The Kerala government has informed the Kerala High Court that the Law Reforms Commission has proposed a draft amendment to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 aimed at decriminalising the giving of dowry and encouraging people to report dowry-related abuse.¹

What Does It Mean

The Kerala Law Reforms Commission has submitted recommendations to amend the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, proposing that the act of giving dowry be decriminalised, while the punishment for demanding or accepting dowry is retained and further strengthened. The State informed the court that the draft amendment seeks to redefine dowry as property or valuable security that is taken or demanded by the groom or his relatives, rather than anything that is merely given in connection with marriage.²

Critics of the existing legal framework argue that criminal liability should rest with those who demand or accept dowry, not with the bride or her family, who often act under social pressure or coercion. The proposed reform attempts to realign the law with the underlying power imbalance inherent in dowry practices, instead of treating both sides to a marriage transaction as equally culpable. Under the current Act, any property or gift given at the time of marriage, including customary gifts, can later be reclassified as dowry, a situation that courts and litigants have found legally problematic. The draft amendment therefore seeks to narrow and clarify the definition of dowry so that criminal sanctions apply only to those who demand or receive it.

The objective of this proposal is to encourage victims to come forward and report dowry-related harassment, make the law more effective by focusing on the actual perpetrators, and ensure that the justice system is more clearly oriented towards victim protection. The proposal does not seek to socially legitimize or endorse dowry; rather, it represents a legal reform intended to remove disincentives that discourage reporting, while simultaneously preserving and strengthening penalties for those who demand or accept dowry.