Streedhan is the property a woman receives before, at or after her marriage: jewellery, cash, clothes, household articles and other gifts from her own family, from relatives and friends, and from her husband and his family. It belongs to her absolutely. She may use it, sell it or give it away as she chooses, and her husband and his family have no right to it merely because she has married into them.
The point most often misunderstood is custody. It is common for jewellery and gifts to be kept in a cupboard in the matrimonial home, sometimes locked, sometimes in the mother-in-law’s care, and for everyone to speak of them as “the family’s”. Keeping something safe does not change who owns it. A husband or in-laws who hold it are holding it on her behalf, and if they refuse to return it when asked, or use it for their own purposes, the courts have treated that as a wrong for which she can seek a remedy, civil and in some circumstances criminal.
Streedhan is different from dowry, though the two are often confused. Dowry, demanded or given in connection with the marriage, is prohibited by law. Streedhan is what the bride is given for herself. Where property was handed to her husband or his family at the time of marriage, the law’s expectation is that it is passed on to her, not kept. It is different too from maintenance, which is a claim to be supported, and from a share in the husband’s property, which depends on separate rules. A claim for streedhan is not a claim on the husband’s assets; it is a claim to something that was hers all along.
Proof is what these claims turn on, and it is easiest to gather at the start. Wedding photographs and videos in which jewellery is visible, jewellers’ bills, bank withdrawals and transfers, a list of gifts if one was made at the time, and messages that refer to particular items are the usual material. Where a woman leaves the matrimonial home, a written inventory of what she took and what remains, ideally with a witness, is worth more than any recollection later. Relief can be sought through a civil suit for the return of the articles or their value, and streedhan is commonly among the claims made in matrimonial proceedings. See Matrimonial & family law.
This note describes the general position only. Whether a particular item is streedhan, and what remedy is available for it, depends on the facts and on the law that applies to the parties, and nothing here is legal advice.