TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

Interpretation of Section 304-B (Dowry Death) - A detail Analysis

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF B.A. L.L.B (Hons.), SIXTH

SEMESTER

Submitted to: PROF. B. Preetham Submitted by: Abhijeet Singh Rathore

Faculty: Interpretation of Statue BA0140001

III YEAR, VI SEMESTER, B.A.LLB

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Introduction:

Family is considered to be the founding stone of the society. And this very family at the same
time has been considered a sphere of intimacy and devoid of conflicts of interests among the
members that poses ideal cultural and focus of identity. Marriage is one of the principal tool used
in expansion of family but having said that the institution of civil marriage has undergone
monumental changes in the last few decades. Although the Constitution of India guarantees
equal rights to women as individuals, the state has hardly perceived them as such. Citizenship
has for long been exclusively viewed as the domain of men. Women's identities and lives have
been either excluded from or viewed as secondary in the framework of state-citizen relations.
Women's issues have always been dealt with in the context of family and are, therefore,
considered private. The Indian women's movement has consistently strived to bring women's
issues out of the so-called private sphere. It has shown that the institutions of the public and the
private overlap in their effect on each other and that they cannot be looked at in isolation of each
other. The spheres of the home, family and marriage have been critical institutional sites in the
pre-independence social reform campaigns as well as for the women's movement in post-
independent India. The women's movement in the 1970s and 1980s not only highlighted such
atrocities on women like dowry and wife-beating within the family, but also pointed out and
questioned the ways in which the state passed off such acts of violence as private affairs that
took place within the family and were of no concern to it.

First we have to look that what the word marriage means i.e. Marriage is the voluntary union
for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. It is considered to be a sacred
commitment made by the spouses towards each other. It is regarded to be the social alliance
between two families. It is essential that vows, promises, commitments that are exchanged by the
spouses are revered with a sincere heart because it is this institution which eulogizes the
hallmark of love, bonding, union of families and harmony. Endeavour should always be made to
sustain the sanctity of such divine institution since it is such an edifice which must be rebuilt
every day. Here in this social institution the husband has the responsibility to take care of and
maintain his wife. He cannot neglect his duties.

But like all good aspects bad aspects of a particular act too exists. The institution of marriage
suffers from a major social evil i.e. dowry (Money or property brought by a woman to her

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husband at the time of marriage); and for the dowry husband exercises physical as well as mental
cruelty on wife. Women are ill-treated, harassed, killed, divorced for the simple reason that they
didnt brought dowry. For safeguarding the interest of woman against the cruelty they face
behind the four walls of their matrimonial home, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was amended in
1986 and inserted Section 304B which deals with matrimonial cruelty to a woman.

Historical Background:

Cruelty is one of the serious kinds of social evil since ages. India being multifaceted democracy
discrimination can never be entertained on the social, civil, political and economic rights
guaranteed by the nation. Nevertheless owing to certain broad situations where Indian women do
cross the hurdles and participate in the social activities.

Since time immemorial women have been reduced to a demeaning decorative character endowed
with superficial attractiveness but intellectually docile, who could only serve the purpose of male
entertainment. Because of the pristine orthodox hierarchical malpractices they were encouraged
to embody the role of mother, wife or that of a home maker only to be pushed to live a confined
life with restricted mobility or in worse cases to live in total seclusion. In spite of Indias
reputation of worshipping and treating women as Goddess history reveals the dark bitter secret
that is buried under the godly personification of women which was only being used as a
camouflage for securing the superior position of the male members of the society indirectly.
Since medieval times as women played a rather subservient role in the society. Hence it is a fact
that women are not respected in a true manner earlier.

This can be proved from the instances of past, e.g. Sati i.e. self -immolation by a widow on the
pyre of the dead body of her husband. It is yet another phenomenon peculiar to an illiterate,
conservative and tradition bound society. It is nothing but a manifestation of the barbaric attitude
of man towards a helpless woman who becomes widow on the death of her husband. The irony
of fate is that instead of the poor woman getting solace, sympathy and shelter to bear the tragic
loss of her husband, she is forced to become or encouraged to be sati. 1Thereby we may say that

1
K.D.Gaur, The poor victim of uses and abuses of criminal law and process in India, 27 Indian Bar Review 39
(2000)

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this practice of treating women in an inhuman manner leads to the concept of Cruelty. Cruelty
against women has been age-old phenomenon, where women have been subjected to brutality
and inexplicable exploitation for one reason or the other.Cruelty can be both mental as well as
physical cruelty which is being practiced in different modes in the society in different
circumstances. Here for the purpose of the research, the researcher is going to look into the
effects of cruelty from the perspective of matrimonial relationship.

