punishable offence.

This means, if a daughter-in-law is being harassed for customary gifts by parents-in-law, then they could be booked under ordinary penal provisions but not under the tough anti-dowry laws providing stringent punishments.

Acquitting the parents-in-law of a woman who had accused them of harassing her for dowry, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S Sathasivam took help of a 2001 judgment of SC to say that not all demands from the parents-in-law could be categorised as 'dowry' under the Dowry Prohibition Act. It said though the Act covers payment of money or articles during, before or after marriage by the girl's parent to her in-laws, the cash and presents given had to have a link with the marriage to become objectionable in law.

"Other payments which are customary payments, for example given at the time of birth of a child or other ceremonies as are prevalent in different societies, are not covered by the expression 'dowry'," said Justice Pasayat, writing the judgment for the Bench.

A Haryana trial court had continued the dowry harassment charges against the woman's husband while acquitting the parents-in-law, the married sister and brother of the husband. Though the high court allowed quashing of charges against the sister and brother, it said the parents-in-law were liable to be proceeded against.

The apex court said that when the trial court had held that an attempt had been made by the woman to rope in as many relatives of her husband as possible, the HC should have given some reasons while reversing a well-reasoned order.

It said judicial discipline demanded the HCs to give clear reasons when reversing a trial court order backed by facts. "Reasons substitute subjectivity by objectivity. The emphasis on recording reasons is that if the decision reveals the 'inscrutible face of the sphinx', it can, by its silence, render it virtually impossible for the courts to perform their appellate function or exercise the power of judicial review in adjudicating the validity of the decision," the Bench said.

Rgds.

Thank you Mr. Arun for your reply

PLS I NEED HELP FROM U ALL.. MY FRIEND GOT MARRIED AT 2006 AND HIS HUSBAND WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A CHRISTIAN GIRL ....HER HUSBAND AND HIS GIRLFRIEND SECRETLY DID SECOND MARRIAGE..WITHOUT GIVING DIVORCE TO MY FRIEND...AND MY FRIENDS HUSBANDS FAMILY HAD ALSO DEMANDED 2 LAKHS  CASH AND 50 TOLAS GOLD ...THEY TOOK DOWRY...AND THEY ARE GIVING HARRISMENT TO MY FRIEND ...WHAT CAN U ADVICE US..