Abhijeet Singh Rathore

BALLB (III YEAR)

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

A woman is considered to be a commodity that is to be disposed by her parents as early as

possible. She is possessed, transferred from one man (father) to another (husband) like a mere
object. The owner now is the husband who can do anything to her and no interference is
permissible. Hence, the legal systems do not recognize material violence in its myriad forms as
cruelty to wife. This does not mean that when dowry has been mentioned or is the major cause of
violence, the woman has a greater chance of getting justice.

Violence occurs within the four walls of the house, and obtaining proof of violence is very
difficult. The privacy and honour of the husband is respected at expense of his wife. The
members of the society not only accept notion but reinforce it in practical life by not interfering
in others' family matters. Therefore, even if it is the question of violence within the home, no
outsider is interested or permitted to interfere and talk about it. The only concrete proof is the
woman herself who has suffered violence, but her words are not taken into consideration as
being family matter and same indifferent behavior can be observed from the guard of law and
peace of society, Police.

Section 304B is not likely to benefit women to deal with domestic violence, as violence is not
always related to dowry. From the words soon before her death one can infer that it does not
take into account the violence committed earlier, or the violence committed on a routine basis
from day one, as a valid cause that may lead someone to commit suicide. Thus abetment to
suicide does not come under the purview of this section. The researcher will have an in depth
analysis of section 304-B i.e. how the court had interpreted section 304B as it is a stringent
provision meant to combat a social evil of alarming proportions. So can it be argued that it is a
penal statue and should, therefore in case of ambiguity in its language, be constructed strictly,
And will try to find out current flaws in the section.

Material Collected:

Articles & Case Laws

1) Punishment for dowry death in India (Section 304-B of IPC), Sukendar Debnath
2) Bride Burning And Dowry System In India, Mr. Abhishek Sharma (Manupatra)
Abhijeet Singh Rathore
BALLB (III YEAR)

3) Dowry deaths: a neglected public health issue in India, Gopalan Retheesh Babu
4) Maya Devi v. State of Haryana, [Criminal Appeal No. 1263 Of 2011]
5) Vadde Rama Rao v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 1990 Cr LJ 1666
6) Dowry Laws: Loopholes and possibility of misuse, Prashanti