Abstract
Dowry was the practice performed in ancient India where the family of both party exchange gifts from each other willingly and was termed as Vara Dakshina, but now it has become a necessary evil practice where the parents of brides are sipped in along with it women are harassed for dowry even they are killed if sufficient demands are not fulfilled at one order and therefore anti-dowry laws are framed to protect women from such violence. Provisions like The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Section 304B and 498A of IPC deals with such crimes of taking and giving of dowry and dowry death. The paper shows analyzing the recent case of Twisha Sharma that how not only rural or uneducated people are avaricious for dowry but also urban and educated people too, in this case family belonging to legal background are accused. The case raises a very important question, if anti-dowry laws are allegedly not followed even within legally aware families than expecting it to be followed by ordinary families seriously are completely a nightmare.
The research analyses the role of patriarchy, social prestige, family pressure, institutional bias, weak application of provisions and normalization of dowry demands by the society also it discusses about challenges faced by victims’ family in brief, through doctrinal methodology and using secondary sources for valid information. The paper concludes with the idea that alone legal reforms or provisions are incommensurate to eliminate the practice of dowry unless society transforms their thought regarding dowry demands which they often accept labelling it as gift, rituals or customs.
Key Words
Dowry, Dowry Death, Section 304B, Section 498A, Socio-Legal Study, Patriarchy, Women’s Rights, Domestic violence, Anti-Dowry Laws.
Introduction
Dowry is one of the primordial and most deeply rooted social practice practiced in Indian society. In ancient India dowry also known as Vara Dakshina was presented as gifts exchanged by both the families during marriage happily and willingly which is reflected in Ramayana by Tulsidas as in ancient India marriage rituals were associated with the concept of Kanya dan and it was considered incomplete without giving gifts or donation to the bridegroom but now it gradually become an institutional and compulsory demand imposed upon the bride’s family. Over time this practice became related with cruelty, domestic violence and even deaths of married women. Despite living in the era of modernization where preponderance population are educated and are aware of the legal developments still dowry is practiced widely across different parts of the country.
India has enacted many laws to overcome from the practice of dowry like “The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961” which was enacted to criminalized the giving and taking of dowry specifically Section 3 & 4 of the Act which clearly deals with penalty for giving or taking dowry and penalty for demanding dowry respectively[1] than, Section 498A of IPC (now Section 85 of BNS) was introduced to punish cruelty against married women and most importantly Section 304B of IPC also included in Section 80(2) of BNS, which particularly relates to dowry death and despite this so many reforms and laws the catastrophe with this is progress vs. reality on one side government is focusing more on economic growth, better education, more women participation and on the other hand the reality check is violence against women are still in continuance. Dowry is illegal mentioned in many laws and writing also many laws exist on papers to protect women but the social mindset supporting these practices has not changed yet, newspaper reports and criminal statistics reports reveal very shocking numbers of women dying within the few years of marriage under very suspicious circumstances.
The crucial issue of this research paper is the legal prohibition and social acceptance which both are contradictory. Laws against the social dowry practice are framed but it is often normalized, as many family still see dowry as their prestige, status and financial security and this the reason why every women are told to tolerate the devil behavior of their in laws in order to save the reputation of their marriage and family which often results the failure of social impact intended to achieve through anti-dowry laws.
The Twisha Sharma Case grabs national attention again for dowry case. The deceased Twisha Sharma a 33-year-old was an actress and model by profession who died under a dubious circumstance at her matrimonial house, Bhopal on 12 May with just five months after her marriage to Samarth Singh. Media reports says that Twisha’s in-laws were accused of dowry harassment by her husband Samarth Singh who is an advocate himself and her mother-in-law Mrs. Giribala Singh who was former district court judge.[2] The case is now taken up by the Supreme Court of India as Suo motu cognizance on account of an allegation of procedural irregularities.[3] The case becomes socially significant because the accused family themselves belongs to a legal and judicial background, this also raises question whether having legal awareness alone is sufficient to eliminate this devil practice of dowry or not. This paper argues the existence of dowry deaths, even in an educated and legally aware families which clearly reflects that dowry is not merely a legal concern but also a social and cultural issue also, if such families are not following the anti-dowry laws than expecting it to be followed by an ordinary family is not too much jarring for the country. Therefore, it is important to transform socially along with legal prohibition.
This research paper aims to study the gap between the enforcement of anti-dowry laws and its actual implementation in the society additionally it also examines how patriarchy, society’s thought, economic greed and institutional influence act as fire to thread and continue the occurrence of dowry demand and death despite having the strong legal framework against such crimes.
