KILLING OF SPOUSES, WHICH SECTIONS, WHICH ACT.

Murder. It comes under S.300 of IPC.

Agreed with suchitra, if it is a Pure Case of  Homicide falling under 300 of the Indian penal code without an exception it is  punishable under 302 of the Code.

It will come u/s.300 IPC which is punishable u/s.302. However, in case of wife, if the death of the wife is caused  within 7 years of marriage, and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty by the husband or his relatives for the demand of dowry then S. 304-B shall be applicable.

Why not killing/murdering wife, a child, and other weaker, helpless persons gets mandatory capital punishment to who we supposed to protect?  Is it not like killing some one faith also? Only medieval form of punishment will be proved deterent. Widely prctised by some countries, like Singapore which is

Singapore has laws and penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning for offenses such as rape, violence, rioting, drug use, vandalism of property, and some immigration offences.^[42][43] Singapore also imposes a mandatory death penalty for first-degree murder and drug-trafficking.^[44] Amnesty International has estimated that Singapore has "possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population".^[45] The government argues that Singapore has the sovereign right to determine its own judicial system and impose what it sees as an appropriate punishment.^[46]

^Source:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Even I do not know why there is difference in punishment. 

Dowry Death is same as Murder For Gain, but more. The man pleasures his wife, screws and then demands money. His Mother/Father/Family (the pimps) is also involved in the crimes most of the time. They cause death to a human being by burning them alive. It pains to even put a finger in the candle, but these pimps enjoy seeing the unfortunate woman burn to death in agony, and then shameless tell the court it is case of suicide.

This crimes is THOUSANDS of times henious than murder for Gain.

In case of murder a person is deliberately killing the other  without giving him any other choice. Motivating or forcing a person to kill himself comes under other sections not s300.

In case of dowery death, in most of the cases, husband not killing wife deliberately. He mentally/physically harass her for dowry and as a result she may decide to kill herself. But the law clearly gives her options against husband's such acts and options to punish him, but in some cases she kills herself without  seeking legal remedy. In dowery death cases the reasons are difficult to prove with clear evidence.  The maximum punishment under both sections are  imprisonment for life. So, its upto the Judge to decide the level of punishment based on the  evidences.

I also go with Prabhakar Sir, there should be steps to be taken to remove such anamolies.

A bride gets killed/murdered, tortured, abused, burned etc, at her matrimonial home, which used to be a house, an area, a city completely strange or unknown to her, where hardly any sympathizer she gets if she is lucky. Even no body used to be there to hear her screams even if someone hears that do not bring any help or rescue.

Is it not like getting advantage of her helplessness and physical weakness?

Is it not like killing her faith also?

Does not it come under the category of brutal or first degree, cold blooded murder?

Can the groom and his associates kill her in her parental home, in front of her brother, father, sister, mother etc. or in a pitch battle?

Can the person who has killed his helpless wife (to whom he supposed to protect) with or without the help of his associates, have guts to kill any criminal, rowdy or any unsocial element?

Just see the two observation of our HON. SC and then think over.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday strongly condemned dowry deaths and bride burning, calling for death sentence for those found guilty.

It said that unless punishment was made tougher, those crimes would not stop. The tough stand of the Supreme Court came while hearing a case.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a possible dowry killing of a 25-year-old housewife, initially thought to have committed suicide; till her 4 year old son said his father killed her.

The Supreme Court highlights the persistent menace of dowry and suggests that no mercy be shown to the accused

“You have burnt to death a woman by pouring kerosene. How can you do such a barbaric act? It is an uncivilized act. You should be hanged for the crime,” said Justice Markandey Katju sitting with Justice Deepak Verma as a vacation Bench, on hearing an application filed by Prem Kumar Gulati who burnt his brother’s wife in collusion with his brother and mother, in Haryana.  

Gulati had been given a life sentence by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and was seeking relief in the Supreme Court. Justice Katju told the applicant’s counsel Jasbir Singh Malik, who said it was a case of suicide: “They all say that. Every time they burn a bride, they say it was a suicide. On the one hand they regard women as a devi, on the other hand they burn them alive. This is against the norms of civilised society. It’s barbaric. We will not grant you any relief. You can try your luck before another Bench.” The Bench postponed the hearing to a later date. 

The deceased, Rajani, in her dying declaration, accused her husband Mahender Kumar Gulati, his elder brother and their mother of constantly harassing her and then setting her ablaze after pouring kerosene over her at their house in Bhiwani district. The accused was given a life sentence by the trials court; it was later confirmed by the high court. The appeal was directed against that judgment. It also sought bail. 

Source: The Hindu, June 2, 2009
            The Telegraph, June 2, 2009

DOWRY DEATH NEW RULING INDIA

By FREEWORKING

The Honorable SUPREME COURT of INDIA has given new ruling. In dowry death under section 304 B IPC, when a bench of justice S.B.SINHA and Mukandakam Sharma passed that, if a woman dies one year or more after harrassment by husband or her in-laws aiming dowry,it can't be treated as creulty of dowry.

"Some harassment which had taken place one year prior to the death without something more, in our opinion, could not have been considered to be a cruelty which had been inflicted soon before the death of the deceased. It does not satisfy the proximity test," a bench of S B Sinha and Mukandakam Sharma ruled.

Present case was Suresh Kumar singh under (304B) for causing the death of his wife ASHA, who dies for burn injuries.The family members of asha has alleged that they were demanding gold jewellery proir to one year of death of asha, and ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT gave him life imprisionment. But apex court found that the death of asha was after a year or more demanding the dowry and ruled out the DOWRY DEATH case to suresh.

Good q by arup ji , the laws should be tougher and only punishment for murder in any form proved beyond doubt should be to be hanged till death.

But i am against  non sense laws which empower oral statement without any evidence of physical hurt by a wife leading to arrest of hubby and his faily.

yes ms kaur, right. thanks.