No right of husband over wife's 'Streedhan'; Here's what Supreme Court said

The Supreme Court reiterated that stridhan is an "absolute property" of a woman, and while the husband has no control over the same, he can use it in times of distress. The court directed a man to pay Rs 25 lakh to a woman in return for her lost gold, highlighting the moral obligation of husbands to return 'streedhan' to their wives. 

Know full case here

According to the woman, on the first night of the marriage, the husband took all her jewelery and gave it to his mother on the pretext of keeping it safe. The woman alleged that her husband and his mother misused all her jewelery to pay off their debts. The family court had in 2011 held that the husband and his mother had in fact misused the gold jewelery of the appellant woman and hence she was entitled to be compensated for the loss.

Kerala High Court action in this matter

The Kerala High Court partially rejected the relief granted by the family court, saying the woman could not prove misappropriation of gold jewelery by her husband and his mother. The woman then approached the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that 'Stridhan' is not the joint property of the wife and husband, and the husband has no right or independent dominion over the property as the owner. 

Considering the passage of time and the increase in the cost of living, the Supreme Court, under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, awarded the woman Rs 25 lakh in lieu of 89 sovereigns of gold, valued at Rs 8. 90 lakh in 2009.