According to section 304B of Indian penal code:-
- 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 purpose of this sub-section, “dowry” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).
- 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.
Classification of Offence
| Offence | Punishment |
|---|---|
| Dowry death | Imprisonment for not less than 7 Years, but upto Life |
| Cognizance | Bail | Triable By |
|---|---|---|
| Cognizable | Non-Bailable | Court of Session |
304B IPC Case Laws (Supreme Court and High Courts)
| Kamesh Panjiyar v. State of Bihar 2005 Cri. IJ 1418 (SC) |
| Shyam Lal v. State of Haryana 1997 Cri. LJ 1927 (SC) |
| Devender Singh and Others v. State of Punjab 2005 Cri. LJ 4160 (SC) |
| Public Prosecutor High Court of Andhra Pradesh v. T. Basava Punniah and other 1989 Cri LJ 2330 (AP) |
| Kundulabala Subrahmanyam v. State of AP (1993) 2 SCC 684 |
| Prem Singh v. State of Haryana AIR 1998 SC 2628 |
| Mekha Ramaswamy v. Dasen Mohan AIR 1998 SC 774 |
| Venugopal v. State of Karnatala 1999 Cri. LJ 29 (SC) |
| K. Prema S. Rao v. Yadla Srinivas Rao 2003 Cri LJ 69 (SC) |
| Gurucharan Kumar v. State of Rajasthan 2003 Cri. LJ 1234 (SC) |
| State of Karnataka v. Manjumathe Gowda 2003 Cri. LJ 900 (SC) |
| Harjit Singh v. State of Punjab 1999 Criu LJ 462 (SC) |
| Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana 2006Cri. LJ 554 (SC) |
| Mungeshwar Prasad Chaurasia v. State of Bihar 2002 Cri LJ 3505 (SC) |
| Taiyab Khan and Others v. State of Bihar (Now Jharkhand) 2006 Cri. LJ 544 (SC) |
| Hiralal v. State (Government of NCT) 2003Cri LJ 3711 (SC)Kaliyaperumal v. State of Tamil Nadu 2003 Cri LJ 4321 (SC) |
| Reema Aggarwal v. Anupam 2004 Cri Lj 892 (SC) |
FAQs on Section 304B of IPC – Dowry Death
A dowry death occurs when the death of a woman is caused by burns, bodily injury, or under abnormal circumstances within seven years of her marriage, and it is proven that she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative for, or in connection with, dowry demands.
The definition of “dowry” for the purpose of Section 304B is the same as provided in Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961). Dowry includes any property, valuable security, or money given or agreed to be given directly or indirectly by the bride’s family to the groom’s family as a consideration for the marriage.
The punishment for committing dowry death is imprisonment for a term not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life. This means the convicted person shall serve a minimum of seven years in prison and may face life imprisonment depending on the court’s judgment.
Read also:- IPC Section 304A: Causing Death By Negligence
