Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
In plain English
What this section actually means
Section 1 sets the legal basics. Sub-section (1) names the Act. Sub-section (2) prints the original 1961 territorial reach — the whole of India except J&K. The source PDF preserves that text, but the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 (effective 31 October 2019) extended central laws to the UTs of J&K and Ladakh, so the Act now applies to the whole of India. Sub-section (3) left the date open; the Centre notified 1 July 1961 by S.O. 1410 dated 20 June 1961.
Real life
What this looks like in real life
Pre-1961 dowry exchange
Setup. A wife claims back dowry given at her 1958 marriage in a 1965 partition suit, relying on Section 6 of the 1961 Act.
What the law does. Section 1(3) brought the Act into force on 1 July 1961. The 1958 dowry is outside the Act. Section 6 cannot reach back to it.
Frequently asked
Questions about Section 1
Open this section in the source PDF
dowry_prohibition.pdf
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