A STUDY ON LACUNA CAUSING INEFFECTIVENESS OF DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT 1961

Abstract
This paper undertakes a doctrinal and socio-legal study of the lacunae causing the ineffectiveness of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, with particular attention to the continuing prevalence of dowry demands, harassment, cruelty, and dowry deaths in India. The research analyses the legal framework governing dowry by examining the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, along with the earlier corresponding provisions under the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Indian Evidence Act .The paper identifies important lacunae in the present framework, including inadequate penal deterrence, ambiguity in certain provisions, insufficient institutional accountability, lack of specialised enforcement machinery, underreporting due to social stigma, and the absence of effective victim-support systems .It recommends strengthening punishment, improving procedural safeguards, enhancing victim protection, and creating a more responsive enforcement structure so that the law may achieve its original purpose of preventing dowry and protecting women from exploitation and violence. Keywords: Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry death, cruelty, underreporting, victim protection, enforcement, constitutional equality, social reform.