Mumbai, March 17: In a significant legal stride towards protecting victims of domestic violence, the high court has ruled that family courts hearing cases filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) can act as a magistrate court or a criminal court or a civil court while hearing a case of breach of its own order.
The ruling, experts believe, will provide more teeth to family courts.
“An interpretation of a legislation, specially a protective legislation as the DV Act, must be such as to enhance justice and not to frustrate it,” justice Roshan Dalvi said, whiledirecting a family court in Pune to hear an appeal filed by a woman seeking action against her husband for breaching an order of the same court.
The woman had moved the high court after the family court rejected her appeal.
The family court maintained that under section 31(2) of the DV Act, only a magistrate’s court has powers to hear such cases.
The woman, a Maharashtrian married to a Christian, had sought to divorce her husband under section 10 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (Adultery). She had also sought protection, compensation, and custody of her child under various sections of the DV Act.
The family court had granted interim protection to the wife in July 2008, and directed the husband to pay her a monthly compensation. The order was breached by the man.
The husband’s lawyer argued that though the family court can pass an order under section 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 (for protection, maintenance and custody issues), it had no jurisdiction to levy penalty for breach of order passed by it.
Justice Dalvi rejected this saying, “This would be to say the law that grants the relief cannot grant the remedy to enforce the relief.”
–Agencies–