Bombay HC Raises Concern Over Misuse Of Domestic Violence Act

"Unfortunately, a trend seems to have been adopted and proceedings under Domestic Violence Act are filed at even distant place i.e. place where the aggrieved person resides and not only husband and joint family members residing under one roof are made respondents but even distant relatives who have no domestic relationship are also roped in order to cause harassment and to build pressure on husband," observed Bombay High Court in the order passed on July 18.

The Bombay High Court has expressed its concern over estranged wives misusing the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDV) to harass their husbands and family members. It has become a trend.

Bombay HC On Misuse Of Domestic Violence Act

The bench was hearing a plea filed by the brother-in-law, his wife and the sister-in-law of the complainant woman, who did not live with her in the same house. A woman reportedly named other relatives of her husband in the complaint, who were not residing with them. While hearing a plea filed by the woman's brother-in-law, his wife and the sister-in-law, the bench stated that a domestic relationship between the aggrieved person (complainant) and respondents is the sine qua non (essential element) to maintain any proceeding under the PWDV Act.

In this case, among the three petitioners, two lived in Pune, and the third one lived in Osmanabad. They did not share a 'domestic relationship' under the Act with the complainant. The bench observed that to constitute a relationship between two persons as a domestic relationship, they must live together in a shared household. 

The judge also noted that to maintain any such complaint under the provisions of the DV Act, the complainant must confirm that the other family members have lived with her. 

However, the court considered the evidence provided by the three accused to prove they lived in distant places and not under the same roof as the complainant. Hence, considering this, the Single-judge Justice RM Joshi quashed proceedings under the act against the aggrieved woman's in-laws.

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