Under Old English law, according to Blackstone, a husband could correct his wife by beating.
E.g. a husband broke the legs of his wife since she had disregarded his instructions to visit a
particular place.2 In Holmes v. Holmes,3 the husband used to assault and abuse his wife and on
occasion he insisted upon sexual intercourse with her in the presence of two men and threatened
that if she refused, the men would hold her down. In spite of all this, the wife was held not to be
entitled to any relief on the ground of cruelty. This was the poor condition of justice then under
old English law.

According to Manu, a husband should beat his wife only with a rope or split bamboo, so that no
bones are broken in the process.4

Concept of cruelty:

Cruelty is an abstract concept; there is no specific definition or explanation given by any jurist.
Cruelty can be of different forms such as mental, physical, direct or indirect, intended or
unintended. It also depends upon different factors and circumstances such as social-cultural
background of the woman, mental and physical conditions, etc.

The Supreme Court of India through various decisions has explained the concept of cruelty such
as:

In N.G. Dastane v. S. Dastane5, the Supreme Court has observed that conduct charged as
cruelty should be of such a character as to cause in the mind of the Petitioner, a
reasonable apprehension that it is harmful or injurious to live with the respondent.

2
Kusum, Family Law Lectures, IInd Edition, Lexis Nexis, 2008
3
(1755)2 Lee; 161 ER 283
4
Ibid
5
(1975) 2 SCC 326

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 In V. Bhagat v. D. Bhagat6, the Supreme Court held that the mental cruelty must be of
such a nature that the parties cannot be reasonable be expected to live together. While
arriving at such conclusion regard must be had to the social status, educational level of
the parties, the society they move in and all other relevant facts and circumstances.
In NeeluKohli v. Naveen Kohli,7 it was held by the apex court that in order to constitute
cruelty the acts complained of as causing cruelty must be more serious than ordinary
wear and tear of marriage. Not any and every abnormal act of the other party can be
viewed as mental cruelty.
In A. Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur8, the apex court held that for physical cruelty there can
be tangible and direct evidence but in mental cruelty there may not be direct evidence.
When there is no direct evidence, courts are required to probe into the mental process and
mental effect of incidence that are brought out in evidence.
In Vinitha Saxena v.Pankaj Pandit 9 , the Supreme Court held that what constitutes
mental cruelty will not depend upon the numerical count of such incidents or only on the
continuous course of such conduct, but really go by the intensity, gravity and stigmatic
impact of it when meted out even once and deleterious effect of it in the mental attitude,
necessary for maintaining a conducive matrimonial home.

Legal Steps taken by Legislature:

At first in the year 1961, the Dowry Prohibition Act is enacted to eradicate the practice of dowry.
It consists of 10 sections. The penalty for giving and taking dowry is incorporated in Section 3
of the Act. But the Act contains so many loopholes, also the punishment prescribed for
demanding, taking and giving dowry were very low. So the Act has been amended from time to
time to be effective.

The Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act of 1984 prescribes a minimum punishment of two
years imprisonment and fine to anyone demanding dowry. Because of this Dowry Prohibition

6
(1994)1 SCC 337
7
AIR 2006 SC 1675
8
(2005)2 SCC 22
9
(2006)3 SCC 778

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Act, a person who gives or takes, or helps in the giving or taking of dowry can be sentenced to
jail for 5 years and fined Rs.15,000/- or the amount of the value of dowry, whichever is more.
This Act is prohibited to give or to agree to give, directly or indirectly, any property or valuable
security, in connection with a marriage. The giving of or agreeing to the giving of any amount
either in cash of kind, jewelry, articles, properties, etc. in respect of a marriage is absolutely
prohibited by the Dowry prohibition Act. Even the making of a demand for dowry is also now
prohibited and it is punishable with imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of Rs.10,000/-

In Order to provide more teeth to dowry prevention laws, the Government has decided to make it
mandatory for couples to make list of gifts exchanged during the ceremonies of marriage. The
Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of List of present to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules were
introduced in 1985 in pursuance of the same purpose. It clearly stated that the list of gifts, in
form of a sworn affidavit, has to be notarised, signed by a protection officer or a dowry
prohibition officer and kept by both the parties. Failing this can invite heavy penalty including a
three-year term in jail for not only bride and groom but also their parents.

To stop the offences of cruelty by husband or his relatives on wife, Section 498-A has been
added in the Indian Penal Code, and Section 198-A has been added in the Criminal Procedure
Code since the year 1983. In the case of suicide by a married woman, within 7 years from the
date of her marriage, the Court may presume that such suicide has been abetted, encouraged by
her husband or his relatives. Provision to this effect has been added in the Indian Evidence Act,
by adding Section 113-A since the year 1983.

