Lok Sabha Question No. 5086 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-24
Subject: Dowry Deaths
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. Byreddy Shabari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5086

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 24 TH  MARCH, 2026/ CHAITRA 3, 1948 (SAKA)

DOWRY DEATHS

5086. DR. BYREDDY SHABARI:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of cases registered under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (dowry death) and the conviction rate in such cases during the last five years, year and State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has identified challenges such as evidentiary gaps, investigation delays, or hostile witnesses affecting convictions;
- (c)  the  number  of  reported  cases  of  suspicious  or  unnatural  deaths  of married women occurring after seven years of marriage during the last five years, State/UT-wise;
- (d) whether the Government is aware that Section 304B IPC applies only to deaths within seven years of marriage;
- (e) whether any proposal exists to review or extend this time limit, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government proposes to introduce specialised police units, standardised investigation protocols, or fast-track mechanisms for effective investigation and trial of such cases?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR)

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 5086 FOR 24.03.2026

(a) to (f):  National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles statistical data on crimes as reported to it by the States/UTs and publishes the same in its annual publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published report pertains to the year 2023. The State/UT wise details of cases registered, cases in which trials completed, cases convicted and conviction rate under Dowry Death [Section  304B  of  Indian  Penal  Code  (now  Section  80  of  Bhartiya  Nyaya Sanhita)] during the years 2019 to 2023 are at Annexure.

'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  under  the  Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including investigation and prosecution of crime against women rests with the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. The State Governments/ UT Administrations are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws.  The Government of India supports and supplements the efforts  of  the  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  to  effectively tackle the crime against women and girls.

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 5086 FOR 24.03.2026

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 have adequate provisions to tackle the menace of Dowry. Section 80 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code) applies specifically to cases of dowry death occurring within seven years of marriage while other provisions of law such as Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly Section 498A IPC) continue to provide protection against cruelty and harassment for dowry demands irrespective of the duration of marriage. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 prohibits and penalizes giving or taking of dowry so as to safeguard women against dowry harassment.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 provides for speedy investigation and trial of criminal cases including Dowry related cases.

There is no such proposal to review or extend the time limit given under Section 80 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  advised  all  State  Governments/Union Territory Administrations, to take the following measures:

- i. Dowry  related  cases  must  be  adjudicated  expeditiously  to  avoid further harassment of the women.
- ii. Appointment of Dowry Prohibition Officers and notification of the Rules under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Further,  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  also  issued  advisories  to  all States/UTs from time to time advising them to effectively deal with crimes against  women  inter-alia  proper  enforcement  of  law  and  convictions  in women related crimes. These Advisories are available at www.mha.gov.in.

Further,  Bureau  of  Police  Research  &  Development,  conducts  training programmes for personnel of criminal justice system including Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers etc. to deal with crime against women effectively and sensitively .

*****

State/UT-wise Cases Registered (CR), Cases in which Trials Completed (CTC), Cases Convicted (CON) and Conviction Rate (CVR) under Dowry Death under Crimes against Women Dowry Deaths during 2019-2021

