In the case of a newly wedded woman, if the husband or in-laws demand gold ornaments the wife may not be able to demand receipts or independent witnesses while handing over the jewelry to the husband or in-laws, says the High Court of Kerala in Prasad v Greeshma [2025:KER:49786].
Because of the informal nature of such transactions, she would not be able to produce documents or independent witnesses to prove entrustment, when such entrustment turns into a family court case for recovery of ornaments.
Such cases involving stridhan (gold and jewelry received by a woman from her family at the time of marriage) should be decide based on the principle of preponderance of probabilities – a standard used in civil law which evaluates which party’s version appears more likely to be true – rather than requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt as is being followed in criminal cases.
Reference
- Prasad v Greeshma [2025: KER:49786]