Matrimonial Law · Domestic Violence
Reliefs Under the DV Act: Protection, Residence and Monetary Orders
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is a civil statute. Its value lies in the orders a Magistrate can pass quickly, often before any divorce or criminal case has progressed. This note explains each relief, what the court looks at, and how the orders are enforced and challenged.
The Starting Point
One application, several reliefs
An aggrieved person, or a Protection Officer or other person on her behalf, applies to the Magistrate under Section 12. The Magistrate is to fix the first date within three days and to try to dispose of the application within sixty days of the first hearing. Contested applications often run longer, so interim relief matters more than the timetable suggests.
The application can ask for any combination of the reliefs below, and for compensation or damages under Section 12(2). It should say which relief is sought for which incident and attach the documents that support it. The Supreme Court held in Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi (2022) that a domestic incident report is not a precondition to a Section 12 application. For who qualifies as an aggrieved person and what counts as domestic violence, see our domestic violence lawyer page.
Section 18
Protection orders
A protection order is the core relief. After giving both sides an opportunity to be heard, and on being prima facie satisfied that domestic violence has taken place or is likely, the Magistrate can prohibit the respondent from committing any act of domestic violence, aiding or abetting it, entering the aggrieved person's place of employment or, where the aggrieved person is a child, her school, and communicating with her in any form.
The order can also bar the respondent from alienating assets, operating bank lockers or accounts used by both parties, and causing violence to relatives or others who help the aggrieved person. Protection orders are the relief most often sought on an interim basis. The court will ask for specific incidents, not a general description of a bad marriage.
Sections 17 and 19
Residence orders and the shared household
Section 17 gives every woman in a domestic relationship the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any title to it. Section 19 lets the Magistrate enforce that right: restrain the respondent from dispossessing or disturbing her possession, restrain him from entering the portion she occupies, restrain alienation of the household, or direct him to secure alternative accommodation of the same standard, or to pay the rent for it.
Two limits are worth knowing. First, Section 19(1)(b) lets the Magistrate direct the respondent to remove himself from the shared household, but its proviso bars that direction against any woman. Secondly, the meaning of shared household has been litigated at length. In S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra (2007) the Supreme Court held that a house belonging solely to the mother-in-law, in which the couple had lived, was not the wife's shared household. Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020) overruled that reading and held that the definition in Section 2(s) is wider, and is not confined to property owned or rented by the husband or held by a joint family. The right of residence is not a right of ownership, and an owner such as a parent-in-law may still seek possession through a lawful process.
The Magistrate can also require a bond with or without sureties to prevent further violence, direct the police station to give protection, and, under Section 19(8), direct the return of her stridhan or other property to which she is entitled.
Section 20
Monetary relief
Under Section 20(1) the Magistrate can direct the respondent to pay monetary relief to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the aggrieved person and any child as a result of the violence. This includes loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss from the destruction, damage or removal of property, and maintenance for her and her children. Maintenance under the Act may be granted under or in addition to an order under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now Section 144 of the BNSS) or any other law.
There is no formula. Section 20(2) requires the amount to be adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living the aggrieved person is accustomed to, and the order can be a lump sum or monthly payments. If the respondent does not pay, the Magistrate can direct his employer or a debtor to pay the aggrieved person directly.
In Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) the Supreme Court required both sides to file affidavits disclosing income, assets and liabilities, and to disclose maintenance already ordered in other proceedings, so that the overlapping claims are adjusted rather than added together. Our note on maintenance under Section 144 BNSS covers how courts approach quantum.
Sections 21 and 22
Custody and compensation
Section 21 allows the Magistrate to grant temporary custody of a child to the aggrieved person or the person applying on her behalf, and to specify arrangements for the respondent to visit, or to refuse visits if they would be harmful to the child. These are interim arrangements. A final determination of custody belongs to the family court or guardianship court, which applies the welfare of the child as the test.
