Domestic Violence Act 2005: The Rights It Gives Women

Who the Act protects — and against whom

The Act protects an aggrieved person, defined in Section 2(a) as any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to domestic violence. Section 2(f) defines a domestic relationship as one between two persons who live or have lived together in a shared household at any point of time, where they are related by consanguinity, marriage, a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption, or are family members living together as a joint family.

This is a far wider net than matrimonial law. It covers a wife, a divorced wife, a live-in partner, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a widow living with her in-laws, and a woman in a second or void marriage. In D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal, (2010) 10 SCC 469, the Supreme Court set out the indicia of a relationship in the nature of marriage: the couple must hold themselves out as spouses, be of marriageable age, be unmarried, and have cohabited voluntarily for a significant period in a shared household. A one-off casual relationship does not qualify.

The respondent is not necessarily male. In Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora, (2016) 10 SCC 165, the Supreme Court struck down the words “adult male” from Section 2(q), so a mother-in-law, sister-in-law or other female relative living in the shared household can be a respondent alongside the husband.

Two more points matter before filing. First, in V.D. Bhanot v. Savita Bhanot, (2012) 3 SCC 183, the Supreme Court held that the Act can be invoked in respect of acts of violence committed even before it came into force, where the parties were living together in a shared household when the proceedings began. Second, the conduct must fall within Section 3 — physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse. Economic abuse specifically includes deprivation of financial resources and disposal of household assets, which is what makes the Act useful in a purely financial dispute.

The five orders, section by section

Section	Order	What it actually does
S.18	Protection order	Prohibits violence, aiding violence, entering her workplace, contacting her, or alienating assets
S.19	Residence order	Restrains dispossession, orders his removal, or directs alternative accommodation
S.20	Monetary relief	Maintenance, medical expenses, loss of earnings, damage to property
S.21	Custody order	Interim custody of children to the aggrieved person
S.22	Compensation	Damages for mental torture and emotional distress
S.23	Interim / ex parte	Any of the above on an interim basis, without notice in urgent cases

The Act creates no free-standing criminal offence of domestic violence. It is a civil remedy statute with a criminal sanction attached only to the breach of its orders. Violence itself is prosecuted separately under Section 85 or 86 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (cruelty by a husband or relative), Section 74 (assault) or Section 115 (grievous hurt).

How to file: the Section 12 application

1. Report the incident and get a Domestic Incident Report. Under Section 9 a Protection Officer must prepare a DIR on receiving a complaint. Section 5 requires the police to inform her of her right to a DIR and to a Protection Officer. You can also go straight to court without a DIR — the Act does not make it a precondition.
2. File the application under Section 12 before the Judicial Magistrate First Class or the Magistrate of the area where you live, where the respondent lives, or where the cause of action arose. Legal aid is available; the application can be filed by the aggrieved person, a Protection Officer, or any person on her behalf.
3. The magistrate fixes the hearing within three days. Section 12(4) requires the first date of hearing to be fixed, ordinarily, not later than three days from the date the court receives the application. Section 13 then requires the notice to be served on the respondent through the Protection Officer within two days.
4. Ask for interim orders immediately. Under Section 23, an ex parte interim protection or residence order can be passed on the first date if there is immediate danger. This is the single most useful step in a case where she has been locked out or threatened.
5. Attend the counselling and evidence stage. Section 14 allows the magistrate to direct counselling. The Act requires the magistrate to endeavour to dispose of the application within 60 days from the first hearing.
6. Take certified copies of every order. Keep two copies of the protection order on your person and one with the local police station — a breach is proved by producing the order.

Section 17 and 19 in practice

Section 17 is the provision that changes lives. It states that every woman in a domestic relationship has the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in it, and that she shall not be evicted or excluded from it except in accordance with the procedure established by law. Section 19 then gives the magistrate the machinery: an order restraining the respondent from dispossessing her, restraining him from entering the portion she occupies, directing him to remove himself from the shared household, or directing him to provide alternative accommodation of the same standard.

The reach of the right was settled in Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja, (2021) 1 SCC 414. A three-judge bench held that the shared household is not confined to property owned or jointly owned by the husband, and that a wife living in her in-laws’ house has a right of residence there. The earlier observation in S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra, (2007) 3 SCC 169 — suggesting the right applied only where the husband had a right in the property — was clarified and confined. The Court also held that an estranged wife cannot be evicted pending adjudication of her rights, and that the DV Act proceeding must be decided on its own footing, not deferred to a civil title suit.

