10 January 2008 :

the Law Commission in India concluded that Section 304-B on dowry death needs no amendment, meaning capital punishment is not available in cases of dowry death. Allahabad High Court judge M. Katju J said regarding a landmark case, “In my opinion dowry death is worse than murder but surprisingly there is no death penalty for it whereas death penalty can be given for murder. In my opinion the time has come to amend the law and death sentences should also be permitted in cases of dowry deaths.” The National Commission for Women (NCW), too, backed this demand. Following this, in 2003, the Law Commission of India was assigned the task of drafting a recommendation to initiate an amendment. However the Law Commission found this unnecessary. “Section 304-B was created to deal with cases where a bride met an unnatural death within seven years of marriage. It’s an exhaustive section taking all details into account and offers apt punishment, with proper consideration being given to the facts available,” says DP Sharma, member secretary of the Law Commission of India. “However, if a case of dowry death falls in the ambit of murder, the death penalty is legally permissible, as per the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court.”