Section 22 allows compensation and damages for injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress, in addition to the other reliefs. A claim under Section 22 needs evidence of the injury and its effect, such as medical or counselling records, and is assessed on the facts.
Interim Orders, Enforcement, Appeal
Ex parte orders, breach and challenge
Section 23 allows the Magistrate to pass interim orders as deemed just and proper. Under Section 23(2), where the application prima facie discloses that the respondent is committing, has committed or is likely to commit domestic violence, an ex parte order can be passed on the aggrieved person's affidavit. The respondent is then served and given an opportunity to answer, and a reasoned reply with documents can lead to the order being modified.
A breach of a protection order, or of an interim protection order, is an offence under Section 31, punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to twenty thousand rupees, or both. Under Section 32 it is cognizable and non-bailable.
An order may be altered, modified or revoked under Section 25 on a change of circumstances. A party aggrieved by a Magistrate's order can appeal to the Court of Session within thirty days under Section 29. Relief under the Act is additional to other remedies, and Section 26 allows the same reliefs to be sought in a pending civil or criminal proceeding, including a divorce petition. Where a criminal complaint under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 498A IPC) is also pending, the account given in each forum must be consistent; our 498A lawyer page addresses that side.
For a respondent, the usual questions are whether a domestic relationship and shared household are made out, whether the incidents are specific and supported, and whether the relief claimed is proportionate to the evidence. Delay, inconsistency with an earlier complaint, and omission of earlier settlements are all relevant. Courts treat fabricated allegations seriously, and treat genuine complaints seriously too, so we assess the record before advising either side. If someone is in immediate danger, call 112 first; the Women Helpline is 181.
Questions
Frequently asked
- Five kinds, which may be combined: a protection order under Section 18, a residence order under Section 19, monetary relief under Section 20, a custody order under Section 21 and compensation under Section 22. Section 23 allows interim orders, and an ex parte order where the Magistrate is satisfied on the applicant's affidavit that domestic violence has taken place or is likely.
- Section 17 gives a woman in a domestic relationship the right to reside in the shared household, and Section 19 allows the Magistrate to restrain the respondent from dispossessing her. The right is a right of residence, not of ownership, and it can be affected by lawful eviction in accordance with the procedure established by law. Whether a particular property is a shared household is often the contested point.
- Section 19(1)(b) allows the Magistrate to direct the respondent to remove himself from the shared household, but the proviso says that no such order may be passed against a person who is a woman. A female relative can be a respondent after Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (2016), and other reliefs can lie against her, but she cannot be directed to leave the premises under that clause.
- The Act sets no formula. Section 20(2) requires the relief to be adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living the aggrieved person was accustomed to. Courts look at the parties' incomes and assets, the needs of the woman and children, and any maintenance already ordered elsewhere. Both sides file affidavits of assets and liabilities in the form required by Rajnesh v. Neha (2020).
- Section 20(1)(d) allows maintenance under the DV Act in addition to an order under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, now Section 144 of the BNSS, or any other law. Courts do not allow double recovery, so what has been awarded in one proceeding is taken into account in the other, and the disclosure affidavit must state the orders already passed.
- Yes, for an interim period. Under Section 23(2), where it appears to the Magistrate that the application prima facie discloses that the respondent is committing, has committed or is likely to commit an act of domestic violence, an ex parte order may be passed on the aggrieved person's affidavit. The respondent is then served and heard, and the order can be varied or set aside.
- Breach is an offence under Section 31, punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to twenty thousand rupees, or both. Under Section 32 the offence is cognizable and non-bailable. The aggrieved person can report the breach to the Protection Officer or the police, and the Magistrate may also frame charges under other provisions where they apply.
- Section 29 provides an appeal to the Court of Session within thirty days of the Magistrate's order being served on the aggrieved person or the respondent, whichever is later. A change in circumstances can also be placed before the Magistrate, who may alter, modify or revoke an order under Section 25. We advise on which route suits the facts.