Dowry is a menace, and there are several laws which aim at abrogating the issue at its roots through dowry prohibition. There is one such provision under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 80 which lays about the offence of dowry death. To straighten the direction for Trial Courts, there is another provision for presumption of dowry death under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam Section 118. Here, we aim at simplifying about the same to help understand the basics which lead the Courts to presume that the accused person caused the dowry death of a woman.
What is the presumption of dowry death?
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam lays the track for how the authorities shall proceed with the evidentiary part of a crime to solve a case and determine a culprit. The BSA 2023 discusses in detail about the evidentiary value of different aspects, and presumption in certain cases. Here, we are focusing upon the presumption of dowry death under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. The provision lays about the circumstances when it may be presumed that a married woman died due to dowry demands. Earlier, Section 113B of the Evidence Act laid the foundation of law regarding presumption as to dowry death. With the advent of New Criminal Laws, the same has been discussed under Section 118 of BSA 2023.
Presumption of Dowry Death in Evidence Act
The provision regarding presumption of dowry death in the Indian Evidence Act was laid under Section 113B. The same has been adopted as it is under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. It provides that if a person has been accused of causing dowry death of a woman, and there is evidence that the deceased woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment due to dowry demands, soon before death, the Court must presume that the said person caused dowry death of the said woman under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Presumption of Dowry Death under BSA 2023
As mentioned earlier, the provision for dowry death presumption is laid under Section 118 of BSA. The said provision was earlier encapsulated under Section 113B of Evidence Act. There is no change introduced for the said presumption through the New Criminal Laws. The Bare provision is as under:
“118. Presumption as to dowry death — When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her death, such woman had been subjected by such person to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the Court shall presume that such person had caused the dowry death.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, “dowry death” shall have the same meaning as in section 80 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.”
Here, it can be understood that if a married woman dies and there is evidence that soon before her death, she was faced cruelty or harassment in pursuance of dowry demands, the Courts are bound by law to presume that the accused person caused dowry death as per Section 80 of BNS 2023. So here, in terms of evidentiary requirements, the first thing is to prove cruelty or harassment faced by the deceased woman in connection with dowry demands by the accused persons. If enough evidence is available to prove such presumption of dowry death, the burden of proof shifts over to the accused person. Since there is presumption of guilt in dowry death cases under BSA, the accused needs to prove that the death was not caused in pursuance of dowry demands, and that they are not guilty.
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What is Section 80 of BNS?
The explanation to Section 118 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam states that the term “dowry death” used thereby has the same meaning as per Section 80 of BNS 2023. Thus, it is important to be aware of what exactly is stated under Section 80. The provision states about death of a woman caused by burns/bodily injury or under any unnatural circumstances within 7 years of marriage. It further requires that the woman would have been subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relatives in relation to demands of dowry, to conclude the offence of dowry death. The punishment for causing dowry death under Section 80 of BNS is imprisonment for at least 7 years, which may be extended to imprisonment for life.
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Crux of Presumption of Dowry Death under BSA Section 118
So far, we have covered about dowry death presumption under IPC which is verbatim provision in the BSA 2023, and about Section 80 regarding dowry death. It is clear that the provision empowers the Court regarding presumption against the accused, that he/she/they caused dowry death of a woman. The major and inevitable ingredients of presumption of dowry death under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam are:
- Death of a woman within 7 years of marriage
- Husband and/or his relatives as accused
- Woman subjected to harassment or cruelty soon before death
- Such harassment/cruelty concerns demands of dowry
- Judge to presume that the accused caused dowry death
One important aspect to be noted here is that the Court hereby for whom the presumption is laid under BSA 2023 cannot exercise discretion. The words used in the provision are “the Court shall presume” and not “may presume”. Thus, the Court is procedure bound to presume dowry death when all the ingredients are fulfilled and guilt of the accused has to be determined.
