Women are encouraged to keep a thorough inventory of their streedhan including photos, digital records, and receipts to ensure they have strong evidence in the event of legal disputes. This documentation can be crucial in protecting their rights and assets
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that a woman is the sole owner of her streedhan, which includes gold ornaments and other assets given to her by her parents at the time of marriage. The Court clarified that after a divorce, a woman’s father has no authority to demand the return of these gifts from her former in-laws.
This decision arose from a case where a father sought the return of his daughter’s streedhan three years after her remarriage. The daughter, married in December 1999, had filed for divorce after 16 years of marriage, which was granted by mutual consent in February 2016 by a Louis County Circuit Court in Missouri. She remarried in May 2018.
The Supreme Court dismissed the father’s case, emphasizing that a woman has absolute ownership over her streedhan, and neither her husband nor her father has any claim to it. Justice Sanjay Karol, who authored the judgment, stated, “The jurisprudence, as has been developed by this court, is unequivocal with respect to the singular right of the female being the sole owner of streedhan.”
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Justice Karol further noted that the father initiated criminal proceedings to recover the streedhan more than two decades after the marriage, five years after the divorce, and three years after his daughter’s remarriage. Importantly, the father had no authorization from his daughter to take such action. The Court also pointed out that there was no evidence to suggest that the claimed streedhan was in the possession of the daughter’s in-laws.
The ruling highlights the importance of streedhan in a woman’s life, underscoring that it includes assets acquired through lawful means, such as gifts, inheritance, personal efforts, and property purchased with streedhan funds. Women are advised to maintain detailed records of their streedhan, including photographs, digital records, and receipts, to safeguard their rights in legal disputes. Legal provisions, such as Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code, protect women by allowing them to seek punishment for the criminal breach of trust if their streedhan is not returned.
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