Section 19(1)(f) also restrains the respondent from alienating or disposing of the shared household, and Section 19(1)(g) from renouncing his rights in it. That is the provision that stops a husband from transferring the flat to his mother the week after a complaint is filed.

Money: Sections 20 and 22

Section 20(1) allows monetary relief that is adequate, fair and reasonable to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered as a result of the domestic violence. Section 20(1)(a) to (d) enumerate the heads: loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss caused by destruction, damage or removal of assets from the shared household, and maintenance for the aggrieved person and her children. Section 20(2) makes the maintenance for children a first charge on the respondent’s income where necessary.

The amount is not capped and is assessed on the same material as maintenance under Section 125 CrPC / Section 144 BNSS — the husband’s income and the wife’s needs. In practice, magistrates applying the Rajnesh v. Neha, (2021) 2 SCC 324, disclosure framework award monthly figures in the same band they would award under Section 144 BNSS, typically 20–25% of the respondent’s net income where the wife has none.

Section 22 sits on top of that as a separate head: compensation for mental torture and emotional distress caused by the domestic violence. It is damages, not maintenance, and can be awarded as a lump sum. It is under-claimed because most applications simply repeat the maintenance prayer without pleading the distress separately — the pleading matters, since compensation must be justified by evidence of the mental injury.

Section 26 is the bridge provision. It allows any of the Section 18 to 22 reliefs to be sought in any pending proceeding before a civil, criminal or family court — a divorce petition, a Section 125 CrPC case, or a 498A trial. The bar is against double recovery: a court will not award maintenance twice over for the same period, but it can and does adjust amounts already ordered.

Breach, enforcement and the limits

Section 31 makes breach of a protection order, residence order or any other order under the Act a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment up to one year, or a fine up to ₹20,000, or both. The offence is cognizable and non-bailable, which means the police must register an FIR on a complaint of breach without waiting for a magistrate’s order — the opposite of the position for most matrimonial offences.

Section 31(2) covers aiding and abetting a breach, and Section 32 penalises a Protection Officer who fails or refuses to discharge a duty imposed by the Act. In practice, the breach application is filed before the same magistrate who passed the order, supported by the certified copy, a police complaint receipt and witness accounts.

The limits are worth stating plainly. The Act does not transfer ownership of the shared household; a residence order is a right to occupy, not a title. It is not available to a man. Proceedings can be delayed by repeated adjournments despite the 60-day direction, and enforcement of a monetary order still requires an execution application. Where the wife has already left and taken her belongings, the most valuable reliefs are usually monetary and custody, not residence.

Frequently asked questions

What orders can a magistrate pass under the Domestic Violence Act 2005?

Five: a protection order under Section 18, a residence order under Section 19, monetary relief under Section 20, interim custody of children under Section 21, and compensation for mental torture under Section 22. All of them can be granted on an interim or ex parte basis under Section 23.

Can an unmarried live-in partner file under this Act?

Yes, if the relationship was in the nature of marriage. In D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal (2010), the Supreme Court required the couple to hold themselves out as spouses, be of marriageable age and unmarried, and to have cohabited voluntarily for a significant period in a shared household.

Can I stay in my in-laws’ house after my husband leaves?

Yes. Section 17 gives a right of residence in the shared household irrespective of title, and Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2021) confirmed that a house owned by the husband’s parents counts as a shared household where the couple lived. A Section 19 residence order restrains dispossession.

How quickly must the magistrate hear a domestic violence application?

Section 12(4) requires the first date of hearing to be fixed ordinarily within three days of the court receiving the application, and Section 13 requires service of that notice within two days. The Act directs the magistrate to endeavour to dispose of the application within 60 days from the first hearing. Interim and ex parte orders under Section 23 can be passed on the very first date.

What happens if my husband violates a protection order?

Breach of a protection or residence order is an offence under Section 31, punishable with up to one year imprisonment or a fine up to ₹20,000, or both. It is cognizable and non-bailable, so the police can register an FIR on your complaint without a magistrate’s direction.

Can I claim maintenance under this Act and also under Section 125 CrPC?

You can file both, and Section 26 expressly permits DV Act reliefs to be sought in pending family or criminal proceedings. A court will not award maintenance twice for the same period; it adjusts amounts already ordered. Filing under Section 144 BNSS as well is common and often faster to enforce.

Related reading

• Domestic violence protection orders in Hyderabad
• How a residence order under Section 19 works
• Women’s rights after divorce: the complete checklist
• Section 125 CrPC maintenance in Hyderabad