New Delhi: Did you know that at the time of marriage, couples should ideally be maintaining a list of all the gifts received by the bride and the groom?
In an order passed on 8 May, the Allahabad High Court emphasised on the need for maintaining such lists to address allegations of dowry in case of dispute later.
Justice Vikram D. Chauhan noted that there were a “sizable number of litigations” arising out of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, coming up before the court.
He then explained: “Maintenance of the list (of gifts) is also important so that both the parties to the marriage and their family members may not level false allegations of taking dowry or giving dowry in a marriage subsequently.”
The Dowry Prohibition Act prohibits giving or taking dowry. However, it carves out an exception for presents or gifts which are given at the time of marriage to the bride, without any demand being made for such presents.
The Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules, 1985, lay down the rules for making such lists.
How are these lists to be maintained and what did the high court say about them? ThePrint explains.
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What does the law say?
Section 3 of the 1961 anti-dowry law lays down the penalty for giving or taking dowry. It states that if any person gives or takes dowry, he can be punished with a jail term of at least five years, along with fine of at least Rs 15,000 or the amount of dowry — whichever is more. In case of adequate and special reasons, a sentence of less than five years can be imposed.
However, clause 2 of Section 3 adds that this penalty does not apply to “presents which are given at the time of marriage to the bride (without any demand having been made in that behalf)”. This exception is subject to such presents being entered in a list maintained in accordance with the rules made under the 1961 law.
The provision adds that the presents made by or on behalf of the bride or any person related to the bride should be “of a customary nature” and their value should not be “excessive having regard to the financial status of the person by whom, or on whose behalf, such presents are given”.
How should a list be maintained?
In accordance with Section 3 of the 1961 law, the Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules, 1985, were formulated.
Rule 2 of these states that the list of presents given at the time of marriage to the bride shall be maintained by the bride. It further says that the list of presents given at the time of marriage to the bridegroom shall be maintained by the bridegroom.
These lists have to be prepared at the time of the marriage or as soon as possible after the marriage, and should be in writing.
The list should contain a brief description of each present, the approximate value of the present, and the name of the person who gave the present. In case the person giving the present is related to the bride or the bridegroom, there should also be a description of the relationship. Every such list needs to be signed by both the bride and the bridegroom.
If the bride or the bridegroom is unable to sign, they can affix their thumb impression after having the list read out to them. The person who reads out the particulars of the list also needs to then sign the list.
What HC said
In its order, the high court acknowledged these provisions in the anti-dowry law and asserted that “in the Indian marriage system, gifts and presents act as a token of celebration and honouring the important event”.
The legislature, therefore, was aware of the Indian traditions and carved this exception for presents and gifts.
“The above-mentioned list would also act as a measure to thrash out the allegations of dowry which are subsequently levelled in matrimonial dispute,” the court observed, adding that it may also assist in any subsequent litigations on allegations of dowry.
The court then noted that people are filing dowry cases but without any such lists under the 1985 Rules. It pointed out that under Section 8B of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Dowry Prohibition Officers are required to be appointed to see that provisions of the law are being complied with.
The court then demanded an affidavit by the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh or any officer appointed by him to see whether such officers had been appointed by the state.
The court said that if such officers have not been appointed so far, the state government needs to explain the reason behind this. In case such officers have been appointed, the court wanted to know the steps taken by such officers to ensure implementation of the 1985 Rules. It further asked for the number of such officers appointed throughout the state.
Additionally, the court ordered the state government to file an affidavit on whether at the time of registration of a marriage, a list of presents was being taken by officers and being maintained.
This is so that “subsequently in the event there is dispute between the parties to marriage with regard to the presents being given in marriage being designated as dowry, the same can be verified,” the court said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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