‘Bride’s side must also be prosecuted’
A city court has held that the bride’s side also needed to be prosecuted if the evil of the dowry was to be curbed. The observations of the court came while hearing the petition of a woman seeking quashing of criminal charges of dowry against her family. The complaint was filed by her husband, who was facing dowry charges, following which a lower court had earlier directed registration of FIR against the bride’s family in October last year.
Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau, in a recent order, held that dowry was a two-way traffic. Unless there is a giver, there can be no taker, the court said, adding that it was for this reason that the special law (Dowry Prohibition Act), which is a social welfare legislation, should be implemented ruthlessly. The court pointed out that there was a provision, under Section 3 of the Act, to prosecute the bride’s family for giving dowry. Terming the law as “paper tiger”, the court further said that dowry is shamefully demanded, given and received under the pretext of social compulsions. It was time that the legislation was implemented and none were permitted to give or take dowry in the name of social compulsions, the court said further. It also pointed that the expensive gifts being taken and given before or after marriage should be brought to the notice of the tax authorities for the purposes of levying tax.
The couple in the present case were married in April 2008. After some time, the bride’s family alleged that the groom’s family had demanded more dowry following which criminal case was registered against the husband. However, arguing that the acceptance of gifts and other valuables by his family was admission of the fact that dowry was given by the bride’s family, the accused moved the court of metropolitan magistrate (MM) seeking criminal prosecution under the Act. The MM’s court had upheld the argument and directed registration of FIR.
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