Supreme Court Rules on Women's Right to Streedhan

The Supreme Court of India ruled that a woman holds exclusive rights over her 'streedhan', which includes gifts like gold ornaments given at marriage. In a case involving Padala Veerabhadra Rao, who sought the return of his daughter's streedhan from her former in-laws after her divorce, the court emphasized that a father cannot claim such assets without his daughter's consent. The court quashed the proceedings against the in-laws, stating that the legal framework has consistently upheld a woman's sole ownership of her streedhan since 1985. The bench, comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, noted that the purpose of criminal proceedings is to seek justice, not revenge, and found no merit in Rao's claims, which were made years after the divorce and remarriage of his daughter. This ruling reinforces the established position that both husbands and fathers have no rights over a woman's streedhan when she is capable of making her own decisions.