Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a landmark ruling, has said that gifts and articles demanded at the time of the ‘Kalewa’ ceremony in Hindu weddings; do not amount to dowry unless the demands are put up by the groom.
The ‘Kalewa’ ceremony is a post-wedding ritual in which relatives of the bride give gifts to the groom. The court acquitted a husband who was convicted 24 years ago under dowry prohibition laws and dowry death. The case involved Rajendra Prasad who had married his daughter to one Ram Shankar in June 1987.
The daughter died of burn injuries in May 1989 and Rajendra lodged an FIR with Kotwali police station in Unnao alleging that his daughter was killed as he was not able to fulfil the dowry demand (TV and motorcycle) of the husband and in-laws, made at the time of Kalewa.
The additional session court convicted Ram Shanker in 1992, and sentenced him for ten years imprisonment. Rama Shankar filed an appeal against the order in the High Court and got a bail.
After 24 years of legal battle, the court ruled in his favour. “During the Kalewa ceremony, the groom sits at a particular place and makes a request for certain things. This type of custom is prevalent in many parts of the country. Hence, if at the time of ‘Kalewa’, the groom requested for a motorcycle and TV as a gift as per the prevalent custom it would not amount to demand of dowry," observed Justice Ranjana Pandya.
The court also said that there was no evidence on record to show that the demand of motorcycle and TV was repeated by the husband of the deceased or his family members again.
