Protection from domestic violence
What counts as domestic violence, who is protected, what a Magistrate can order (protection, residence, maintenance) and the steps: 181, Protection Officer.
In short
- Domestic violence is not only beating. Threats, insults, sexual coercion, taking your salary or refusing money for food and medicine all count Sec 3 PWDVA.
- Any woman in a domestic relationship is protected: wife, live-in partner, mother, sister, daughter, widow.
- You cannot be thrown out of the shared home, whoever owns it Sec 17 PWDVA. A Magistrate can order protection, residence, maintenance, custody and compensation, often within days.
- In danger: call 112 or 181. Otherwise go to the Protection Officer, a One Stop Centre, the police or the Magistrate directly Sec 12 PWDVA. No lawyer or fee is needed.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) is a civil law. Its aim is not mainly to jail the abuser but to stop the abuse and keep you safe, housed and financially supported while you decide what to do next. It works alongside the criminal law on cruelty, Sec 85 BNS (earlier Sec 498A IPC).
What counts as domestic violence
Sec 3 PWDVA covers four kinds of abuse, and also threats of them:
- Physical: hitting, pushing, burning, denying food or medical care.
- Sexual: forced sex, humiliation or any sexual act against your will, including within marriage.
- Verbal and emotional: insults, ridicule for not having a child or a son, threats to harm you or people you love, isolating you from family.
- Economic: taking your salary or jewellery, not paying for household needs or children's education, stopping you from working, throwing you out of the house.
Harassment for dowry is expressly included.
Who is protected, and against whom
An "aggrieved person" is any woman who is or has been in a domestic relationship with the respondent Sec 2(a) PWDVA. A domestic relationship means living together, now or in the past, in a shared household, through marriage, a relationship "in the nature of marriage" (a live-in relationship), blood, adoption or as a joint family Sec 2(f). So a daughter can file against a father, a mother against a son, a widow against her in-laws.
The respondent can be any adult who has been in a domestic relationship with you. After the Supreme Court's decision in Hiral P. Harsora v Kusum Harsora (2016), women relatives such as a mother-in-law or sister-in-law can also be respondents.
What a Magistrate can order
- Protection order Sec 18: stop the violence, stop contacting you, stay away from your workplace or children's school, stop operating your joint accounts.
- Residence order Sec 19: no eviction from the shared household; the respondent may be directed to leave it, or to arrange alternative accommodation of the same standard. Your right to reside Sec 17 does not depend on owning the house or being on the rent agreement.
- Monetary relief Sec 20: maintenance for you and your children, lost earnings, medical costs, and compensation for property damaged or taken.
- Custody order Sec 21 for children, with or without visitation.
- Compensation Sec 22 for injuries and mental torture.
- Interim and ex parte orders Sec 23: urgent orders on the first hearing, even before the respondent is heard, when there is immediate danger.
The Magistrate should fix the first hearing within 3 days and try to dispose of the case within 60 days Sec 12(5); in practice it takes longer, but interim orders can come quickly. Breaching a protection order is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to ₹20,000, or both Sec 31. Either side can appeal to the Sessions Court within 30 days Sec 29.
Step by step
- If you are in danger now, call 112 or 181, or go to the nearest police station. Police must record your information and tell you about your rights under the Act, the Protection Officer and free legal aid Sec 5. For physical or sexual violence, an FIR can be registered at once.
- Get medical attention and keep the papers. A government hospital must give you a medical report; a Protection Officer can direct this.
- Contact the Protection Officer (PO) of your district Sec 8, or a One Stop Centre (Sakhi), usually in the district hospital. The PO records a Domestic Incident Report (DIR), helps draft the application, arranges shelter and medical help, and files it in court for you Sec 9. Registered NGOs can also record the DIR Sec 10.
- File the application under Sec 12 before the Judicial Magistrate where you live or work, where the respondent lives, or where the violence happened. Yourself, through the PO, or through a lawyer; every woman qualifies for free legal aid, whatever her income (15100).
