The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 provides protection to women who are subjected to domestic violence and covers women who live or have lived in a shared household. The Act defines domestic violence as physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse. It allows women to file complaints against relatives of their husband or male partner. Courts can issue protection orders, residence orders, monetary relief, custody orders and compensation. Non-compliance of court orders issued under the Act is a cognizable and non-bailable offense. Key court cases have upheld the retrospective effect of the Act and ruled that a domestic incident report is not mandatory to issue summons to respondents.

1. Domestic Violence

2. ACTIONS LEADING TO
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

3. The Protection of Women
from Domestic Violence Act,
2005
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence
Act, 2005 came in force from 26.10.2006 and it
applies to whole India except the State of
Jammu and Kashmir.

4. Some important definitions
Aggrieved person

means any woman

who is or has been in a domestic relationship
with the respondent, and

who alleges to have been subjected to any act
of domestic violence by the respondent.

5. Means;

a relationship between two persons who live or
have, at any point of time, lived together in a
shared household,

when they are related by consanguinity,
marriage, or through a relationship in the nature
of marriage, adoption or are family members
living together as a joint family
DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIP

6. means household where the person aggrieved
lives or at any stage has lived in a domestic
relationship either singly or along with the
respondent

and includes owned or tenanted either singly or
jointly by the aggrieved person and the
respondent

and includes such a household which may
belong to the joint family of which respondent is
a member.
SHARED HOUSEHOLD

7. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
means and include the following:

Causing harm, injury or danger to health,
safety, life , limb or well being, whether mental
or physical;

Causing harm, injury or danger to the woman
with a view to corece her or any other person
related to her to meet any unlawful demand of
dowry.

8. PHYSICAL ABUSE
means ;

any act or conduct which is of such a
nature as to cause ;

bodily pain, harm, or danger to life,
limb or health

and includes assault, criminal
intimidation and criminal force.

9. SEXUAL ABUSE
Includes;
any conduct of a sexual nature that;
abuses, humiliates, degrades or
Otherwise violates the dignity of
woman.

10. VERBAL AND EMOTIONAL
ABUSE
Includes-
a. insults, ridicule, humiliation, name
calling, and insults or ridicule specially
with regard to not having a child or a
male child; and
b. repeated threats to cause physical
pain to any person in whom the
woman is interested.

11. ECOMONIC ABUSE
Includes ;
such as not providing money for maintaining
woman or her children. Not providing foods,
clothes, medicine etc. Preventing from accessing
any part of house, preventing or obstructing from
carrying on employment. Selling or pawning
ornaments without her consent.

12. WHO IS COVERED UNDER
THE ACT
All women who may be;

mother,

daughter,

sister,

widow,

partners living in share household.

13. WHO CAN FILE COMPLAINT

Woman;

Protection Officer;

Any other person on behalf of
aggrieved person;

14. AGAINST WHOM THE
COMPLAINT CAN BE FILED

Any adult male member who has been in
a
domestic relationship with woman;

Relatives of husband or the male partner
Includes both male and female relatives of
male partner.

15. WHERE TO COMPLAINT

POLICE OFFICER;

PROTECTION OFFICER;

SERVICE PROVIDER (NGO);

MAGISTRATE.

16. ORDERS
Magistrate can pass following orders:
1. Issues protection orders.
2. Residence orders.
3. grant monetary reliefs.
4. grant custody orders.
5. grant compensation.

17. WHAT IS DOMESTIC
INCIDENT
REPORT (DIR)
DIR is the report which is prepared by protection
officer or service provider of the incident of
domestic violence narrated by aggrieved person.

It should be formate as given in Rules;

It should be signed by protection officer or
registered service provider;

It is a public document.

18. PLACE OF COMPLAINT
To Magistrate;

Where aggrieved person resides or
works;

Where respondent resides or works;

Where cause of action has arisen

19. NON COMPLIANCE OF
ORDER
Is a ;

OFFENCE which is

COGNIZABLE and

NON BAILABLE.

20. SOME IMPORATNT CASE
LAWS

V. D. BHANOT V/S SAVITA BHANOT, (2012) 3
SCC 183, The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that
D.V. Act has retrospective effect.

SAGAR V/S NAINA, W.P.No. 236/13 dated
04.04.2013, the Hon'ble High Court Of Bombay
held that issuance of NBW for recovery of
arrears of maintenance is legal.

21. SOME IMPORATNT CASE
LAWS
In case of Manoj Harikisanji Changani Versus
Sau. Prema Shrinivas Changani,
MANU/ MH/OO87/2012, the question arose
before Hon'ble High Court of Bombay as to
whether the order of magistrate to issue
summons
to respondents without there being DIR was
illegal. The Hon'ble High Court held that such
report is not mandatory and is discretionary..

22. THANK YOU
Prepared By
Mahesh S.Lone
Chief Judicial Magistrate
Bhandara (Maharashtra India)