Giving dowry, which now entails imprisonment and hefty penalty, will not be a crime, as per the amendment proposed by the Kerala Law Reforms Commission. The Dowry prohibition ( Kerala amendment) bill, 2025 proposed by the Commission to amend the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 proposes significant changes right from the definition of dowry. As per current provision, it means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage. The new bill defines dowry as something which is either taken or agreed to be taken.

It means that only those who accept dowry will be penalised. The amendment changes the provision of the penalty accordingly. It also inserts a new section which would penalise the husband for depriving wife of rights and privileges of marriage. As per the new section, if after the marriage, the husband subjects the bride to physical or mental cruelty or torture or refuses to maintain the wife for non-payment of dowry after marriage, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ₹25,000.

The commission justifies decriminalising the act of giving dowry by stating that since giving dowry is as much an offence as taking dowry under the current Act, the victim who is the giver is unable to come forward to complain that she or her parents has given dowry in connection with her marriage. "This may be the main reason for non-registration of such offences under this Act. It is also unrealistic to expect the bride or bride’s

parents or other relatives to lodge a complaint because of their apprehension that it may lead to the victimization of their daughter. Appropriate amendments are necessary in the present Act for the effective implementation of this Act in our State," as per the explanation provided by the Commission.

The bill has been forwarded to the state government. In July 2004, the government amended the Kerala Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 by superseding the Kerala Dowry Prohibition Rules, 1992. The amendment incorporated same of the demands of the National Women’s Commission.

Accordingly, three Regional (Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi & Kozhikode) Dowry Prohibition Officers (RDPOs) were posted with independent charge.

The Director of Social Justice Department is the Chief Dowry Prohibition Officer to whom the RDPOs report.