To Curb Dowry, India's Top Court Wants Full Disclosure of Marriage Expenses

Given the loopholes in existing dowry prohibition laws, dowry continues to be a crucial pre-requisite for a successful wedding in most Indian communities. Dowry is often veiled in the form of precious jewelry, household items, etc.

In a bid to tighten the noose around those practicing dowry, India's apex court on Thursday asked the central government to make it mandatory for brides and grooms to furnish details of their marriage expenses to the marriage officer.

"We may consider whether details of expenditure on marriage should be jointly furnished to the jurisdictional marriage officer to avoid future disputes about dowry," the court said.

Disclosing wedding expenses should be mandatory: SC to govt. To discourage the practice of dowry and ward off false cases, the #SupremeCourt suggested the Centre make it compulsory for families to disclose wedding expenditure to concerned marriage officers. pic.twitter.com/S4ddVogIdV

— Connect Socialy (@CSocialy) July 12, 2018

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The Supreme Court of India was hearing a marital dispute case in which a bride has leveled dowry allegations against her groom. The apex court has asked the government to work out a mechanism to minimize such disputes. 

READ MORE: No More Big Fat Wedding for Indians?

The court has also suggested that the government consider if there was any scope to define dowry and related terms more clearly in the Dowry Prohibition Act.

Fighting the dowry menace has been a challenge in India with an independent study putting dowry-related deaths in the country to be alarmingly high, at 21 deaths a day and the conviction rate in such cases is only 34.7%.