MUMBAI, March 10 -- Maharashtra's minister of state for home on Monday informed the legislative assembly that 799 cases were registered and 1,877 persons arrested under the Dowry Prohibition Act in the past five years. He added that the number of dowry-related cases had declined in 2025 and indicated that the government was open to introducing stricter provisions in the existing law. The minister, Pankaj Bhoyar, replying to a calling attention motion raised by opposition MLAs, said that the number of dowry cases had fallen from 172 in 2021 to 138 in 2025. Admitting that budgetary allocations for awareness initiatives were inadequate, he said that the government needed to increase public awareness against the dowry system. However, when Bhoyar claimed that 99 per cent of marriages were solemnised without dowry, MLAs such as Jyoti Gaikwad, Namita Mundada, Nitin Raut, Sneha Dubey and Prakash Solanke debated the claim, highlighting cases where dowry demands had led to suicides of brides. Mundada said that while there were a higher number of registered cases in cities such as Mumbai, dowry-related harassment was also widespread in drought-prone rural regions, due to financial distress and social pressure there. Gaikwad said dowry-related trials dragged on for years and urged shelters, jobs and interim maintenance for victims. Dubey suggested marriage registration two months in advance so police could monitor large financial transactions between families. Bhoyar said direct interference may not be advisable but authorities would act on specific complaints....