Sec.304-B is incorporated in the Indian Penal Code in 1983. It deals with Dowry Death. It
states that 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.

Clause(2) of Sec.304-B stated that 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.

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Recently for the Protection of women from Domestic Violence an Act is enacted in the year
2005 which is called as the Domestic Violence Act. The main objective of the Act is to eradicate
the domestic violence against women and to provide protection to women from the domestic
violence. Some measures took by the international community for eradication of domestic
violence against women and declared 25th November as the International day to prevent
violence against women.10

Interpretation of Section 304-B of IPC

The Judiciary has delivered the decisions related to the dowry death cases under section 304B of
IPC only when all the following ingredients are present (not a single ingredient missing):-

(a) When the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury, or

(b) Occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances.

(c) And the aforesaid two facts spring within 7 years of girl's marriage.

(d) And soon before her death, she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his
relative.

(e) This is in connection with the demand of dowry.

If these conditions exist, it would constitute a dowry death; and the husband and/or his relatives
shall be deemed to have caused her death.11

Ss. 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act make out independent offences, but in the
instant case it was the demand for dowry coupled with harassment which constitutes the basis of

10
Laasya Priya Ponnada, An Overview on Dowry Prohibition, URL: http://www.legalindia.com/an-overview-on-
dowry-prohibition/
11
Pawan Kumar & Ors. v State of Haryana, AIR 1998 SC 958 : 1998 Cri.L.J. 1144 (SC) : 1998 (1) Crimes 164
(SC) : JT 1998 (1) SC 565 : (1998) 3 SCC 309

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the prosecution case. Once the main part of the charge under S. 304-B was not found established,
it was not possible to record conviction under Ss. 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.12

A conjoint reading of s. 113B of the Indian Evidence Act and s. 304B of IPC shows that
there must be material to show that soon before her death, she was subjected to cruelty or
harassment.13

Leaving aside the cases of statutory presumptions, the onus is upon the prosecution to
prove the different ingredients of the offence and unless it discharges that onus, the prosecution
cannot succeed.

The traditional criminal law dictum that an accused is presumed to be innocent unless
proved guilty of the offence he is charged with, is not applicable on account of the legal fiction
embodied in the provisions of Section 304B whereby he is deemed to have caused the death and
the onus shifts on him to prove otherwise.

The judicial decisions discussed under the described ingredients for an offence to be dealt
under 304B of IPC

1. Death in unnatural circumstances

Prosecution has to rule out the possibility of a natural or accidental death so as to bring it
within the purview of the death occurring otherwise than in normal circumstances.

2. Death within 7 yrs of marriage

Balram Prasad Agrawal v. State of Bihar and ors.14
(Bench: G.N. Ray, S.B. Majmudar)
In this case, the death occurred after the prescribed seven years of time after the marriage
hence the 304B was not applied.

12
Sakhi Mandalani v. State of Bihar, (1999) 5 SCC 705 : 1999 SCC(Cr) 1039
13
Kamesh Panjiyar @ Kamlesh Panjiyar v. State of Bihar, AIR 2005 SC 785 : 2005 Cri LJ 1418 (SC) : JT 2005 (2)
SC 218 : (2005) 2 SCC 388
14
AIR 1997 SC 1830 : 1997 CriLJ 1640 : 1997(1) Crimes 10 (SC) : JT 1996(11) SC 60 : (1997) 9 SCC 338

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 Facts:
o Deceased was subjected to cruelty by her mother-in-law, her husband and his
elder brother which forced her to commit suicide by jumping into well.
o They persisted in demanding dowry and as the deceased did not fulfill their
demands, the accused started beating her physically and used to torture her
causing danger to her life.
o She had earlier attempted to commit suicide but was saved by neighbours.
o She had left the house of her husband and started living with her parents.
However, a compromise was made with her husband and in-laws and she was
brought to the house of her in-laws in the year 1988 where she started to reside till
the date of her tragic death.
o She had filed report before the concerned police station against her husband and
in-laws.
o Finally deceased had committed suicide by jumping in the well.
o The marriage had taken place in year 1977 and the death took place in year 1988.
o After the death deceased father went to see her was informed by the neighbours
that on the previous night of the date of the occurrence there was quarrel in the
house of the accused and they had heard the crying and weeping of Kiran Devi
and she was being assaulted by her in-laws.

