When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of

When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment in any connection with the demand for dowry, the presumption of dowry death under Section 113 B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 would be

conclusive proof.
presumption of law.
a non-rebuttable presumption.
conclusive proof and non-rebuttable.
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2021
The correct answer is B) presumption of law.
Section 113B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, relating to the presumption of dowry death, uses the phrase “shall presume”. According to Section 4 of the Act, “shall presume” means that the Court shall regard the fact as proved, unless and until it is disproved. This type of presumption is a rebuttable presumption of law. The burden is on the accused to disprove the fact presumed by the law.
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 defines three categories of presumptions in Section 4: “may presume” (presumption of fact, rebuttable), “shall presume” (presumption of law, rebuttable), and “conclusive proof” (irrebuttable presumption of law). Section 113A (abetment of suicide by a married woman) uses “may presume” (presumption of fact), while Section 113B (dowry death) uses “shall presume” (presumption of law). Conclusive proof is used in sections like Section 112 (legitimacy of child born during wedlock). Since Section 113B allows the presumption to be “disproved”, it is rebuttable and thus not “conclusive proof” or “non-rebuttable”.
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