State of U.P. v. Ajmal Beg 2025 INSC 1435 - Dowry Prohibition Act

Dowry Prohibition Act 1961-The Act does not distinguish between demand made prior to or after marriage- Any property or valuable security given by either party to a marriage to the other, or by any other person to the party to marriage, or to any other person, on the day of marriage, before or at any time after marriage, shall be considered to be dowry.  (Para 23)

Dowry - Dowry is not a feature only amongst the Hindus, but it can also be found in other communities professing different faiths and religions. (Para 4) Although the law sought to prohibit the practice, dowry has persisted in society, slipping through the statutory definition, cloaked as “gifts” and social expectations. This practice is, at the most basic level, at odds with the values enshrined in the Constitution, i.e., the constitutional ethos of justice, liberty, and fraternity, and more particularly, Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, a principle directly undermined by a system that treats women as a source of financial extraction and reinforces structural discrimination. (Para 7) Eliminating dowry is not only a matter of enforcing the DPA 1961 but a constitutional imperative. It fulfills the Republic’s promise that every woman should enter marriage as an equal citizen and not as the bearer of an unjust financial burden. (Para 9) Directions issued. (Para 26)

Mehr - In Islam, dowry, stricto senso, is prohibited. What is prescribed is, in fact, the reverse. ‘mehr’ is a compulsory gift that the groom is required to give to the bride at the time of marriage. It is an essential part of the nikah (marriage contract), without which the contract is considered incomplete. The mehr can take many forms - money, jewellery, property, or any valuable as agreed upon by the couple - but what defines it is that it belongs solely to the bride and cannot be taken back by the husband or his family. The purpose of mehr is both symbolic and practical: it signifies respect for the woman and ensures her financial security in the marriage. (Para 4) In many Muslim marriages in India, mehr continues to be stipulated, but often only in nominal terms. The real financial transfers flow from the bride’s family to the groom, effectively hollowing out the protective function of mehr. (Para 6)