The Calcutta High Court held that a husband’s pressure on his wife to bring her share of ancestral property may amount to a dowry demand under Section 304B IPC. The Court upheld his conviction, reduced the sentence to ten years, and acquitted the parents-in-law.
Supreme Court clarified that any property or valuable security given at or after marriage amounts to dowry, while distinguishing Islamic ‘mehr’. The Court restored convictions and issued pan-India directions to strengthen enforcement, awareness, and disposal of such cases.
The Bombay High Court criticized Maharashtra Police for poor and biased investigation in a dowry harassment case and quashed the FIR against the husband and five family members, citing misuse of Section 498-A IPC.
