This document discusses dowry deaths in India. It begins with an introduction stating that dowry is unique to the Indian subcontinent and has led to the exploitation and abuse of women. The aims and objectives section states that the project will examine interpretations of the term "soon before death" as it relates to dowry death charges. Several case studies are presented that discuss different court interpretations of the "soon before death" clause. The conclusions note that this clause has been criticized as it can be difficult to prove cruelty occurred close enough to the woman's death. Suggestions are made to better educate people about dowry death laws and empower women.

1. DOWRY DEATH
BY : MANASVI MADHU
PARIDHI GAIROLA
"And give women (on marriage) their dower
(Mahr) as a free gift; but if they, of their own
good pleasure, remit any part of it to you,
take it and enjoy it with right good cheer." (Al-
Qur'an : The Women' :4)

2. INTRODUCTION
Dowry is a notion peculiar to the Indian Subcontinent, not
being found anywhere else in the world.
While in the usual case it would be a matter of pride to
study a piece of legislation unique to the Indian setup, in
this particular case it brings about nothing but shame.
Dowry death, Murder-suicide and bride burning are all
palpable symptoms of a peculiar social malady, wherein
women have, for centuries been exploited, abused and
mistreated by their husbands or their families due to their
inability to meet their demands for dowry payments, most of
which result purely from the greed of the husbands’ family.

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE
This project is aimed at examining the
possible interpretations of the term
“soon before death,” as provided under
Section 304B of the Indian Penal code,
pertaining to the offence of dowry death.

4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this project is a broad
overview of the topic at hand by
analysing a plethora of case law in this
regard. This project concentrates upon
the element of “soon before death”, and
the other essential elements required to
constitute an offence under Section
304B of the IPC have not been studied
in much detail.

5. ENACTMENTS TO COMBAT DOWRY:
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
• The first step taken by the legislatures against the
practice of dowry was the Enactment of the Dowry
Prohibition Act of 1961, which made the giving or
taking of any dowry illegal.
• It made dowry harassment and dowry death a non-
bailable offence, doing much to dampen the giving
and taking of dowry by imposing fines, criminal
imprisonment and even holding the husband and
his family guilty for demanding or advertising for
dowry.
• This is the accepted definition of dowry in Indian
law, with the IPC simply referring back to the same
under Section 304B, enacted via the Dowry
prohibition (amendment) Act of 1986.

6. SECTION 304B:
PROVISIONS
 Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or
bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal
circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it
is shown that soon before her death she was subjected
to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative
of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand
for dowry, such death shall be called" dowry death", and
such husband or relative shall be deemed to have
caused her death. Explanation.- For the purposes of
this sub- section," dowry" shall have the same meaning
as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of
1961 ).
 Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than
seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for
life.

8. SURVEY OF DOWRY
DEATH
 A woman is killed every hour in India
because her family failed to meet her
husband and in-laws' demands for higher
dowry payments and lavish gifts.
 There was a 74% increase in dowry-
related deaths from1995 to 2007, while
there was a 31% increase in the
reporting of dowry-related suicides.
 In 2007, the total number of dowry
deaths and dowry-related suicides
reported in India were 8093 and 3148,
respectively.

12. CASE STUDIES
KANS RAJ V. STATE OF PUNJAB
In this case, the victim Sunita Kumari was found dead in unnatural
circumstances, of asphyxiation at the house of her in-laws in October 1988,
three years after her marriage. The woman’s family was not informed of the
same, and came to know of it by accident when her brother came to her
house to deliver some presents, and came across preparations being made
to cremate the dead body of his sister. He immediately filed a complaint,
and investigations commenced into the same. The Trial Court convicted the
husband, his parents and his sister under Sections 304B, 306 (Abetment to
suicide) and 498A (cruelty to a woman within the marital precinct) of the
IPC and sentenced to imprisonment, along with a fine. This decision was
challenged by the accused in the High court. Similarly, the parents of the
victim also filed a revision petition in the High Court, seeking for enhanced
punishment under Section 304B, with both these aforesaid petitions being
heard together. The High Court judge acquitted the accused of all charges,
also dismissing the revision petition on procedural grounds and
inadmissibility of certain evidence.

13. Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana
The deceased died of burns only a day after she had returned from her
parents‟ house in May 1987 after a quarrel with her husband over
dowry demands. The evidence inescapably pointed towards the
conclusion that the quarrel, alongside other evidence constituted
cruelty in connection with marriage, and attracted punishment for the
husband under Section 304B. The in-laws of the deceased were let off
in the absence of any cogent evidence against them, with there
existing only general pointers indicating the same.
Rajinder Singh v. State of Haryana
The Punjab & Haryana High Court set aside the trial court‟s decision of
convicting the husband, stating that even though the death of the wife
occurred within the mandated seven year period, it occurred almost to
years after the demands for dowry had subsided, and as such no
presumption could be raised against the accused under Section 113B
of the Evidence Act.

14. KESHAB CHANDRA PANDA V. STATE OF
ORISSA
In this case there did not exist enough proximity between the acts of
dowry harassment and the actual death of the woman, in order for
Section 304B to come into play. In this case, some difference cropped
up between the deceased and her husband a few months after their
marriage in 1989. The husband assaulted the deceased with an iron
rod, which led to the deceased shifting to her parents‟ house, and
efforts being made to bring about amity between the couple. Finally, the
deceased returned to her marital home in March 1991, where she
expired two days later under suspicious circumstances. Investigations
were undertaken, and the husband was charged for causing dowry
death under Section 304B. The Court, looking at the facts of the case
was of the opinion that there was no evidence of any cruelty to the
deceased by her husband or his relatives in almost two years before
her death, since she was residing with her parents during the said
period. The prior instances of assault with an iron rod were far too back
in time to be relevant to the present death, and the chain of causation
had thus been broken in this respect. As such, the „soon before death‟
clause was not satisfied, and the accused could not be charged under
the Section.

15. MRS. MONIKA KUMAR
Monika was pregnant when she hanged herself. She was the wife of
constable Mohit Kumar. She was allegedly killed by her husband and
in-laws in Etawa village. The victim’s father had lodged the complaint.
He said that the husband and in-laws were demanding for dowry since
the time of marriage which was just an year ago. The constable had
been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment and his parents for 6
months.

16. MRS. SOWMYA CHANDRA

18. CONCLUSIONS
The „Soon before death‟ clause under S. 304B
has been criticised by various NGO‟s and
social reformers fighting against the menace of
dowry death. It is felt that while the
presumption of guilt under Section 304B can
come into effect if any evidence of cruelty
before the woman’s death can be proven, such
evidence itself may be very hard to come by,
since the IPC‟s definition of cruelty itself is
quite broad and difficult to prove. Further, since
in most cases, the husband and his family are
the only witnesses to dowry deaths, they may
often resort to hiding or tampering with
evidence, further complicating the situation.

19. SUGGESTIONS
 First and foremost we must educate the
people about the laws.
 Sometimes, some families until a very long
time do not complain and usually the
perpetrators of this heinous crime usually go
scot-free. Therefore if an issue as such rises
up they should take an action immediately.
 Role of parents of bride too is very important
out here. When one gives money in
exchange of marriage , it is likely that more
demand for money can come in future.
Instead of bowing down to so called social
practice what we need is empowerment of
woman .

20. THANK YOU