Dowry Death

Inquest should be conducted by a Magistrate or police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police, and autopsy should be carried out by two doctors in case of dowry death, or if the age of the woman is less than 30 years, who dies in suspicious circumstances.

Ref: The essentials of forensic medicine and toxicology by Narayan Reddy, 27th edition, Page 259.

D i.e. 304 B

• To deal with this brutal kind of social evil section 304 B Dowry death,
• Section 498A (Cruelty by Husband or in-laws i.e. domestic violence)
• Section 113 B (Presumption as to dowry death) was incorporated in Indian penal laws around 1986 to eradicate the nuisance of dowry death.

In Indian Penal Code, two new offences have been created under section 304-B and 498-A.

• The offence  under section 304-B called as the Dowry death
• whereas section 498-A called as Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty,
• Code of Criminal Procedure includes section 174 and 176 deals with the investigations and inquiries into the causes of unnatural deaths by police and magistrate respectively
• In Indian Evidence act new section 113-B called as presumption in cases of dowry death that the person who is shown to have subjected the woman to cruelty or harassment soon before her death 

C i.e. 7 years imprisonment+Rs 20,000/ –

Ans. B: Magistrate

In dowry deaths inquest should be carried out by a magistrate or police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police.

Ans. is ‘d’  i.e., 10 years

• 304-B IPC: Dowry death : 10 years of imprisonment which can extend to life.
• 498-A IPC : Punishment for cruelty by husband or his relatives.

Dowry death

• In some cases newly married girls are abused, harassed, cruelly treated and tortured by the husband, in-laws and their relatives for or in connection with any demand for dowry. In extreme cases, the woman is killed by burning or some other method. Law in relation to dowry death are :

Low prescribing punishment and definition (section 304 B IPC)

• Husband or (his any) relative will be tried under section 304B, IPC and shall he deemed to have caused her death, if a woman dies due to bodily injury or burns or otherwise in suspicious circumstances with in 7 years of marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to harassment or cruelty by them, in connection with, any demand for dowry. Such death shall be called dowry death. Punishment includes imprisonment of not less than 10 years, but which may extend to life imprisonment’.

Low prescribing punishment for causing cruelty to a married women (Sec. 498A, IPC)

Husband or (his any) relative will be tried under section 498A, IPC for causing cruelty to a married woman. Cruelty is defined as any willful conduct which drives the woman to commit suicide or grave physical or mental injury to her or harassment of the women with a view to coerce (intimidate) her for dowry. Punishment includes imprisonment which may extend upto 3 years and fine.