Question

Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, within how many months from the date of marriage must dowry received before marriage be transferred to the woman?

• A. Within six months
• B. Within three months
• C. Within five months
• D. Within seven months

Hint:

Remember the "Rule of Three": Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, the transfer deadline is always "three months" from the event (marriage or receipt)!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Section 6(1) of the Dowry Prohibition Act can be tested in two parts: identifying the triggering event, and then applying the fixed period that runs from it.

Test 1, trigger event:
The question specifies dowry received before the marriage. For this scenario, the statute counts the period from the date of the marriage itself, not from the date of receipt.

Test 2, fixed period:
Section 6(1) fixes that period at three months. This is the same three-month period used elsewhere in the section for dowry received at or after marriage, just counted from a different starting point.

Conclusion:
None of six, five, or seven months corresponds to any period the statute sets, so those options fail Test 2 outright. Only three months matches the fixed statutory period tied to the trigger event of marriage.

\[ \boxed{\text{Within three months}} \]

Answer 2

Section 6 exists to make sure dowry does not linger in the hands of relatives or other custodians but reaches the woman promptly, since she is meant to be its true beneficiary. Checking each option against that protective purpose explains why only one period fits.

1. Within six months: A six-month window would let the property sit with someone other than the woman for longer than necessary, working against the law's aim of quick transfer.
2. Within three months: A short, three-month window keeps the delay to a minimum while still giving a realistic amount of time for the transfer to be arranged, serving the protective purpose of the section.
3. Within five months: Five months has no statutory basis and, like the six-month option, would extend the period during which someone other than the woman holds the property.
4. Within seven months: An even longer seven-month period would delay the woman's entitlement further still, contrary to the whole rationale for fixing a strict time limit.

The three-month period is the one that actually matches the Act's goal of getting the dowry into the woman's hands without unnecessary delay.

Therefore, the correct answer is Within three months.