Decision:
Here all the conditions were satisfied except the within seven year provision of s. 304B of IPC.
Thus more than seven years had elapsed, the presumption that deceased might have been
killed for the sake of dowry cannot be raised. SC convicted the accused for offences
punishable under 498A.
So in this case the court interpreted the provision in strict sense I the way that all the conditions
which are mentioned in section 304B must be satisfied, if either of the condition failed to satisfy
then the case will not fall within the ambit of section 304B.

3. Soon before death

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 State of Andhra Pradesh v. Raj Gopal Asawa and Anr.15
(Bench: Doraiswamy Raju, Arijit Pasayat)

If alleged incident of cruelty is remote in time and has become stale enough not to disturb
mental equilibrium of the woman concerned, it would be of no consequence.

The expression 'soon before' is very relevant where Section 113B of the Evidence Act and
Section 304B IPC are pressed into service. Prosecution is obliged to show that soon before the
occurrence there was cruelty or harassment and only in that case presumption operates. Evidence
in that regard has to be led by prosecution. 'Soon before' is a relative term and it would depend
upon circumstances of each case and no strait-jacket formula can be laid down as to what would
constitute a period of soon before the occurrence.

It would be hazardous to indicate any fixed period, and that brings in the importance of a
proximity test both for the proof of an offence of dowry death as well as for raising a
presumption under Section 113B of the Evidence Act. The expression 'soon before her death'
used in the substantive Section 304B IPC and Section 113B of the Evidence Act is present
with the idea of proximity test. No definite period has been indicated and the expression 'soon
before' is not defined. A reference to expression 'soon before' used in Section 114. Illustration (a)
of the Evidence Act is relevant. It lays down that a Court may presume that a man who is in the
possession of goods 'soon after the theft, is either the thief has received the goods knowing them
to be stolen, unless he can account for his possession.

The determination of the period which can come within the term 'soon before' is left to be
determined by the Courts, depending upon facts and circumstances of each case. Suffice,
however, to indicate that the expression 'soon before' would normally imply that the interval
should not be much between the concerned cruelty or harassment and the death in question.
There must be existence of a proximate and live-link between the effect of cruelty based on
dowry demand and the concerned death.

15
AIR 2004 SC 1933 : 2004 (1) ALD (Cri) 642 : 2004 CriLJ 1791 : JT2004(3)SC560 : (2004) 4 SCC 470

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 Interpretation of soon in various cases
a. State of Orissa v. Niranjan Mohapatra16

Where there is no evidence to suggest that soon before the occurrence, the deceased was
subjected to torture and harassment, the ingredients under s.304B were not established.

b. Surinder Kaur and Anr. v. State of Haryana17

In this all ingredients of dowry death were present but soon before death cruelty.
Where soon after the marriage, i.e., about two and a half years prior to death of the deceased,
there were some alleged harassment for lack of dowry but no soon harassment evident, it could
not be sufficient ground to hold the accused liable. Allegations not in proximity to the death of
the deceased.
There is no fixed way in which the court has interpreted the term soon. In some case it has been
given very liberal interpretation, while in other cases it has been interpreted strictly. So it depend
upon circumstances of each and every case and also on the mentality of the judge.

4. Subjected to cruelty and harassment

a. Case when direct evidence of cruelty of harassment is absent: There must
be proximate connection between the alleged cruelty and the death of the
deceased
a) Dhain Singh and Anr. v. State of Punjab18
(Bench: Tulzapurkar, V.D.)
304B and Indian Evidence Act - Section 113B were invoked.
Facts:
o Death of deceased by burn injuries within two and a half years of date of marriage.
o Allegations of demand of dowry and maltreatment and cruelty meted out to deceased by
appellant.

16
AIR 2005 SC 970 : 2005 Cri LJ 1427 (SC) : JT 2005(2) SC 599 : (2005) 9 SCC 578
17
AIR 2004 SC 1747 : 2004 Cri LJ 1765 : JT 2004 (3) SC 61:(2004) 4 SCC 109
18
JT 2004 (7) SC 212 : (2004) 7 SCC 759

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Evidence presented:

o To show demand of Television set and deceased being sent back to parental home.
o To show settlement of dispute by Panchayat. As evidence to show demand of dowry by
appellant and deceased being taken back in appellants home only after meditation.
o death having occurred within a period of two months
o Cremation of the body of deceased without giving any info to police and to father of the
deceased in clandestine manner.

Arguments advanced:

o It is true that the prosecution has to establish that there must be nexus between the cruelty
and the suicide and the cruelty meted out must have induced the victim to commit
suicide.
o The appellant has no case that there was any other reason for her to commit suicide. The
evidence shows that the first appellant had demanded dowry and he had sent her away
from his house and only after the mediation she was taken back to appellant's house and
death happened within a period of two months thereafter. The clandestine cremation of
deceased.

