Anti-dowry laws being misused: Court

New Delhi, October 10
The Delhi High Court, while granting bail to a man accused of harassing his wife for dowry, leading to her death, has observed that anti-dowry laws were increasingly being misused by women.

Justice Aruna Suresh observed last week: “It seems that the anti-dowry laws are being increasingly misused. The ground realities persuaded this court to recommend to the authorities to have a look at the situation and legal provisions.”

Directing the accused to furnish a bail bond of Rs 40,000 and a surety of the same amount in the trial court, Justice Suresh said the court did not find any incriminating evidence against him in connection with his wife’s death.

The court accepted the accused’s submission that neither he nor his parents should be blamed for his wife’s death.

He along with wife and son were staying in a separate house, away from parents.

He said they were married since 2003 and were staying in Aman Vihar in north-west Delhi, and his parents and other family members were staying in Rohini.

He said that the dowry harassment allegations were baseless.

As per his submission, his wife fell unconscious while watching television in January and he took her to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

He claimed that the exact cause of her death was not confirmed in the post-
mortem report.

However, the report said she died due to seizure. — IANS

Avoid frivolous anti-dowry cases, HC tells trail judges

New Delhi, March 13: The Delhi High Court today gave a word of advice to trial judges to avoid frivolous anti-dowry cases in which the criminal justice system is used as a "tool" to settle personal scores. "The trial court must take into account the entirety of the case, all documents which are brought to its notice and thereafter decide whether there was a case made out or the court was being used as a
tool," Justice S N Dhingra said.

Detailing its role in such cases, the Bench held that "where charges are framed by the lower court without considering the material and charges amount to gross misuse of criminal justice system and the trial is an abuse, it becomes the duty of the High Court to intervene". The court was hearing a plea by one Sangeeta Kalra to quash a criminal complaint filed by her father in June 1999, accusing her
husband and in-laws of harassing her for dowry. Interestingly, Kalra had written a letter, which was produced on record, addressed to her husband a few days after she left her matrimonial home expressing her love for him.

Focussing on this letter, the Bench concluded that Sangeeta Kalra had "changed colour" and lodged the police complaint, within the space of a few days, merely to harass her husband and her in-laws. "She who showered praises on her husband for his love and affection, suddenly made allegations of dowry demand and cruelty," the court
remarked. "It seems that the complainant (Kalra), who left the matrimonial home due to failure of physical relationship and resultant dissatisfaction, later on thought of implicating every member of the family in an anti-dowry and cruelty case," the Bench observed.