Research Methodology
This research paper follows socio-legal and doctrinal methodology which primarily asks and tells what is the law in a particular case like here it is related to Anti-Dowry Laws also the study firstly depends on the secondary sources including statutes, judicial decisions, articles, newspaper reports and legal database related to dowry laws, dowry deaths and the particular case.
The doctrinal aspect of this research is the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Section 304B and 498A of IPC and other relevant provisions also judicial provisions regarding dowry death case have also been examined here.
Additionally, the socio-legal aspect focuses on the practical realities of dowry practice followed in the Indian society. It studies the social views, patriarchal structures, institutional challenges, and also the pressure made by society for continuance of the dowry demands. This research paper is mainly written taking into consideration the very recent case of dowry death known as Twisha Sharma case who was ironically wife of an advocate and daughter-in-law of a judge.
The method used in this paper is also analytical and descriptive, the aim of the research is not to test and explain the legal provisions only but also to critically understand how such laws often fail to touch the ground reality to prevent dowry death and is only framed with influential words limited to the papers only.
Review of literature
Many writers, scholars and legal researchers have studied the problem of dowry practice and dowry deaths in India. Present literature sees dowry as both legal and social problem which can be controlled only if both the legal frameworks and the social mindset work together.
Dowry Prohibition Act,1961 was a very important step taken against the dowry practice according to many legal scholars but it fails, many writers argue that the reason for the failure of the act is primarily due to socially normalization of dowry demands and are rarely reported this because families often feared of humiliation by relatives and public in the society and therefore avoid any legal interference.
Also, writer like Cyriac Joseph in his writing Dowry, Dowry Laws and the still existing concerns mention how dowry system is the pain and burden that is put over bride’s family and also under this practice women are treated like material and the reason of happening many marriages are dowry demands not having a stable relationship.[4]
Feminist have linked the dowry violence to gender inequality and dominance of patriarchy in the society as according to them women are often treated as economic burden in most of the families in India from the moment, they took birth as marriage becomes a financial transaction now. Therefore, dowry demand reflects the deeper structural discrimination against women in the society.
Scholars and researchers have highlighted both importance and controversies of Section 498A of IPC while studying it. While the provision helped many women to fight against cruelty, violence happening with them for dowry but the dark side is that it was also misused sometimes but again scholars says that one should not hide the actual reality of violence and dowry harassment faced by lakhs of women, hiding it with the curtains of misuse.
Researcher during their survey also find in their report that chances of paying dowry in the case where a girl is already knowing her husband before marriage than those who does not know about the husband, according to them the reason may be that because knowing each other is much important in love match,[5] and believing to this idea some scholars think practice of dowry is almost non-existent in case of love marriages but in contrast of this thought court said that domestic violence and dowry death can also occur even in love marriage.[6]
Further many sociological study reveals that it is not necessary that dowry is practiced in rural areas by uneducated people but many reports shows that the rate of dowry demand and dowry death is increasing in urban areas and non-slum areas too and is supported by educated and affiliated families often tagging it as gifts or customs.[7] This shows that legal awareness alone is not sufficient to eliminate the discriminatory social practice of dowry.
Present incident of Twisha Sharma case reflects similar concern of dowry death in a family with legal background. Reports says that the husband of the deceased women Twisha Sharma was an Advocate and her mother-in-law was a retired district court judge and reaction of the society pertaining to this incident questioned how families belonging with the legal system could allegedly become involved in dowry harassment and death. Such discussion highlights the continuance acceptance of dowry demand despite having legal prohibition.
The present literature therefore emphasizes and supports the argument that “dowry is sustained not merely because of legal weakness but also due to deep-rooted social attitudes and institutional failures”.
Dowry Laws in India: Steps Taken to prevent such Practices
India has many legal frameworks against violence, cruelty, harassment of women for dowry and prevent all such acts against women.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was introduced to prevent and 1criminalized the giving and taking of dowry or demanding dowry. Dowry is defined under Section 2 of the Act as “any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly: by one of either party to the marriage or by parents of either party to marriage at or before marriage…”[8] and the main motive of the legislation was to eliminate marriage as business and protect women from exploitation.
However, despite of having such many laws prohibiting dowry practice the rate of dowry demand and dowry death are increasing instead of decreasing, still many communities in the Indian society are following and continuing the practice of Dowry voluntarily labeling it as gift and customary exchanges and this voluntary social acceptance is the reason of failure of such anti-dowry laws, also families themselves hesitate to report the offences.
Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (now Section 85 of Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita)
Section 498A of IPC was introduced to prevent and punish cruelty by husband or any of his relatives.[9] Cruelty is such act which include physical or mental harassment related to unlawful dowry demands and this provision become important because it specifically deal with punishment for cruelty and any domestic violence within marriage as criminal matter rather than considering it as pure family matter. This provision was made to provide legal protection to women against any harassment, cruelty or violence but this provision is also seen as failure some time because along with pressure from the relatives and society the victim remains silent, the police also discourage the victims to file such complaints in order to preserve their prestige and family harmony.
Section 304B of Indian Penal Code (Section 80(2) of BNS): Dowry Death
Section 304B of IPC deals with dowry death according to which if any married women die under an abnormal circumstance within seven years of marriage and if any evidence shows that she faced violence, cruelty and was harassed for dowry soon before her death than her husband and relatives may held liable for this. This provision is important because cases of dowry death were solved by reporting as murder, suicide, etc. to protect the in-laws from such punishments and therefore this provision provide some different and abnormal circumstances of death of any married women occurring within the privacy of matrimonial home. But, still cases of dowry death are increasing in the Indian society despite of having such laws, often it is seen that the accused family plays with evidences against them and try to destroy it and therefore Section 113B of Indian Evidence Act (Section 118 of Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) allows the court under certain condition shall presume the case as dowry death[10] as the main aim of this provision was to reduce the burden to difficulties faced by the victim’s family during search of evidence but despite of having such laws dowry death case becomes complicate and often it took much time during investigation also the societal and institutional pressure sometimes affect the outcome of the cases.
Dowry Laws on Paper vs. Social Reality
The Anti-Dowry laws are beautifully framed to protect women against any dowry harassment, violence, cruelty etc., and existence of such laws creates an image in the society that how strongly the Indian society is against such practice of dowry. However, “real society” and “reel society” hits differently, dowry is treated often as social norms rather than a legal wrong by the society.
In this era where the country is following the theme of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ “Beti’s or women” are treated as financial obligation to a parent. Marriages are often considered a financial transaction rather than pure ritual of meeting of two soul, often marriages are negotiated in terms of financial status, vehicles, jewelry, gifts, properties, etc. The irony here is that even educated families demand dowry frequently justifying it as tradition or parental gift to bride by her family and all this transaction during money are illegal but due to social stigma families ignore it to be report.
Patriarchy is the protagonist of this practice where sons are often treated as financial assets and daughters as liability in the balance sheet of dowry practice industries where often the family of son wants dowry which is equivalent to expense incurred on them during the education plus after math of their education. Marriage therefore is equivalent to business. Patriarchal society often suppress women and expect women to always tolerate and adjust in the society and prioritize family’s reputation over their wounds and personal safety.
Addition to it the other major issue is treating the cruelty and violence as normal behavior between any spouse. Any of such crime does not occur directly but it begins with taunts, humiliation, emotional blackmail, jokes and often such behavior is ignored as normal family matter unless and until a serious crime is committed.
The problem is not with patriarchy and society but the problem is also with the responses of institutional authorities. Police authorities often treat the complaint as casual or normal family matter and tell the victim to solve it within the family or they investigate unfairly in case where influential families are involved beside it social and political influence also affect the investigation process resulting in delay of justice. The Twisha Sharma Case reflects this problem where according to some reports the investigation was biased and not done properly as the accused family had legal and judicial connections and this was the reason the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter to show the seriousness of the matter.3 The reaction of the society than highlight the anger of the public and many people expressed their opinion of that if a legally educated family is unable to control their thirst towards dowry demand than an ordinary families will never see issues like this seriously and this perception weakens the thoughts of the society and the legal framework.
Therefore, the reality of anti-dowry laws suggests strong punishment only on papers and the reality of such laws never exist only. “Even if someone wants to commit a crime, they will twist it to make it look right and do it anyway possible, but they won’t follow the law because it is just a piece of paper and not the truth”, this line better defines the practice of dowry followed by society labelling it with different customs and ritual to show it as right practice.
Socio-Legal Analysis of the Twisha Sharma Case
To our surprise even in 2026 the world witnessed the horrifying dowry death case like 3the Twisha Sharma Case which have become very important in current discussion on dowry death and institutional fairness. According to media reports death of Twisha Sharma happened under a suspicious circumstance within some months of her marriage at her matrimonial home, Bhopal. Her family alleged against her husband for dowry harassment who was an advocate and her mother-in-law was former district court judge. Further this case gained national attention and reports also says that Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the case to eliminate any bias and tempering of evidence.