Decision

These facts clearly show that the suicide was the result of the harassment or cruelty meted out to
the deceased. The presumption under Section 113B of the Indian Evidence Act could be invoked
against the appellant and he Sessions Court rightly found the appellant guilty of the offence
punishable under Section 304B IPC and Section 201 IPC.

a) Taiyab Khan and Ors. v. State of Bihar (now Jharkhand)19

(Bench: K.G. Balakrishnan, Arun Kumar)

Present is a case of death of a woman having taken place within three years of her marriage. It is
a case of an unnatural death, that is, death which occurs otherwise than under normal

19
AIR 2006 SC 673: 2006 CriLJ 544: JT 2005 (10) SC 192 : (2005)13 SCC 455

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circumstances. The first three ingredients are clearly established. The only other ingredient which
needs to be considered is the harassment of the woman by the husband or his relatives in
connection with demand for dowry. PW 1 to PW 5 (PW1 and PW2 were the brothers of the
deceased) have spoken about the dowry demands made by the appellants and the harassment of
the deceased on account of such demands by the appellants.

Decision:

It is a case of unnatural death. The absence of viscera report to confirm the death by poisoning
does not make any difference to the fate of the case. The fact remains that it is a case of
unnatural death. Section 304B IPC refers to death which occurs otherwise than under normal
circumstances. It cannot be said to be a case of normal death. Held the appellants (accused who
had appealed against the HC decision here) guilty of the offence under Section 304B.

The court in this case gave a liberal view on the term otherwise than under normal circumstances
and stated that circumstantial evidences plays a critical role in these type of offences which took
place within the fur wall of the house. Hence just relying on the single evidence and ignoring all
other evidences would not be appropriate.

5. For or in connection with any demand for dowry

i. Demand for dowry

a. Appasaheb and Anr. v. State of Maharashtra20
(Bench: G.P. Mathur, R.V. Raveendran)

Ratio Decidendi:

Demand for money on account of some financial stringency or for meeting some urgent domestic
expenses cannot be termed as a demand for dowry as the said word is normally understood

20
AIR 2007 SC 763

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Appellants convicted for committing offence of harassing the deceased for not fulfilling dowry
demands. Charges framed and on the basis of evidences recorded, appellants convicted under
Section 304B of IPC. Appeal filed before High Court dismissed. Hence, appealed in Supreme
Court . Postmortem examination report showed no sign of external or internal injury on
deceaseds body and cause of death opined to be by insecticide poisoning. Evidence on record
neither shows alleged demand of dowry nor establishes it. Held, no evidence either direct or
circumstantial to show that deceased committed suicide due to harassment or any demand for
"dowry" was made by the appellants. Essential ingredient of Section 304B of IPC i.e. demand for
dowry, not established.SC held that conviction of appellants not sustainable due to the lack
evidence to show any demand for dowry.

b. "Demand of dowry" itself punishable:

The State of Andhra Pradesh v. Raj Gopal Asawa and Anr.21

(Bench: Doraiswamy Raju, Arijit Pasayat)

"Dowry" definition is to be interpreted with the other provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961 including Section 3, which refers to giving or taking dowry and Section 4 which deals with
a penalty for demanding dowry, under the Act and the IPC. This would be contrary to the
mandate and object of the Act. This makes it clear that even demand of dowry on other
ingredients being satisfied is punishable. It is not always necessary that there be any agreement
for dowry.

The offence alleged against the respondents is under Section 304B IPC which makes "demand of
dowry" itself punishable. Demand neither conceives nor would conceive of any agreement. If for
convicting any offender, agreement for dowry is to be proved, hardly any offenders would come
under the clutches of law. When Section 304B refers to "demand of dowry", it refers to the
demand of property or valuable security as referred to in the definition of "dowry" under the Act.
The argument that there is no demand of dowry, in the present case, has no force. In cases of

21
AIR 2004 SC 1933 : 2004 CriLJ 1791 : JT 2004 (3) SC 560 : (2004) 4 SCC 470

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dowry deaths and suicides, circumstantial evidence plays an important role and inferences can be
drawn on the basis of such evidence. That could be either direct or indirect. It is significant that
Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, was also amended by means of Act 63 of 1984,
under which it is an offence to demand dowry directly or indirectly from the parents or other
relatives or guardian of a bride. The word "agreement" referred to in Section 2 has to be inferred
on the facts and circumstances of each case. The interpretation that the respondents seek, that
conviction can only be if there is agreement for dowry, is misconceived.

