In the case of a newly wedded woman, if the husband or in-laws demand gold ornaments the wife may not be in a position to demand receipts or independent witnesses while handing over the jewelry to the husband or in-laws, Prasad v Greeshma [2025:KER:49786 /2025 (4) KHC 595 (DB)].
Due to the domestic and informal nature of such transactions, she would not be in a position to produce documents or independent witnesses to prove entrustment when the entrustment turns into a family court case for recovery of ornaments.
In such cases involving stridhan (gold and jewelry received by a woman from her family at the time of marriage), they 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
