Sati is an ancient Hindu practice where the widow immolated herself on the funeral pyre  of her husband. They deemed it to be a great honour to be able to commit sati and the satimata was idolized by the society. The ritual of sati was banned by the British Government in 1829 consequent to the relentless efforts of Sri Raja Ram Mohan Roy. A large scale of social reform undertaken by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Mahatma Gandhi helped in actually putting a stop to the practice.  However, the practice is still in vogue in some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In light of these incidents, the Government of India enacted the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987. In this act unless otherwise required Code of Criminal Procedure.