JUDGMENT

Arijit Pasayat, J. — Marriages are made in heaven, is an adage. A bride leaves the parental home for the matrimonial home, leaving behind sweet memories there with a hope that she will see a new world full of love in her grooms house. She leaves behind not only her memories, but also her surname, gotra and maidenhood. She expects not only to be a daughter-in-law, but a daughter in fact. But the large number of cases flooding the courts with allegations of torture, harassment for dowry, saddens ones heart. Where lies the fault? Is it lack of communication or adjustment? Or, is it the victory of greed and materialistic needs over love, affection and human values? The answer is difficult to find. There is another angle involved. The evil design to harass the in-laws over petty things by making accusations of dowry demand and torture. In such cases, the vital question again is whether laws which are really dynamic instruments fashioned by society for the purpose of achieving human relations by elimination of social tensions and conflicts have achieved the intended objectives or are being used as weapons of an assassin to harass and humiliate others instead of being used as