ii. Impact of dowry demand in various cases

a) Noorjahan v. State rep. by D.S.P.22

(Bench: Dr. Arijit Pasayat, P. Sathasivam)

The evidence is inadequate to show that present appellant was party to any demand for dowry. In
fact, PW-1(mother of the deceased) stated that when she went to the place of her daughter
appellant was present along with A-1(husband) and A-2. The said A-1 demanded jewels and
presentation of Rs. 5,000/- for Ramzan. She accepted that she told A-1 and A-2 that she will send
the same within a week. The next statement of this witness is very significant. She (appellant)
told that two months' time will be sufficient for offering the presentation. In other words, she did
not make any demand for dowry. That aspect has been accepted by PW-1. She has categorically
admitted that while she went to the house of her daughter, she (appellant) was not present.
Therefore, there is no evidence to show that appellant was either present when the demand was
made or she herself made any demand.

Supreme Court held that above being the position, the prosecution failed to establish the
accusations against the appellant. Therefore, her conviction cannot be maintained and is set
aside.

22
AIR 2008 SC 2113 : JT 2008 (6) SC 220

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 b) Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana23
(Bench: Punchhi, M.M.)
In this case, the sections 30624 and 304B of IPC were invoked as there was no direct evidence for
dowry demand but cruel treatment and unnatural death was found to be present and further the
deceased was abetted to commit suicide
Facts:
o After four months of the marriage, A1(Pawan, the husband) asked for
Rs10,000 and was sent back to her paternal home.
o After about one year, deceased again came to the house of
Sudarshan(deceased brother) with a definite grievance about being pestered
for money by her husband and parents-in-law.
o She stayed at the house of Sudarshan for eight months and never wanted to go
back by reason of consistent harassment with beating.
o Later when she returned back, appellants continued harassing deceased for
dowry. Sudarshan came to know of this fact whenever he visited deceased
o About two months prior to the occurrence, Pawan demanded for a Maruti
Van, which was not accepted by Sudarshan.
o On 17.9.1985, Sudarshan received a telephonic message that deceased was
burnt.
Decision:
The court stated that When words in statute are referable to more than one meaning, the
established rule of construction is found in Heydons case The rule is to consider four aspects
while construing an Act :
[a] when was the law prior to the law which is sought to be interpreted;
[b] when was the mischief or defect for which new law is made;
[c] what is the remedy the law now provides; and
[d] what is the reason of the remedy.

23
AIR2001 SC 1324
24
Section 306 - Abetment of suicide
If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to
fine.

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The Court must adopt that construction which, suppresses the mischief and advances the
remedy. Applying this principle, it is clear that the earlier law was not sufficient to check dowry
deaths hence aforesaid stringent provisions were brought in, so that persons committing such
inhuman crimes on married women should not escape, as evidence of a direct nature is not
readily available except of the circumstantial kind. Hence it is that interpretation which
suppresses the mischief; sub serves the objective and advances the remedy, which would be
acceptable. Objective is that men committing such crimes should not escape punishment. The
court was of the opinion that, cruelty nor harassment need not be physical. Even mental torture in
a given case would be a case of cruelty and harassment within the meaning of Section 304-B
In the facts of the matter under consideration, the circumstances pointedly point out the accused
as a guilty person as abettors and on the wake of the aforesaid the order of conviction (of High
court) cannot be interfered with.
c) K. Prema S. Rao and Anr. v. Yadla Srinivasa Rao and Ors.25
(Bench: M.B. Shah, K.G. Balakrishnan, D.M. Dharmadhikari)
No evidence against the husband that at the time of marriage there was any demand or settlement
for giving dowry in cash or by way of transfer of property. After 2-3 months of marriage
husband started harassing the wife to force her to transfer the land to him. Cruel conduct of the
husband led the wife to commit suicide.

Decision:
The harassment or cruelty meted out to the deceased by the husband after the marriage to force
her to transfer the land in his name was 'not in connection with any demand for dowry'. One of
the main ingredients of the offence of "demand of dowry" being absent in this case, the High
Court cannot be said to have committed any error in acquitting accused No. 1 for offence under
Section 304B, IPC. Sentenced the accused No. 1 of offence of abetment of suicide under Section
306 of IPC along with or instead of Section 498A of IPC.

