Set up advisory board to curb dowry cases: Bombay High Court to state

The Bombay High Court on Friday, while addressing PILs filed by Priscilla Samuel and Mahrukh Edenwala, ordered the state government to set up an advisory board with full-time officials to curb number of dowry cases. The order on the matter would be passed on June 16. The said order would be exhaustive with all guidelines and regulations.

Samuel also brought up the issue of matrimonial websites and bureaus which openly encourage dowry by providing information on client's profile as to how much dowry was expected. They often show advertisements of illegal massage parlours and no action is taken against them.

The court suggested that in the age of internet, it is more than easy to randomly check websites. But according to Samuel, logging on to those sites requires a paid account therefore the government has to intervene.

Edenwala pointed towards the passivity of the state police in filing the dowry cases. She claimed that only 39 cases were registered in entire Maharashtra while over 10,000 dowry cases were filed across the whole nation. She said that the duty cant be delegated and thus a proper full-time dowry prohibition officer should be appointed.

The court said that the state police should use their power to randomly raid suspicious places so as to prevent dowry incidents.