LEX ASPIRANTS

The offence of dowry death has been inserted in the IPC as section 304B by the dowry prohibition (Amendment) Act , 1986 which intent to curb the social evil of bride burning and dowry demand. The offence is in a way fiction of law, whereby the offence of dowry death is deemed to have been committed if certain set of conditions are satisfied in a given case. These conditions are four in number, namely; 1. Death of a woman caused by burns, bodily injury, otherwise than under normal circumstances. 2. Death occurred within 7 years of marriage 3. Soon before her death, the woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband, 4. Such cruelty or harassment has been for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry. The Government, from time to time, has come up with legislations to protect women and to punish those committing atrocities on them, including Section 174 Cr.PC was also amended to secure Post Mortem in case of suicide or death of a woman withi...

The witness is one of the key players in the justice delivery system. He comes to help the court in reaching the correct point of the matter and to administer justice. Hence his statements are of paramount importance. According to Bentham, witnesses are the eyes and ears of justice. A witness is an individual who has seen a crime being committed and is able to give evidence in court. Chapter IX of the Indian evidence Act deal with competency, compellability, privileges and quantity of witnesses required for judicial decisions. Section 118 of the Act states that all persons shall be competent to testify unless the court considers that they are prevented from understanding the questions and unable to give rational answers to those questions. Thus, every person is competent to be a witness. It is the discretion of the court to see whether the person is capable of understanding the questions and his ability to give rational answers to those questions. Even a lunatic is not declared as inco...