Justice mocked again? Haryana Panchayat imposes 75 paise fine to settle dowry case

Chandigarh, Apr 15: In what could be termed as yet another example of mockery of justice in Haryana, a Panchayat has reportedly slapped a fine of 75 paise to settle a dowry case.

A Panchayat in Fatehabad district, on Monday, asked the dowry-hungry family to pay a fine of just 75 paise and settled the case.

As per a report published in India Today, the bizarre dowry settlement took place between two families of Haryana and Punjab. The woman's family that hails from Ratia, Haryana, had accused the man's family of demanding a car in dowry.

Ramesh Kumar, a resident of the Arora Colony area in Ratia, had fixed his 22-year-old daughter's marriage with Sanjeev Kumar, 28, of Gele village in Punjab. The ring ceremony was organised on January 20, 2014, and the wedding was fixed for April 22, 2015.

But things went bad after Sanjiv's family demanded a car from the girl's family, which couldn't afford such expenses. The girl's parents appealed the boy's parents to stop such demands. Finally, boy's adamant family announced to break the wedding, for which preparations were in full swing. Irked with such a behaviour from the groom's family, the bride's family was forced to bring the matter to police's notice.

The girl's family has confirmed that the boy's family was imposed a fine of 75 paise and said the panchayat also waived off the money, which the family had accepted as shagun.

What's shocking is that instead of punishing the groom's family for demanding dowry, which is a crime, the panchayat let them go by asking to pay just 75 paise as fine. Isn't it nothing but a mockery of justice?

OneIndia News