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Section 118 BSA 2023 - Presumption as to Dowry Death

Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with the evidentiary presumption that applies when the Court is considering whether a person caused the dowry death of a woman. The provision is part of the law of evidence, not the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Text of Section 118, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

What Section 118 means

Section 118 creates a statutory presumption after the foundational facts stated in the provision are shown. The key expression is "shall presume". Under Section 2(1)(l) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, when the Adhiniyam directs the Court to presume a fact, the Court must regard that fact as proved unless and until it is disproved.

Therefore, the presumption under Section 118 is not triggered merely because a married woman has died. The prosecution must first place material showing the statutory connection between the death, the conduct of the person concerned, cruelty or harassment, a dowry demand, and the requirement that such cruelty or harassment occurred "soon before" the death.

Essential requirements for the presumption

• The question before the Court must concern the dowry death of a woman.
• The woman must have been subjected to cruelty or harassment by the person against whom the presumption is sought.
• The cruelty or harassment must be for, or in connection with, a demand for dowry.
• The cruelty or harassment must have occurred "soon before" her death.
• Once these statutory conditions are shown, the Court shall presume that the person caused the dowry death, subject to rebuttal in accordance with law.

Meaning of dowry death under Section 80 BNS

The explanation to Section 118 adopts the meaning of "dowry death" from Section 80 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Under Section 80, a dowry death involves the death of a woman caused by burns or bodily injury, or occurring otherwise than under normal circumstances, within seven years of marriage, together with proof that soon before her death she was subjected by her husband or a relative of her husband to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, a demand for dowry.

Section 80 further provides that the husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused the death when those statutory conditions are satisfied. The punishment for dowry death is imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life.

Meaning of dowry

Section 80 BNS adopts the meaning of "dowry" from Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In substance, the term covers property or valuable security given or agreed to be given, directly or indirectly, by one party to a marriage, the parents of either party, or another person, in connection with the marriage. The statutory definition excludes dower or mahr where Muslim Personal Law applies.

Why Section 118 is important

Section 118 operates as an evidentiary rule in prosecutions involving dowry death. Its function is to determine the legal effect of proof of specified foundational facts. It should therefore be read together with the substantive offence in Section 80 BNS and the statutory definition of "shall presume" in Section 2 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

Official statutory sources

For the authoritative text and current statutory materials, use the official India Code and Ministry of Home Affairs sources below.