Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697639616811.pdf (Australia)
To Whom It May Concern Respected Sir/Madam, , I am an Indian by Nationality and an Engineer by profession.

I have been working with victims of India’s anti dowry laws for past 12 years and I want to depose the following:- My name is 1.

Whereas the role of dowry seekers is highlighted, the role of dowry givers is often overlooked conveniently.

2.
2.

Dowry is paid by greedy parents of the bride as an enticement so that a groom who is wealthy, earning a handsome amount, holding a powerful post or settled abroad can be secured for their daughter.

This will enable the bride to live a life of comfort and also get all the advantages offered by the social position of the groom.

The irony is that if the marriage works, then this is regarded as a gift given out of love (and no further discussion regarding this matter is entertained by the bride’s family).
If the marriage fails, then it is treated as dowry.

Parents of prospective brides judge a man by his money rather than his character, moral upbringing etc.

3.

Since the groom is treated as another consumer good that can be purchased for one’s daughter, the families of brides have no moral standing to complain about dowry.

It is just another malaise of a hedonist society 4.
First all-India legislative enactment relating to dowry was The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and this legislation came into force from 1 July 1961.To further strengthen the anti-dowry law and to stop offences of cruelty by the husband or his relatives against the wife, new provisions were added to the Indian criminal law – section 498A to Indian Penal Code (IPC 498A) and section 198A to the Criminal Procedure Code in 1983.

5.
5.

Were as in West Bengal, a province of India about 20,000 cases were registered under IPC 498A i.e.

harassment by Husband and his family each year, only 100 cases are registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act.

Hence it can be concluded that dowry is not the real problem behind filing of IPC 498A cases (majority of which are false).

Source:- The National Crime Records Bureau (abbreviated to NCRB) of India Statistics.

6.
6.

The wide spread abuse of India’s Dowry laws The Supreme Court of India has termed it as Legal terrorism.

7.

Some even commit suicide for not able to withstand the depression and frustration of been falsely accused.

Some of the most brilliant Indians ranging from Doctors, The practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in AustraliaSubmission 68 bankers , police officers, civil servants have committed suicide because of abuse of Anti- Dowry laws of India.

8.
8.

Due to Anti-dowry laws, marriage has become an extortion racket in India.

9.

In Bangladesh Laws have been enacted to punish women who make false complain under Anti Dowry Laws.

10.

India’s anti dowry laws have resulted in widespread imprisonment of Mother-in-laws and sister-in-laws.

In fact such laws are a curse for women.

11.

India’s Anti dowry law IPC 498A is chief tool for legal abuse of senior citizens.

IPC 498A has brought in large-scale elder abuse .

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12.

Aged parents, after struggling lifelong and after discharging various duties and responsibilities such as education of the children, house and marriage of the children wants a peaceful life in the old age.

But as is found by various research reports by various NGO’s across India, they suffer the most in case the marriage of their son and daughter-in-law ends in dispute.
Under the dreaded and dangerous IPC 498A,the elderly parents of the husband are immediately arrested and sent to prison, just on a written false complaint of the daughter-in-law.

After a struggling life the elderly parents have to undergo the harrowing and humiliating experience of prison and police station.

Apart from undergoing humiliation and harassment in the police station, courts etc and after running after the court for many years are acquitted.
Such acquittal is meaningless as over the years these aged parents go through depression, disease, harassment, humiliation, torture etc.

Many of them die premature deaths unable to face humiliation and harassment.

13.
13.

Under the Domestic Violence Act, if a daughter-in-law gives a complaint to the magistrate then the entire family of the husband including his aged old parents is thrown out from the house and is forced to stay away from their own house which they had built after years of struggle with their lifelong savings.

This was corrected to some extent by Indian courts in the Landmark S.R.

Batra And Anr vs Smt.

Taruna Batra case and later affirmed by the Supreme Court of India.

14.
14.

The Elderly require Geriatric and health care.

IPC 498A deprives them of healthcare by diverting huge financial resources towards legal expenses.

The practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in AustraliaSubmission 68 15.

Indian Men do report and allege spousal violence in private, but they hardly report it in public.

Many men are ashamed of talking about and sharing that they are beaten by their wives.

16.
16.

In most cases of violence against men, women use more mental, verbal, and emotional violence3 and abuse and are involved less in physical violence.

The impact of violence against men is less apparent and is less likely to come to the attention of others.

A significant number of men are over sensitive to emotional and psychological abuse.

In some cases, humiliating a man emotionally in front of others can be more devastating than physical abuse.
Mental and emotional abuse can be an area where women are often more brutal than men.

17.

There are no laws to protect Men from Domestic Violence in India.

Hence Hon’ble MPs should exercise caution while trying to outlaw dowry abuse taking a clue from wide spread devastation and miscarriage of justice that results from wanton abuse of such laws.

The practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in AustraliaSubmission 68