For the bride's family
They Named a Figure.
You Owe Nothing.
The most searched version of this question comes from families being asked to pay. The legal answer is simpler and better than most of them expect.
Zero. There is no lawful amount. A figure named by the groom's family creates no obligation, no debt and no expectation the law will recognise.
And the moment they named it, they committed an offence under Section 4. Nothing had to be paid.
People search for a dowry figure "for a girl" mostly for one reason: a number has been put to their family and they are trying to work out whether it is normal. This page is the answer to that question rather than a calculator, because the honest answer is not a number.
Four things worth knowing before the next conversation
The demand is already the offence
Most families believe they have nothing to report until money changes hands. The opposite is true. Section 4 criminalises the demand by itself, carrying six months to two years. The earliest point at which you can act is also the point at which walking away costs least.
Nothing you already gave is legally owed
An unlawful demand does not become a debt because it was agreed to. There is no enforceable contract for dowry. If part has been paid and more is being demanded, the answer to the further demand remains no.
Stridhan stays hers
Jewellery and property given to the bride herself is stridhan, and it is hers to control regardless of what happens to the marriage. Where dowry has gone to anyone other than her, Section 6 requires it to be transferred to her and makes failure a separate offence with its own penalty. "Her in-laws are keeping her gold" is not a grievance, it is a chargeable offence.
Reporting does not expose you
Section 3 does cover giving as well as taking, and this is the fear that stops families reporting. Section 7(3) answers it: a statement made by the aggrieved person does not expose them to prosecution under Section 3. In practice, prosecutions run against those demanding.
If the demand comes after the wedding
This is the more common and more dangerous pattern, and the law was written with it in mind. Section 2 covers property given at, before, or any time after the marriage. There is no point at which a marriage becomes old enough for the demands to become lawful.
Post-wedding demands backed by pressure or ill-treatment are also BNS Section 85, which reaches the husband and his relatives and covers mental and financial cruelty, not only physical.
What to do now
- Write it down. What was asked, by whom, on what date, in front of whom. Contemporaneous notes carry real weight later.
- Keep the messages. Demands sent on WhatsApp are evidence, and they are the most common form the demand now takes.
- Keep the list. If presents were given at the wedding, a list under the 1985 Rules is exactly what the Act contemplates, and almost nobody keeps one.
- Call 181 before deciding anything. Advice costs nothing and the call is free.
- Then, if you choose to, complain.
If you are being harassed for dowry right now
Related reading
- The same question from the groom's side →
- What counts as dowry, and what is stridhan →
- How to file a complaint →
Sources
Common questions
How much dowry should a girl's family give?
Nothing. There is no lawful amount of dowry in India. Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 makes giving or taking dowry an offence carrying a minimum of five years, and Section 4 makes the demand alone an offence. A figure named by a groom's family creates no legal obligation of any kind.
Is it illegal for the bride's family to give dowry?
Technically yes, Section 3 covers giving as well as taking. In practice prosecutions are brought against those making demands, and Section 7(3) of the Act protects an aggrieved person from being prosecuted on the basis of their own statement. A family reporting a demand is not putting itself at risk by doing so.
What happens to the gold and gifts if the marriage breaks down?
Property that is stridhan belongs to the woman and remains hers. Section 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act also requires that any dowry received by anyone other than the woman be held in trust for her and transferred to her, and failing to do so is a separate offence carrying six months to two years.