This case shows many socio-legal concerns like having legal knowledge does not surely guarantee social reform as the accused family was belonging to legal background in this case and this have now challenged the assumption that educate and professional families are against the practice or not. Secondly, the influence of institutions as in this case the tempering of evidence have been done with the help of many institution as the background of the family was legal and judicial also report shows that tampering of postmortem report has also be done because the one of the doctor involved during the postmortem was the sister of her mother-in-law, this shows how influential people try to suppress the victims. Also, the another very important concern which is faced by a woman in patriarchal society is tolerance which is clearly seen in this case via victim’s chat where she was expressing her problem not very expressly.
Indian society along with Twisha Sharma case had seen a lot of back to dowry death case like Deepika a woman from Noida, Uttar Pradesh was also killed for dowry with in some year of her marriage but still alone legal framework can never eliminate such practices, but along with it one has to also work on the deep root that is thought of society and therefore Solicitor General Tushar Mehta suggested while appearing for the Madhya Pradesh Government in the case that “a divorced daughter is better than a dead one”.[11]
Suggestions
Practice of dowry is followed from ancient time in India but the way it is followed now is totally different. Dowry practice cannot be eliminated very easily, alone legal provisions on paper are not sufficient but also need a society where people are actually working on it and accepting the provisions made without creating any tags for dowry as ritual, along with this society should also support the idea of feminism rather than creating a patriarchal society. Some suggestions are suggested below for the same:
- Enhancing social awareness, the public must be made aware that dowry is a crime and no longer a societal responsibility or norm. Awareness about the same must begin at schools and colleges.
- Gender Sensitization training must be imparted to the public so that they become more sensitive towards patriarchy.
- Expedited Investigation and Trial to stop undue delays in justice, all dowry deaths cases must be investigated by specialist agencies under specific time limits. This is also to prevent tampered evidence.
- Social Acceptance of Divorce and separated women should no longer be looked down upon. It must also be assured that they can readily move away from abusive household, etc.
Conclusion
The current cases of dowry death in India highlights the painful gap between law and reality. Even though India have strong anti-dowry laws, the ongoing violence related to it reflect that just having laws on paper is not enough. Dowry persists because it is closely linked to patriarchy, social status, economic greed and gender inequality. The Twisha Sharma case is latest example of this where the family involved is well-educated from legal background which shows that knowing the law doesn’t always lead to social change. Allegations suggest that anti-dowry laws are knock-backed even by families from legal background, leading society to treat such laws lightly. The study conclude that dowry is not just a legal issue but a socio-cultural problem too. Effective change requires shifts in social attitudes, stronger accountability from institutions gender equality and public awareness. Laws can punish offenders, but it is society that must change the mindset that allows dowry to persist. Until marriage is no longer seen as a financial deal and women are valued as equal individuals rather than financial burdens, dowry deaths will continue to haunt Indian society. The true measures of success for anti-dowry laws will not be only in legal provisions but in the day when no women fear violence, humiliation or death in her marital home due to dowry demands.
Name: – Singh Jagruti Surendra (1st year B.A.LLB.)
University Name: – Gujarat National Law University, Silvassa Campus
[1] “Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, § 3 & 4, No. 28, Acts of Parliament, 1961 (India)”.
[2] The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-registerssuo-motucase-over-death-of-twisha-sharma/article71015572.ece (last visited May 26, 2026)
[3] The Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sc-takes-suo-motu-cognisance-of-twisha-sharma-death-case-cji-led-bench-to-hear-matter-monday/articleshow/131282979.cms (last visited May 26, 2026)
[4] Cyriac Joseph, Dowry, Dowry Laws and the still existing concerns, 2 ijlra 5, 6 (2022)
[5] Srivastava S, Chauhan S, Patel R, Marbaniang SP, Kumar P, Paul R, et al. (2021) Banned by the law, practiced by the society: The study of factors associated with dowry payments among adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. PLoS ONE 16(10): e0258656. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258656
[6] The Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/domestic-violence-can-happen-in-love-marriage/articleshow/103524594.cms (May 27, 2026)
[7] National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26449344/ (May 27, 2026)
[8] Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, § 2, No. 28, Acts of Parliament, 1961 (India)
[9] Indian Penal Code, § 498A (1890)
[10] Indian Evidence Act, §113B (1872)
[11] NDTV, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/twisha-sharma-death-case-divorced-daughter-better-than-a-dead-one-top-lawyer-tushar-mehta-115436662 (May 27, 2026)