The Hindu : National : Let 10-year jail be minimum for dowry death: Law panel

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Friday, Oct 12, 2007
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Let 10-year jail be minimum for dowry death: Law panel

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The 18th Law Commission has recommended increasing the minimum sentence from seven to 10 years in dowry death cases. It has, however, declined the suggestion to increase the maximum punishment from life imprisonment to death sentence.

Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, Chairman of the reconstituted Commission, handed over the report on ‘Dowry Death’ to Union Law Minister H. R. Bhardwaj here on Wednesday.

The report examined the question whether Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code should be amended to provide for death sentence to end dowry deaths. This Section provides for a jail term not less than seven years but which may extend to life imprisonment.

Although this Section has been in force since November 19, 1986, there is no significant decline in dowry deaths. Hence the demand for death sentence as a deterrent.

However, Justice Lakshmanan told The Hindu, “The Commission finds that murder is not the same as the offence of dowry death. Though the death of a bride may be a common element in both offences, the absence of a direct connection between the husband and the death of the wife distinguished dowry death from the offence of murder. Besides, the presumptive character of the offence of dowry death and the cardinal principle of proportionality as well as the underlying scheme of the Penal Code go against the proposed prescription of death sentence.”

The report says, “It may be pertinent to point out that where a case of dowry death also falls within the ambit of the offence of murder, awarding death sentence may be legally permissible. The guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for award of death sentence, especially the dictum of the rarest of rare cases, will, however, have to be adhered to in such cases.”

The Commission says there are misgivings and misapprehensions associated with dowry death. It is quite often confused with the offence of murder. There may be instances where the two overlap. This gives rise to the demand for parity in the matter of sentence in both cases. Nevertheless, the two offences are distinct and independent offences.

The Commission says, “There is no justification for amending Section 304-B IPC to provide for death penalty. Such penalty will also not be in conformity with the principle of proportionality.”

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