Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 304B
repealedDowry death
(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called "dowry death", and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, "dowry" shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).
(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.
Why this exists
This section was added to the IPC in 1986 after dowry-related deaths of young brides became a serious social problem in India, and ordinary murder or cruelty laws were proving hard to use because direct proof of killing was often missing. It creates a legal presumption: if cruelty over dowry happened shortly before an unnatural death within seven years of marriage, the husband and his relatives are presumed responsible unless they can show otherwise. It works alongside Section 113B of the Evidence Act, which creates this presumption, and Section 498A IPC on cruelty to a wife. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, this offence is now covered under Section 80.
How courts read it
Courts have held that Section 113B of the Evidence Act creates a mandatory presumption once the prosecution proves cruelty or harassment for dowry soon before death within seven years of marriage, shifting the burden to the accused to rebut it; the Supreme Court has clarified that 'soon before death' does not mean immediately before, but requires a proximate and live link between the cruelty and the death, not a stale or remote connection.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Police must prove the husband directly killed her, just like any murder case.
Fact: Once dowry harassment shortly before death is shown, the law presumes the husband or relatives caused the death, shifting the burden to them to prove innocence. - Myth: This only applies if the husband personally demanded dowry.
Fact: It applies to the husband and any relative of the husband who subjected the woman to cruelty or harassment for dowry.