DOMESTIC VIOL. ACT

 THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 2005

Introduction

• This document allows one to decode the BARE ACTS for better understanding.

Disclaimer

• This document is for educational purposes only and not for any other purpose except for understanding of the BARE ACTS.
• Names and examples used are for educational purposes only.
• There may be spelling mistakes and proofreading has not been done.
• This document is an extension of rough notes taken in class.
• The document is not intended to be a comprehensive guide and should not be relied upon as the sole source of information.
• The document is not a substitute for professional advice or expert analysis and should not be used as such.
• The document does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any particular technology, product, or service.
• The reader assumes all responsibility for their use of the information contained in this document and any consequences that may arise.
• The author disclaim any liability for any damages or losses that may result from the use of this document or the information contained therein.
• The author and publisher reserve the right to update or change the information contained in this document at any time without prior notice.

Acknowledgments

• Respective BARE ACTS were used as references in preparing this document.
• Thanks to the professor for sharing knowledge and references used in this document.

THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005

Legal Terms : In every bare Act  the definitions are important to understand

DVA 2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “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;

E.g domestic violence means - not only with husband, own family or siblings 

(b) “child” 

means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step or foster child;

(f) “domestic relationship” 

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;

E.g consanguinity - same ancestors 

E.g nature of marriage - live-in relationship 

E.g only these 5 relationship

(i) “Magistrate” means the Judicial Magistrate of the first class

or as the case may be, the Metropolitan Magistrate, exercising jurisdiction under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974) in the area where the aggrieved person resides temporarily or otherwise or the respondent resides or the domestic violence is alleged to have taken place;

(k) “monetary relief” 

means the compensation which the Magistrate may order the respondent to pay to the aggrieved person, at any stage during the hearing of an application seeking any relief under this Act, to meet the expenses incurred and the losses suffered by the aggrieved person as a result of the domestic violence;

(q) “respondent” 

means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act:

Provided that an aggrieved wife or female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may also file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner;

E.g Adult means - fully grown (14 or 15 years - concept of puberty)

E.g when women is involved in the case- Age, 

(s) “shared household” 

means a 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 such a household whether owned or tenanted either jointly by the aggrieved person and the respondent, or owned or tenanted by either of them in respect of which either the aggrieved person or the respondent or both jointly or singly have any right, title, interest or equity and includes such a household which may belong to the joint family of which the respondent is a member, irrespective of whether the respondent or the aggrieved person has any right, title or interest in the shared household;

E.g must have stayed with the respondent is the key

CHAPTER II

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

DVA 3. Definition of domestic violence.—

For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it—

(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or

E.g Physical abuse - harms or injures or endangers the health

E.g Sexual abuse - degrades/ humiliates / dignity of Women 

E.g Abuse  - bad effect on you 

E.g  Verbal abuse - not able to give birth to male child is verbal abuse. 

E.g Emotional abuse - if your father is not giving money, then i will slap your father. 

(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or

(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or

(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.

Explanation I.—For the purposes of this section,—

(i) “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 or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force;

(ii) “sexual abuse” includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman;

(iii) “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 aggrieved person is interested;

(iv) “economic abuse” includes—

(a) deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, household necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared household and maintenance;

CHAPTER III

POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROTECTION OFFICERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, ETC.

DVA 4. Information to Protection Officer and exclusion of liability of informant.—

(1) Any person who has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been, or is being, or is likely to be committed, may give information about it to the concerned Protection Officer.

(2) No liability, civil or criminal, shall be incurred by any person for giving in good faith of information for the purpose of sub-section (1).

DVA 5. Duties of police officers, service providers and Magistrate.—

A police officer, Protection Officer, service provider or Magistrate who has received a complaint of domestic violence or is otherwise present at the place of an incident of domestic violence or when the incident of domestic violence is reported to him, shall inform the aggrieved person—

E.g Protection officer means - 

(a) of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order, an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one such order under this Act;

E.g Can make more than one order and/ or All order

(b) of the availability of services of service providers;

E.g  what are the service provided 

(c) of the availability of services of the Protection Officers;

(d) of her right to free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987);

(e) of her right to file a complaint under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860),wherever relevant:

E.g 498A. Husband or relative of the husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.

Provided that nothing in this Act shall be construed in any manner as to relieve a police officer from his duty to proceed in accordance with law upon receipt of information as to the commission of a cognizable offence.

E.g when a received information of Cognizable Offences has to go for investigation 

DVA 8. Appointment of Protection Officers.

(2) The Protection Officers shall as far as possible be women and shall possess such qualifications and experience as may be prescribed.

DVA 9. Duties and functions of Protection Officers.—

(1) It shall be the duty of the Protection Officer—

(a) to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions under this Act;

(b) to make a domestic incident report to the Magistrate, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, upon receipt of a complaint of domestic violence and forward copies thereof to the police officer in charge of the police station within the local limits of whose jurisdiction domestic violence is alleged to have been committed and to the service providers in that area;

E.g Protection officer is only to help the Magistrate.

