Madurai: Wife is not eligible to claim maintenance under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in the absence of proof regarding domestic violence, the Madras High court bench ruled today.
Justice S Vimala, dismissing a revision petition filed by one Jeyanthi, said she had not proved her charges against her husband Jeyapaul. Hence the lower courts, including the Judicial Magistrate and the Sessions Judge, had dismissed her plea.
The judge noted that the husband had provided for education of his daughter, who had studied B.Tech. Unable to bear his wife’s harassment, he had left the house he had built by availing loan and allowed her to stay there and was also providing her Rs 900 per month.
On the other hand, the wife had neglected her husband, not even inviting him to his daughter’s marriage though he had given 25 sovereigns jewellery. This was nothing but humiliating and causing mental cruelty to him, the judge said.
She said provisions of the Domestic Violence Act could be used as a sword/shield to get protection from domestic violence but not used as a sword for causing violence to the other partner in one’s life.
Justice Vimala noted that the petitioner had given 15 complaints against her husband in different police stations.
There was no clarification as to what made her prefer such a large number of complaints, the judge said.
In disputes relating to family matters, the court has to consider the totality of facts and cirucumstances and only then would it be able to find what would have happened. The case of the husband must be true as his wife had preferred 15 complaints in various stations.
The judge said there was nothing to interfere with in the lower court judgement which had dismissed the woman’s plea on the ground she did not prove the charge of domestic violence.
The petitioner had demanded Rs 10,000 per month from her husband who was earning Rs 22000 salary, provision for her residence and a ‘pass protection order’ prohibiting him from committing any act of domestic violence, either physically or mentally against her and daughter.
PAI