Members of the jury include Vandana Shiva, Veena Talwar Oldenburg, Kamla Bhasin, Shiv Vishwanathan and Mallika Sarabhai.

'The Court of Women would be dealing specifically with the changing face of dowry in the context of the ethics of consumerism and materialism in present day India,' said Shakun, a senior member of Vimochana.

'Laws on dowry were full of contradictions and the delay in the legal system made justice even more elusive. The court sessions will help to discuss the issues at length and try to bring out the main causes of violence against women in the name of dowry,' added Donna Fernandes, another member of Vimochana.

A series of roundtable discussions by experts on different aspects of the issue of dowry and related forms of violence were held here Monday.

Growing consumerism coupled with a deeply entrenched feudal culture seem to be some of the reasons cited by experts for the prevalence of the dowry system in the country.

Feminist groups are unanimous that bringing in more laws against dowry is not a solution. Though the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is perceived as 'stringent', the rising number of dowry related cases across the country indicates that it has hardly proved a deterrent.

More than 6,000 dowry-related cases are registered on an average annually, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

According to the latest NCRB report, there were about 6,787 dowry death cases registered in India in 2005. Incidents of dowry deaths during 2005 (6,787) increased significantly by 46.0 percent over the 1995 level (4,648).

According to police, every year over 2,500 cases of bride-burning due to dowry are reported.