more-inThere has been a significant fall in the number of dowry harassment petitions received by the Department of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme in 2016-17. In Tamil Nadu, the rules of The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 were framed and implemented in 2004. The previous year, 8,583 petitions were received, of which 5,274 were counselled by the DSWOs and 1,147 were referred to the police. K. Santhakumari, president, Tamil Nadu Federation of Women Lawyers, said that the authorities too have begun to show leniency in handling dowry cases. The bulk of both dowry and domestic violence cases is handled by the department.

Source: The Hindu July 24, 2017 02:03 UTC