By Poorva Karki

Copyright timesnownews

The last dowry case should have existed before 1961- as India then came out with The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961- and declared the practice of dowry a crime in India. YET- it’s 2025 and still dowry cases are very much common in the country. Reflecting the same dark reality of India yet again, a case recently surfaced online, and left netizens speechless. A man took to Reddit and narrated the case that allegedly happened with his cousin. As per the post, the cousin- a well-settled man who was searching for a partner- finally found a good match. The man “earned well” and had parents with “real estate, restaurants and pubs business, and ancestral property”. The woman, on the other hand, was “smart, career-focused, with good family values.” Both allegedly said yes. After a while, the woman’s father began to offer multiple dowry offers to the man- but he refused each one of them. After much back and forth, the woman’s father allegedly rejected the man- saying that he possibly had a ‘defect’, which is why he was refusing dowry. The post went viral, and most commented how the Redditor’s cousin dodged a bullet. Times Now could not confirm the authenticity of the post. Check out the viral post: “My cousin got rejected because he refused to take dowry,” the post read. “So my cousin (27M, 5’10, earns well enough to have to pay surcharge, parents have real estate, restaurants and pubs business, has ancestral property, drives an M340i, and is a decent-looking guy), was looking for an arranged marriage match. Found a great girl; smart, career-focused, good family values. Both sides said yes,” the post read. “Then her dad asks my cousin what dowry he wants. My cousin says ‘none, I’m good’ Dad insists; at least take some ‘gifts’ like a Range Rover or a duplex flat, etc. My cousin still refuses. This back and forth goes on for a while. And the best part; the girl’s father straight up rejected my cousin. His reasoning? He said, ‘A high-value man knows his worth. If he’s refusing dowry, there must be some defect in him.’ He literally used the word defect. To explain, he even gave this gem of an analogy: Xiaomi/Vivo phones are 15k-20k, but people still pay over a lakh for iPhones because they’re valuable. While I’m glad my brother dodged a bullet, I’m just genuinely curious about everyone’s opinion on this. Sorry if I’ve unintentionally hurt anyone.” the post continued. The post was shared on Reddit, by the handle ‘Ichizaya’. The post was shared a day back and pulled more than 4K views from people. Here’s the internet’s reactions: ALSO READ: Saree-Clad Woman Walks Into Room With Style– To Do Something Internet Did Not See Coming! “Sometimes dowry is a bargaining chip if things turn sour. And for people who have money, they want something else to hold that upper hand which is what seems to be the case here,” a user said. “Bro should have replied back like this– Why are you offering me dowry? Is this girl a defective one? Like compensating something that she missed from being a perfect girl,” added another person. ALSO READ: ‘Things European Gyms Should Learn From India’: Ukrainian Woman Lists Down Reasons | Viral “Maybe the defect was with his daughter. Maybe he wanted to pay “riddance fees” to avoid returning his daughter to him at some later date,” added another. “These situations are common. I have heard of cases where the bride itself is of this type,” added another.