25
AIR 2003 SC 11

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202nd Report on proposal to amend section 304-B of IPC
The report was formed by Dr. Justice AR. Lakshmmanan, Prof. Tahir Mahmood and Dr. DP
Sharma. The question that the Law Commission has examined in this report is whether Section
304B of IPC, 1860, on dowry death, should be amended to provide for more stringent
punishment of death sentence in order to curb the menace of dowry death. The commission has
agreed that the legal amendments of dowry death have not shown any sign of significant decline.
This gave rise to demands for capital punishment/death sentence for the offence of dowry death
in order to imbibe necessary deterrence in the law. On the other hand, there are others who
complain about misuse of dowry related provisions and plead for their abrogation.
In Natthu v State of U.P.26, honble Mr. M. Katju J. inter-alia observed In my opinion dowry
death is worse than murder but surprisingly there is no death penalty for it whereas death penalty
can be given for murder. In my opinion the time has come when law be amended and death
sentences should also be permitted in cases of dowry deaths.
The traditional criminal law dictum that an accused is presumed to be innocent unless proved
guilty of the offence he is charged with, is not applicable on account of the legal fiction
embodied in the provisions of section 304B whereby he is deemed to have caused the death and
the onus shifts on him to prove otherwise. The enactment of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, in its
original form was found inadequate. Experience shows that the demand of dowry and the mode
of its recovery take different forms to achieve the same result and various indirect and
sophisticated methods are used to avoid leaving any evidence of the offence. Similarly, the
consequence of non-fulfillment of demand of dowry meted out to the unfortunate bride take
different forms to avoid any casual connection between the demand of dowry and its prejudicial
effects on the bride. The word dowry used in the act means any property or valuable security
should be given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly at or before or any time after
the marriage and in connection with the marriage of the said parties. Therefore, the giving or
taking of property or valuable security must have some connection with the marriage of the
parties and a correlation between the giving or taking of property or valuable security with the
marriage of the parties is essential. Being a penal provision it has to be strictly construed. Dowry
is a fairly well known social custom or practice in India. It is well settled principle of
interpretation of Statute that if the Act is passed with reference to a particular trade, business or

26
AIR 1956 SC 56

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transaction and words are used which everybody conversant with that trade, business or
transaction knows or understands to have a particular meaning in it, then the words are to be
construed as having that particular meaning.
It is not enough that harassment or cruelty was caused to the woman with a demand for dowry at
some time, if Section 304-B is to be invoked. But it should have happened soon before her
death. The said phrase, no doubt, is an elastic expression and can refer to a period either
immediately before her death within a few days or even a few weeks before it. But the proximity
to her death is the pivot indicated by that expression. The legislative object in providing such a
radius of time by employing the words soon before her death is to emphasize the idea that her
death should, in all probabilities, have been the aftermath of such cruelty or harassment. In other
words, there should be a perceptible nexus between her death and the dowry related harassment
or cruelty inflicted on her.
National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affair published a report crime in India-
2005 wherein it was reported that one dowry death case is committed in every 77 minutes in
India. The punitive approach which is traditional in nature and universal in its import and
application whereby the criminal is viewed as a bad guy and punishment is inflicted on the
offender as retribution and also to protect the society by deterring members of the society from
commission of crimes. Another approach called therapeutic approach. According to this, a
criminal is a victim of circumstances. In this approach, a criminal is viewed as a sick person,
requiring treatment. There is yet another theory wherein the focus is not on the criminal but on
the factors that lead one to become criminal and thrust is on removal of such factors with a view
to prevent commission of crimes. This approach is thus called the preventive approach.
There are two conflicting views which can be broadly classified into two schools of thoughts,
namely, the Retentionists (Pro-Capital Sentencing) and the Abolitionists (Anti-Capital
Sentencing), Functioning under the Retentionists perspective, Utilitarian school of thought
advocates that capital punishment prevents the convict from replicating the offence and acts as a
deterrent for future offenders. Correspondingly, Retributive theorists lay down that as a
foundational matter of justice, crime deserves to be reprimanded, and that should be equivalent
to the injury caused.
The commission also throw light on the role of courts in cases related to dowry death, they stated
that role of courts under these circumstances assumes greater importance and it is expected that

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the courts would deal with such cases in a more realistic manner and not allow the criminals to
escape on accounts of procedural technicalities or insignificant lacunae in the evidence as
otherwise the criminals would receive encouragement and the victims of crime would be totlly
discouraged by the crime going unpunished. The courts are expected to be sensitive in cases
involving crime against women. So the commission was of the view that there is no justification
for amending section 304B to provide for death sentence. Such penalty will also not be in
conformity with the principle of proportionality. During the course of deliberations in the
commission, suggestions were received that if the section was not being amended to provide for
death sentence, then at least the minimum imprisonment of seven years under the section should
be raised to ten years as the victim of the dowry death is generally forced to undergo long and
persistent torture before being killed. The commission finds much substance in this
recommendation and concur it. The recommendation is already before the Government and it is
for the government to take appropriate action.

