Plea moved before Kerala High Court to decriminalise giving dowry

The Kerala High Court on Thursday sought response from the state government to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to the extent that it penalises giving or abetting of dowry [Tellmy Jolly v Union of India & ors]..The petition also sought better enforcement of the Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules, 1985 and the Dowry Prohibition Rules, 1985 in the State.When the matter was taken up, the government pleader questioned the maintainability of the PIL itself, arguing that only a person directly affected by the penal provision should be permitted to challenge it.However, the Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji clarified that for now, the Court would confine itself to examining the third prayer in the petition which sought for the publication of data on dowry complaints and actions taken under Rule 5 of the Kerala Dowry Prohibition Rules, 2004..The PIL filed by Tellmy Jolly, a law graduate and public policy professional, said that Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, which penalises both giving and taking of dowry, disproportionately affects the victims who are often coerced into such transactions due to social and cultural pressure."The Dowry Prohibition Act penalises the giver, who is a victim or a family member. This is disproportionate, unjust and defeats the purpose of the Act. Dowry is given under coercion, social pressure, Or even threat. In such circumstances, penalising the giving of dowry disregards the unequal bargaining power between the parties and fails to take into account the socio-cultural realities in which these transactions occur," the petition stated.This provision to the extent that it penalises persons giving dowry, discourages victims or their relatives from reporting dowry related harassment due to fear of self incrimination, thereby violating Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination) of the Constitution."A party or a parent or relative can not file a complaint in case of a dowry transaction taking place without incriminating themselves. Therefore, it is submitted that Section 3 ought to be read down to penalise only the taking of dowry, in line with the object and purpose of the Act, which is to protect and not punish victims of dowry harassment," the petition stated..Further, the petitioner highlighted Kerala's poor implementation of the 2004 rules, citing the lack of awareness campaigns addressing dowry prohibition, complaint redressal mechanisms or mandatory maintenance of records pertaining to dowry cases.The petition also pointed out that even though Women and Child Development Officers were designated as Dowry Prohibition Officers (DPOs) in all 14 districts in 2021, there was no publicly available data on their functioning.The petition referred to several recent incidents of dowry related deaths and suicides including that of Vismaya Nair in 2021 and more recent deaths of Athulya Sekhar and Vipanchika Maniyan in July 2025, where the women had allegedly ended their lives due to prolonged dowry harassment and abuse.The petitioner thus sought a declaration that penalisation of dowry givers is unconstitutional.She also sought directions to the government to enforce the 1985 and 2004 Rules effectively and to publicise quarterly data on dowry complaints and actions taken as well as direction to sensitise officials tasked with enforcing dowry laws..The petitioner was represented by advocates Kaleeswaram Raj, Thulasi K Raj and Aparna Narayan Menon.