Seeking money from wife for business purposes does not constitute dowry: High Court

The High Court has ruled that demanding money from one’s wife solely for business purposes, rather than as a condition or consideration of marriage, cannot legally be considered dowry.

The court overturned a lower court’s sentence of two years’ rigorous imprisonment in a case involving allegations of dowry demands and physical abuse, describing the case as fabricated and baseless. The accused, Md Russell Uddin, was acquitted.

The full verdict was released on Sunday (October 11) by a single-member High Court bench headed by Justice Md Selim.

According to the case records, Md Russell Uddin married Ismat Ara Begum on February 23, 2016, under Muslim family law. On the evening of August 4, 2019, Russell allegedly demanded Tk 100,000 from his wife for business purposes at a rented house on Baitush Sharaf Mosque Road in Cox’s Bazar town. The case alleged that he physically assaulted her with a wooden stick after she expressed her inability to pay.

On November 15, 2023, the Cox’s Bazar Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 convicted Russell Uddin in connection with the case and sentenced him to two years’ rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Tk 20,000. He subsequently appealed the verdict to the High Court.

After reviewing the case records and evidence, the High Court considered two key issues in reaching its decision.

The complainant testified that she had sustained injuries to her right shoulder and back after being struck with a stick. However, the statement of the doctor who treated her and the hospital’s medical certificate identified her left shoulder as the site of the injury. The discrepancy between her testimony and the medical records cast serious doubt on the allegation of physical abuse.

After an overall assessment of the case records and evidence, the High Court described the case as baseless and fabricated. It overturned the conviction and sentence imposed by the Cox’s Bazar Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 and acquitted Md Russell Uddin.

Under Section 2 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, money or property demanded by a groom or his family as a condition or consideration of marriage may be considered dowry. In this case, the complainant and witnesses stated in their depositions that the money had been sought for the accused’s business purposes. Therefore, the demand did not fall within the legal definition of dowry, and the prosecution failed to prove the allegation of a dowry demand.