Suggestions and Recommendations

Regarding the number and the manner of dowry deaths, there are widespread public demands for
stringent legal measures to effectively curb this social evil. But, at the same time, the cardinal
principles of penology, especially those relating to sentencing, have to be duly adhered to. It is
important that legal sanctions must be appropriate, pragmatic and effective. Sentence must not be
too less or too harsh and more than what is necessary. Both will be counter-productive. That is
why there is need to supplement the punitive measures by appropriate preventive measures.

The time limit of presumption may be increased because seven years is very short a time
and often the offence are executed in a preplanned manner.
The minimum punishment should be increased from seven to ten years.
The enforcement agencies too will have to be more sensitive and responsive to the needs
of the situation arising from the incidents of dowry death.

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Conclusion:

After having a detailed research on section 304B the researcher is of the view that in spite of
stringent legislations, persons are still indulging in these unlawful activities, not because of any
shortcoming in law but under the protective principle of criminal jurisprudence of benefit of
doubt. So the court must adopt more practicable approach the accused is not acquitted on
procedural defaults. There is no uniform approach which has been adopted by the courts in
interpretation section 304B which according to researcher is a right approach because every case
differs from other in many aspects so if court will adopt a single strategy there might be the room
available for accused to escape. At the same time people must be given proper education
regarding the harm dowry demands are doing in society, at the same time it is considered by the
people as a private affair where outsider are expected not to interfere, but people must play an
active role if they find any such things within their areas instead of being silent they must raise
their voice, because it is one voice which is needed to make a revolution. The objective of this
legislation was as remedial to dowry victims but as time evolved it more being a remedial
legislation got converted penal legislation and till now with no deterrence effect and impact on
society because plethora of cases keep coming and victims are there every second of the vicious
cycle of time. Therefore, an overall social program must be run by the government to cover this
issue so that everyone learn and get full in and out knowledge whats happening in the society
and how it should be.

Dowry being evil for the society despite that the societies follow it as being a ritual which in
itself wrong and it shouldnt happen because until unless the mindset of society doesnt change it
doesnt matter how much remedial and deterrence effectual laws you derive and formulate it
wont serve its purpose. If we trace the history dowry wasnt an evil practice as it gradually
developed because it was concept in which father didnt want their daughters to be with empty
hands while shift from their ancestral home to matrimonial one. But gradually some of the
greedy group of people in the society developed it as crime and to that extent that legislature has
to draft a remedial legislature for the same.

However, there is shear need to be a societal change despite we have the particular law on the
subject because they are the one who are going to be govern by the law.

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Bibliography:

Cases Referred:

1. N.G. Dastane v. S. Dastane, (1975)2 SCC 326

2. V. Bhagat v. D. Bhagat, (1994)1 SCC 337
3. NeeluKohli v. Naveen Kohli, AIR 2006 SC 1675
4. A. Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur, (2005)2 SCC 22
5. Vinitha Saxena v.Pankaj Pandit, (2006)3 SCC 778
6. Pawan Kumar & Ors. v State of Haryana, AIR 1998 SC 958
7. Sakhi Mandalani v. State of Bihar, (1999) 5 SCC 705
8. Balram Prasad Agrawal v. State of Bihar and ors, AIR 1997 SC 1830
9. Kamlesh Panjiyar v. State of Bihar, AIR 2005 SC 785
10. State of Andhra Pradesh v. Raj Gopal Asawa and Anr, AIR 2004 SC 1933
11. State of Orissa v. Niranjan Mohapatra, AIR 2005 SC 970
12. Dhain Singh and Anr. v. State of Punjab, (2004) 7 SCC 759
13. Surinder Kaur and Anr. v. State of Haryana, AIR 2004 SC 1747
14. Taiyab Khan and Ors. v. State of Bihar, AIR 2006 SC 673
15. Appasaheb and Anr. v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 2007 SC 763
16. The State of Andhra Pradesh v. Raj Gopal Asawa and Anr, (2004) 4 SCC 470
17. Noorjahan v. State rep. by D.S.P, AIR 2008 SC 2113
18. Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana, AIR2001 SC 1324
19. K. Prema S. Rao and Anr. v. Yadla Srinivasa Rao and Ors., AIR 2003 SC 11

Webliography
1. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4192976
2. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316975
3. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4397795
4. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4417395
5. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23620755

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Books Referred
1. Batuk Lals Commentary on the, Indian Penal Code, 1860 (3rd Edition) Volume II
2. Ram Jethmalani & D.S. Chopra, the Indian Penal Code, Volume-I
3. Pillais, Criminal Law, Lexis Nexis (12th Edition)

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