The district court in Kerala state found Kiran Kumar guilty under India’s “dowry death” law, which allows charges to be brought against those responsible for the death of a woman within the first seven years. of the marriage including the gift and payment of dowry.
Kumar had been married to his wife, Vismaya Nair, for just over a year when she was found dead in her husband’s family bathroom in Kerala last June.
Nair’s family agreed to give Kumar 100 taels of gold, an acre of land and a car as dowry, but he was not satisfied with the model and demanded more money, according to court documents.
The verdict said Kumar had physically and verbally abused Nair.
“She has lost all charm in life,” the court ruled. “She was in despair. A sense of despair enveloped her. She was heavily mocked for the dowry right before her death.”
“We gave him a good car, but he kept asking for a bigger and more expensive car,” he said.
He describes his sister as “bright and bold” who “loves to dance.”
Despite being outlawed under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, India’s dowry system remains deeply rooted in society and has become associated with violence against women.
In the 1980s, legislators included provisions in India’s penal code allowing authorities to charge men or their family members with the crime of “dowry death”. The charge, which can also be brought in the case of suicide, carries a penalty of imprisonment from seven years to life in prison.
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, in 2020, the country recorded more than 10,000 dowry complaints and nearly 7,000 dowry deaths.
Kerala, where Nair died, boasts some of the highest literacy rates for both men and women in India, and is often considered a progressive state – but it “represents severe dowry inflation.” significant and persistent since the 1970s and has the highest average dowry level in recent times.” According to a World Bank report released last June.
