A Legal Study of Dowry Cases in India

Abstract

Since the last decade, there has been an increase in the misuse of dowry law's un-exempted provisions, leaving the other party with a significant financial loss. Due to a collision of hard rules of law and a lack of evidence, a long-delayed dowry case has been pending in district courts. Even after filing a complaint, a woman can still claim and file additional claims as a wife's rights, such as maintenance, which places a manageable financial burden on the man, regardless of his financial or social status. Women utilise Section 498A and the Dowry Act as weapons against their husbands by filing bogus complaints. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code allows a husband, his parents, and relatives to be charged with cruelty to a woman in order to meet their illegal demands (dowry). In most cases, the husband, his parents, and relatives are arrested without a thorough investigation and imprisoned on non-bailable terms. The NCRB's "Crime in India" study classifies offences under numerous IPC headings. When comparing the conviction rates of all the categories, cases filed under Sec 498-A (Cruelty by Husband and Relatives) have one of the lowest rates. The conviction rate in Sec 498-A cases was in the bottom three in nine of the ten years. This research focuses on the effects of dowry law abuse on men, which has long been overlooked. In India, the trial courts are simply doing their job by setting hearing dates and the husband and his family members are paying the price for this delay, which is causing their lives to deteriorate without their fault. This study aims to count the loss of a man and his family on a monitoring and social level, focusing on cases that have been pending for a long time in the trial courts.