| SL    | State/UT                  | 2019   | 2019   | 2019   | 2019   | 2020   | 2020   | 2020   | 2020   | 2021   | 2021   | 2021   | 2021   |
|-------|---------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| SL    | State/UT                  | CR     | CTC    | CON    | CVR    | CR     | CTC    | CON    | CVR    | CR     | CTC    | CON    | CVR    |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh            | 112    | 151    | 13     | 8.6    | 111    | 48     | 6      | 12.5   | 108    | 65     | 9      | 13.8   |
| 2     | Arunachal Pradesh         | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 3     | Assam                     | 156    | 47     | 4      | 8.5    | 148    | 22     | 2      | 9.1    | 198    | 20     | 1      | 5.0    |
| 4     | Bihar                     | 1120   | 414    | 129    | 31.2   | 1046   | 92     | 58     | 63.0   | 1000   | 179    | 128    | 71.5   |
| 5     | Chhattisgarh              | 76     | 61     | 29     | 47.5   | 71     | 26     | 8      | 30.8   | 65     | 32     | 11     | 34.4   |
| 6     | Goa                       | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 7     | Gujarat                   | 9      | 2      | 0      | 0.0    | 6      | 0      | 0      | -      | 11     | 18     | 1      | 5.6    |
| 8     | Haryana                   | 248    | 149    | 46     | 30.9   | 251    | 27     | 6      | 22.2   | 275    | 67     | 16     | 23.9   |
| 9     | Himachal Pradesh          | 4      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 2      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 10    | Jharkhand                 | 299    | 113    | 55     | 48.7   | 275    | 79     | 37     | 46.8   | 281    | 81     | 47     | 58.0   |
| 11    | Karnataka                 | 194    | 118    | 9      | 7.6    | 176    | 93     | 7      | 7.5    | 158    | 56     | 14     | 25.0   |
| 12    | Kerala                    | 8      | 10     | 1      | 10.0   | 6      | 64     | 61     | 95.3   | 9      | 2      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 13    | Madhya Pradesh            | 550    | 564    | 216    | 38.3   | 608    | 211    | 68     | 32.2   | 522    | 380    | 136    | 35.8   |
| 14    | Maharashtra               | 196    | 145    | 10     | 6.9    | 197    | 59     | 10     | 16.9   | 172    | 71     | 8      | 11.3   |
| 15    | Manipur                   | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 2      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 16    | Meghalaya                 | 3      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 17    | Mizoram                   | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 18    | Nagaland                  | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 19    | Odisha                    | 342    | 33     | 0      | 0.0    | 320    | 53     | 8      | 15.1   | 293    | 28     | 5      | 17.9   |
| 20    | Punjab                    | 69     | 57     | 19     | 33.3   | 63     | 14     | 6      | 42.9   | 69     | 26     | 11     | 42.3   |
| 21    | Rajasthan                 | 452    | 180    | 85     | 47.2   | 479    | 134    | 65     | 48.5   | 452    | 203    | 98     | 48.3   |
| 22    | Sikkim                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 23    | Tamil Nadu                | 28     | 58     | 9      | 15.5   | 40     | 31     | 10     | 32.3   | 27     | 44     | 12     | 27.3   |
| 24    | Telangana                 | 163    | 105    | 18     | 17.1   | 158    | 121    | 40     | 33.1   | 175    | 85     | 7      | 8.2    |
| 25    | Tripura                   | 38     | 25     | 2      | 8.0    | 23     | 1      | 0      | 0.0    | 22     | 4      | 3      | 75.0   |
| 26    | Uttar Pradesh             | 2410   | 1068   | 557    | 52.2   | 2274   | 922    | 553    | 60.0   | 2222   | 753    | 439    | 58.3   |
| 27    | Uttarakhand               | 57     | 18     | 11     | 61.1   | 65     | 8      | 1      | 12.5   | 72     | 17     | 6      | 35.3   |
| 28    | West Bengal               | 470    | 199    | 47     | 23.6   | 522    | 66     | 1      | 1.5    | 454    | 108    | 5      | 4.6    |
|       | TOTAL STATE(S)            | 7006   | 3517   | 1260   | 35.8   | 6843   | 2071   | 947    | 45.7   | 6589   | 2241   | 957    | 42.7   |
| 29    | A&N Islands               | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 30    | Chandigarh                | 6      | 2      | 2      | 100.0  | 1      | 1      | 1      | 100.0  | 4      | 2      | 1      | 50.0   |
| 31    | D&N Haveli and Daman& Diu | 5      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 32    | Delhi                     | 116    | 32     | 18     | 56.3   | 110    | 8      | 8      | 100.0  | 141    | 9      | 6      | 66.7   |
| 33    | Jammu& Kashmir            | 8      | 3      | 0      | 0.0    | 9      | 3      | 0      | 0.0    | 16     | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 34 35 | Ladakh Lakshadweep        | - 0    | - 0    | - 0    | - -    | 0 0    | 0 0    | 0 0    | - -    | 0 0    | 0 0    | 0 0    | - -    |
| 36    | Puducherry                | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 2      | 0      | 0      | -      | 2      | 0      | 0      | -      |
|       | TOTAL UT(S)               | 135    | 37     | 20     | 54.1   | 123    | 12     |        | 75.0   | 164    | 11     | 7      | 63.6   |
|       |                           |        |        | 1280   | 36.0   |        | 2083   | 9      | 45.9   | 6753   | 2252   | 964    | 42.8   |
|       | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)         | 7141   | 3554   |        |        | 6966   |        | 956    |        |        |        |        |        |

Source: Crime in India

Note = Conviction Rate = (Cases Convicted) / (Cases in which Trials Completed) X 100