(c) to make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed to the Magistrate, if the aggrieved person so desires, claiming relief for issuance of a protection order;

E.g when aggrieved person needs protection then Protection officer must make a application 

(d) to ensure that the aggrieved person is provided legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987) and make available free of cost the prescribed form in which a complaint is to be made;

(e) to maintain a list of all service providers providing legal aid or counselling, shelter homes and medical facilities in a local area within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate;

DVA 10. Service providers.—

(1) Subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf, any voluntary association registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860) or a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or any other law for the time being in force with the objective of protecting the rights and interests of women by any lawful means including providing of legal aid, medical, financial or other assistance shall register itself with the State Government as a service provider for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A service provider registered under sub-section (1) shall have the power to—

(a) record the domestic incident report in the prescribed form if the aggrieved person so desires and forward a copy thereof to the Magistrate and the Protection Officer having jurisdiction in the area where the domestic violence took place;

(b) get the aggrieved person medically examined and forward a copy of the medical report to the Protection Officer and the police station within the local limits of which the domestic violence took place;

(c) ensure that the aggrieved person is provided shelter in a shelter home, if she so requires and forward a report of the lodging of the aggrieved person in the shelter home to the police station within the local limits of which the domestic violence took place.

E.g Service provided insurance is getting a shelter home

(3) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any service provider or any member of the service provider who is, or who is deemed to be, acting or purporting to act under this Act, for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in the exercise of powers or discharge of functions under this Act towards the prevention of the commission of domestic violence.

E.g No concept of Suit or Prosecution or legal against Service Providers

DVA 11. Duties of Government.—The Central Government and every State Government, shall take all measures to ensure that—

(a) the provisions of this Act are given wide publicity through public media including the television, radio and the print media at regular intervals;

(b) the Central Government and State Government officers including the police officers and the members of the judicial services are given periodic sensitization and awareness training on the issues addressed by this Act;

CHAPTER IV

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING ORDERS OF RELIEFS

DVA 12. Application to Magistrate.—

(1) An aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person may present an application to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under this Act:

Provided that before passing any order on such application, the Magistrate shall take into consideration any domestic incident report received by him from the Protection Officer or the service provider.

(2) The relief sought for under sub-section (1) may include a relief for issuance of an order for payment of compensation or damages without prejudice to the right of such person to institute a suit for compensation or damages for the injuries caused by the acts of domestic violence committed by the respondent:

(4) The Magistrate shall fix the first date of hearing, which shall not ordinarily be beyond three days from the date of receipt of the application by the court.

(5) The Magistrate shall Endeavour to dispose of every application made under sub-section (1) within a period of sixty days from the date of its first hearing.

E.g  with 60 days DVC must be disposed or closed 

DVA 14. Counselling.—

(1) The Magistrate may, at any stage of the proceedings under this Act, direct the respondent or the aggrieved person, either singly or jointly, to undergo counselling with any member of a service provider who possess such qualifications and experience in counselling as may be prescribed.

(2) Where the Magistrate has issued any direction under sub-section (1), he shall fix the next date of hearing of the case within a period not exceeding two months.

DVA 16. Proceedings to be held in camera.—

If the Magistrate considers that the circumstances of the case so warrant, and if either party to the proceedings so desires, he may conduct the proceedings under this Act in camera.

E.g  closed court proceedings 

DVA 17. Right to reside in a shared household.—

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every woman in a domestic relationship shall have the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same.

(2) The aggrieved person shall not be evicted or excluded from the shared household or any part of it by the respondent save in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Legal Terms : ex parte - in the absence of the other party. 

DVA 34. Cognizance of offence committed by Protection Officer.—

No prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Protection Officer unless a complaint is filed with the previous sanction of the State Government or an officer authorised by it in this behalf.

Important section 3 

with in 3 days first hearing 

Sent for counselling- first hearing within 60 Days  

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Updated : 2021

Key word search:

THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 [IPC],

THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, 1973 [CRPC],

THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955 [HMA],

THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT, 1872 [IEA],

THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, 1908 [CPC],

THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005 [DVA],

THE TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT, 1882 [TPA],

THE INDIAN EASEMENT ACT, 1882 [IEA],

THE LIMITATION ACT, 1963 [LIA],

THE INDIAN PENAL CODE

THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT

THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT

THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT

THE TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT,

THE INDIAN EASEMENT ACT

THE LIMITATION ACT

#IPC #CRPC #DVA #HMA

Criminal Major Acts

a Handbook of notes

Law of India  

Indian law books 

Indian law bare acts

For complete link look into Criminal Major Acts Notes