- Ask for interim orders at the first hearing: protection, residence and maintenance. Carry your evidence list.
- Attend hearings or ensure your lawyer does. If the respondent violates an order, inform the PO and police at once; it is an arrestable offence.
- Decide the long term in your own time: counselling Sec 14, a criminal complaint under Sec 85 BNS, divorce, or reconciliation on your terms. The DV case can continue alongside any of these Sec 26.
Pooja, 29, lives in Lucknow with her husband and his parents. Her husband takes her salary; when she objected he began hitting her, and his mother threatened to throw her out "with nothing". One evening after a beating she calls 181, is taken to the One Stop Centre at the district hospital, gets a medical report and meets the Protection Officer. The PO files a DIR and a Sec 12 application. At the first hearing the Magistrate passes an interim protection order, a residence order allowing her to stay, and interim maintenance of ₹12,000 a month. When her husband tries to lock her out the next week, he is arrested under Sec 31.
Keep these ready
- Your ID; proof of the relationship (marriage certificate, wedding photos, children's birth certificates, or evidence of living together).
- Medical reports, photos of injuries with dates, torn clothes or broken items.
- Messages, call recordings, emails, diary entries with dates; names of neighbours or relatives who saw or heard.
- Proof of income and expenses: salary slips, rent, school fees, bank statements.
- Any earlier complaints, the DIR, FIR or court orders.
"Leave first, then complain" is the most common mistake. Once you have moved out under pressure, getting back into the shared household takes longer, even though the law entitles you to it. If you must leave for safety, tell the Protection Officer or police the same day so the record shows you were forced out, not that you abandoned the home.
Where to go
- Emergency: 112; Women Helpline 181; 1098 if a child is involved.
- Protection Officer of your district (list on the state Women and Child Development department website) and the nearest One Stop Centre (Sakhi).
- Police: the local station or the women's police station, for a DIR and, where there is violence, an FIR under Sec 85 BNS.
- Court: the Judicial Magistrate First Class or Metropolitan Magistrate of your area, under Sec 12 PWDVA. Free lawyer: 15100 or the District Legal Services Authority (nalsa.gov.in).
- Other help: National Commission for Women (ncw.gov.in); mental health support, Tele-MANAS 14416.
Common questions
Does the law protect women in live-in relationships?
Yes. A relationship "in the nature of marriage" is a domestic relationship under Sec 2(f) PWDVA. The Supreme Court in D. Velusamy v D. Patchaiammal (2010) said this means a relationship with some permanence where the couple lived together and held themselves out as spouses, not a casual arrangement. A live-in partner can get protection, residence and monetary orders.
Can my husband throw me out of a house that belongs to his parents?
No. Sec 17 PWDVA gives you the right to reside in the shared household regardless of who owns it, and the Supreme Court in Satish Chander Ahuja v Sneha Ahuja (2020) confirmed that a house owned by in-laws where you lived as a family counts. The court can restrain eviction or order equivalent alternative accommodation. You cannot simply be locked out.
Will my husband go to jail if I file a DV case?
Not for the DV application itself; it is a civil proceeding seeking protection, residence and money, and no arrest follows from filing it. Jail becomes possible only if he breaches a protection order (Sec 31, up to one year), or if you also file a criminal case for cruelty under Sec 85 BNS or for assault. Many women use the DV Act precisely because it stops the violence without a criminal trial.
How fast can I get maintenance?
You can ask for interim maintenance under Sec 23 at the first hearing, and Magistrates routinely grant it within weeks, based on his income and your needs. The Supreme Court in Rajnesh v Neha (2020) requires both sides to file an affidavit of assets and income, which speeds the decision.
Can a man file under the Domestic Violence Act?
No. Only a woman can be an aggrieved person under the PWDVA. A man facing violence at home can file a police complaint for assault or criminal intimidation under the BNS or seek a civil injunction, and can get free legal aid if eligible.
This article is general information for awareness, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an advocate or call free legal aid at 15100.
