Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 consolidated the anti-dowry laws which had been passed on certain states.
• This Act may be called the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
• It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint.

Key Points

• This legislation provides for a penalty in section 3 if any person gives, takes or abets giving or receiving of dowry.
• The punishment could be imprisonment for minimum 5 years and a fine more than ₹15,000 or the value of the dowry received, whichever is higher.

The correct answer is 2 years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.

• Punishment for male adult marrying a child:
  • Whoever, being a male adult above eighteen years of age, contracts a child marriage shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both. 

Additional Information

• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006:
  • This Act may be called the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
  • It extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all citizens of India without and beyond India.
  • Provided that nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the Renoncants of the Union territory of Pondicherry.
  • It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different States and any reference in any provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed in relation to any State as a reference to the coming into force of that provision in that State. 

The correct answer is Sexual intercourse by a husband on his wife during separation.

• Section 376B in The Indian Penal Code:
  • Sexual intercourse by a husband on his wife during separation: Whoever has sex with his wife, who is living separately, whether under a decree of separation or otherwise, without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Additional Information

• Section 376A: Punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state of the victim.
• Section 376D:  Gang rape
• Section 376: Punishment for rape.

• POCSO Act, 2012 is a gender-neutral act and gives equitable protection to both girls and boys.
• The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age.
• The Act incorporates child-friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation as well as the trial of such offences covered under the act.
• People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act.
• Medical Examination of Child needs to be conducted within 24 hours.
• Recording the statement of the child at the residence of the child or at the place of his choice, preferably by a woman police officer.
• No child is to be detained in any police station in the night for any reason what so ever.
• Police officials are directed not to be in uniform while recording the statement of the child so victimized.

The correct answer is Adult franchise.

Key Points 

• Adult Franchise means all adult citizens of the country should have the right to vote without any discrimination of class, caste, religion, or gender.
• Article 326 defines a universal adult franchise as the basis for elections to all levels of the elected government.
• In a democracy, a universal adult franchise is important, as it is based on the idea of equality.

Additional Information

• Child Marriage:
  • It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.
  • Child marriage affects both girls and boys, but it affects girls disproportionately, especially in South Asia.
• Dowry system:
  • It refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, and his relatives as a condition of the marriage.
• Untouchability:
  • It is the practice of ostracising a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate.
  • The term is most commonly associated with the treatment of the Dalit communities in the Indian subcontinent who were considered "polluting".