Dowry Prohibition Act 1961
Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 makes it an offence to give, take or demand dowry. Dowry is money or property demanded in connection with a marriage. The Act aims to end a practice that puts heavy pressure on brides' families and leads to violence against women. Dowry death and cruelty to a wife are separate crimes. They are now punished under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Example
If a groom's family demands a car as a condition of the marriage, that demand is an offence under the 1961 Act. If the wife dies in suspicious circumstances after being harassed for dowry, the case falls under BNS s.80 (formerly IPC 304B).
Don't confuse with
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005: a civil law. It gives protection, residence and money orders for all kinds of abuse at home. The Dowry Act is a criminal law aimed only at dowry.
Related concepts
- Equal Remuneration Act 1976
- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013
- Internal Committee
- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017
- Babita Puniya case
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
- Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021
- Justice Verma Committee (2013)
- Nirbhaya Fund