Dowry Offences: the Dowry Prohibition Act and BNS Sections 80 and 85 (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Dowry law in India confuses people because it is not one law. There are three sets of rules, and they do different jobs. One bans dowry itself. One punishes cruelty connected with dowry demands. One punishes a dowry death. A family facing a dowry problem often needs more than one of them at the same time. This explainer sets out how the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 works alongside Section 80 (dowry death) and Sections 85 and 86 (cruelty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which came into force on 1 July 2024, and which IPC sections they replaced. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: three laws, one situation

Take a common situation. After a marriage, the husband’s family keeps demanding money or goods. The wife is harassed. In the worst case, she dies in unnatural circumstances within a few years of the wedding. One set of facts, but it can touch three different laws.

• The demand for dowry is itself an offence under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
• The harassment and cruelty connected with it is an offence under BNS Sections 85 and 86.
• The death in those circumstances is dowry death under BNS Section 80.

Knowing which law does what is the first step. They are not alternatives. They often apply together.

02The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is a separate, standalone statute that bans dowry. It was not replaced by the new criminal codes and continues to apply in its own right.

In plain terms, it does three things. It defines dowry as property or valuable security given or agreed to be given in connection with a marriage (Section 2). It punishes the giving or taking of dowry (Section 3). It punishes the demanding of dowry (Section 4).

• Giving or taking dowry (Section 3): imprisonment of not less than five years, and a fine of not less than fifteen thousand rupees or the value of the dowry, whichever is more. The court may give a lighter sentence only for special reasons recorded in writing.
• Demanding dowry (Section 4): imprisonment of six months up to two years, and fine.

03Dowry death: BNS Section 80 (old IPC 304B)

Section 80 of the BNS punishes dowry death, and it replaced Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code. The offence is carried over in substance.

A dowry death is made out when:

• a woman dies by burns, bodily injury, or otherwise than under normal circumstances;
• the death happens within seven years of her marriage; and
• soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relative, in connection with a demand for dowry.

Where these facts are shown, the husband or relative is deemed to have caused the dowry death. The punishment is imprisonment for not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life.

There is also a presumption that helps the prosecution. Where a woman dies in these circumstances and cruelty for dowry is shown soon before death, the court may presume the accused caused the dowry death. This presumption now sits in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (the old Section 113B of the Evidence Act).

04Cruelty: BNS Sections 85 and 86 (old IPC 498A)

Sections 85 and 86 of the BNS together replaced Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The old single section was split into two.

• Section 85 states the offence and the punishment. A husband or a relative of the husband who subjects a woman to cruelty is punished with imprisonment of up to three years, and is also liable to fine.
• Section 86 defines what cruelty means for Section 85. It covers wilful conduct that is likely to drive the woman to suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to her life, limb or health (whether mental or physical), and harassment of the woman to coerce her or her relatives to meet an unlawful demand for property or valuable security.

The split is a drafting change. The offence and the meaning of cruelty are carried over from the old Section 498A, so the case law on 498A still explains Sections 85 and 86. For a fuller treatment, see Section 498A IPC and its BNS equivalent.

Cruelty under Section 85 is not only physical. Conduct that drives a woman toward suicide, or harassment to force an unlawful demand, is cruelty too.

05How the three laws fit together

The three laws overlap, and that is by design. The table below shows the job each one does, and the old section it maps to.

The Supreme Court has long held that dowry death and cruelty are not mutually exclusive, and that the meaning of cruelty for dowry death is drawn from the cruelty provision. So a single prosecution often runs under more than one of these laws at once.

06Practical points

• Check the date. For an FIR registered on or after 1 July 2024, cruelty is charged under Section 85 BNS and dowry death under Section 80 BNS. A case registered earlier under Sections 498A or 304B IPC continues under the IPC until it ends.
• Use the right law for the right wrong. The demand is a Dowry Prohibition Act matter. The harassment is cruelty. The death is dowry death. Plead the facts that fit each.
• Mind the seven-year window. Dowry death turns on a death within seven years of marriage, with cruelty soon before death. Both limbs must be shown.
• Cruelty cases are sensitive. Courts have cautioned against misuse of the cruelty provision and against roping in distant relatives without specific allegations. Specific, dated facts matter.

For the wider vocabulary of a criminal case, see the glossary of Indian litigation terms, and for bail concepts see anticipatory bail in India.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A dowry matter can run across the Dowry Prohibition Act, Section 85 and Section 80 at once, and move through bail, charge, trial and appeal. Claw helps on both sides of that work. Its case search reaches more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, so you can see how courts have read dowry death and cruelty under the old Sections 304B and 498A and the new Sections 80, 85 and 86, with results in under 5 seconds. For a live matter it follows the cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. You can search cases by party name or by advocate name, across the full case search coverage of Indian courts.

Open a free Claw account to look up dowry judgments and keep watch on a live case by party or advocate name. Claw does not file or defend the matter and does not replace legal advice, and it does not use your case documents to train its AI models.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the new codes): indiacode.nic.in
• Bare text of the BNS: devgan.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Dowry law is sensitive and fact-heavy, so check the current text of each law and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions