'Birth of girl or boy decided by man’s chromosomes, not woman': Delhi HC on dowry case

The Delhi High Court, handling a dowry death case involving alleged harassment of a daughter-in-law for giving birth to a girl child, has stated that the perpetrators of such crimes must understand that the unborn child's gender is determined by their son's chromosomes, not the daughter-in-law's.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma highlighted that 'genetic science', which explains that the unborn child's gender is determined by the combination of X and Y chromosomes, is often ignored.

“This Court having dealt with numerous cases of harassment, nagging and committing of suicide or dowry deaths due to the victim being victimized for giving birth to daughters after being constantly nagged that she has not been able to fulfill her husband and in-laws desire of preserving the family tree, is constrained to observe that such people need to be educated that it is their son and not their daughter-in-law whose chromosomes through union of a married couple will decide the birth of a daughter or a son,” the court said.

It added: “Even if, this judgment becomes the birth place of such enlightenment, it will go a long way to change the mindsets of perpetrators of such crimes and save lives of innocent married women, by use of principles of science through principles of law.”

“It highlights the challenges faced by married women, whose intrinsic value and dignity should not be contingent upon their parents' ability to meet the insatiable financial demands from their in-laws,” the court said.

Furthermore, it added that the idea of a woman's worth being tied to material considerations such as dowry, contradicts the principles of equality and dignity.

“The notion that a woman's value diminishes if her parents cannot fulfill dowry expectations of her husband and in-laws reflects a deep-seated bias and discrimination against women. Such expectations not only violate the principles of gender equality but also contribute to an environment where women are objectified and reduced to mere transactions,” the court observed.

The judge made these observations while denying bail to a husband in a dowry death case.
The deceased's father claimed in his complaint that his daughter was subjected to mental and physical torment due to dowry demands, which ultimately led her to suicide. He also alleged that his daughter was pressured for additional dowry and financial demands, causing significant distress and that she was taunted and mistreated for giving birth to a girl child.

The FIR was registered under Sections 304B (dowry death), 498A (cruelty) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.