State/UT-wise  Cases  Registered  (CR),  Cases  in  which  Trials  Completed  (CTC),  Cases Convicted (CON) and Conviction Rate (CVR) under Dowry Death under Crimes against Women Dowry Deaths during 2022-2023

| SL                |                           | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   |
|-------------------|---------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
|                   | State/UT                  | CR     | CTC    | CON    | CVR    | CR     | CTC    | CON    | CVR    |
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh            | 100    | 93     | 8      | 8.6    | 95     | 148    | 17     | 11.5   |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh         | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 3                 | Assam                     | 175    | 65     | 7      | 10.8   | 101    | 77     | 7      | 9.1    |
| 4                 | Bihar                     | 1057   | 249    | 89     | 35.7   | 1143   | 210    | 73     | 34.8   |
| 5                 | Chhattisgarh              | 57     | 53     | 27     | 50.9   | 46     | 64     | 13     | 20.3   |
| 6                 | Goa                       | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 7                 | Gujarat                   | 10     | 9      | 0      | 0.0    | 12     | 3      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 8                 | Haryana                   | 234    | 140    | 20     | 14.3   | 207    | 194    | 21     | 10.8   |
| 9                 | Himachal Pradesh          | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 10                | Jharkhand                 | 208    | 238    | 61     | 25.6   | 218    | 331    | 92     | 27.8   |
| 11                | Karnataka                 | 165    | 173    | 1      | 0.6    | 156    | 238    | 6      | 2.5    |
| 12                | Kerala                    | 11     | 6      | 1      | 16.7   | 8      | 3      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 13                | Madhya Pradesh            | 518    | 697    | 185    | 26.5   | 468    | 710    | 193    | 27.2   |
| 14                | Maharashtra               | 180    | 143    | 7      | 4.9    | 170    | 157    | 7      | 4.5    |
| 15                | Manipur                   | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 16                | Meghalaya                 | 1      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    | 0      | 1      | 1      | 100.0  |
| 17                | Mizoram                   | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 18                | Nagaland                  | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 19                | Odisha                    | 263    | 177    | 19     | 10.7   | 231    | 141    | 18     | 12.8   |
| 20                | Punjab                    | 71     | 26     | 4      | 15.4   | 44     | 48     | 6      | 12.5   |
| 21                | Rajasthan                 | 451    | 167    | 66     | 39.5   | 428    | 132    | 60     | 45.5   |
| 22                | Sikkim                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 23                | Tamil Nadu                | 29     | 37     | 6      | 16.2   | 11     | 33     | 8      | 24.2   |
| 24                | Telangana                 | 137    | 140    | 24     | 17.1   | 145    | 180    | 26     | 14.4   |
| 25                | Tripura                   | 25     | 4      | 1      | 25.0   | 21     | 14     | 5      | 35.7   |
| 26                | Uttar Pradesh             | 2138   | 1134   | 686    | 60.5   | 2122   | 1358   | 887    | 65.3   |
| 27                | Uttarakhand               | 70     | 24     | 3      | 12.5   | 48     | 57     | 25     | 43.9   |
| 28                | West Bengal               | 406    | 100    | 14     | 14.0   | 350    | 127    | 8      | 6.3    |
|                   | TOTAL STATE(S)            | 6307   | 3676   | 1229   | 33.4   | 6027   | 4227   | 1473   | 34.8   |
| 29                | A&N Islands               | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 30                | Chandigarh                | 1      | 1      | 1      | 100.0  | 4      | 1      | 0      | 0.0    |
| 31                | D&N Haveli and Daman& Diu | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 3      | 1      | 33.3   |
| 32                | Delhi                     | 131    | 9      | 1      | 11.1   | 115    | 43     | 26     | 60.5   |
| 33                | Jammu& Kashmir            | 9      | 3      | 0      | 0.0    | 9      | 9      | 1      | 11.1   |
| 34                | Ladakh                    | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 35                | Lakshadweep               | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      | 0      | 0      | 0      | -      |
| 36                | Puducherry                | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      | 1      | 0      | 0      | -      |
|                   | TOTAL UT(S)               | 143    | 13     | 2      | 15.4   | 129    | 57     | 28     | 49.1   |
| TOTAL (ALL INDIA) | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)         | 6450   | 3689   | 1231   | 33.4   | 6156   | 4284   | 1501   | 35.0   |

Source: Crime in India

Note = Conviction Rate = (Cases Convicted) / (Cases in which Trials Completed) X 100