Domestic Violence: Wife living separately cannot file case against parents-in law

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Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that if wife and husband laves the share households to establish their own household, the domestic relationship comes to an end in respect of parents and therefore complaint under DV Act cannot be maintained against them.

Domestic Dispute

A bench of Justice Awasthi has passed the order in the case titled as Kuldeep Singh Vs. Rekha on 18.06.2019.

After the marriage, the wife came to her matrimonial house situated at Gwalior and resided with the family members of her husband. It is stated that in the year 2011 her husband got job at Tresure Island, Indore and in the year 2012 her husband shifted Delhi and they started living there. When they were living at Indore and Delhi, applicant No.2 and 3 came there and demanded Rs.22,000,00/- and harassed her. It is alleged that the applicant No.2 and 3 used to visit at Indore and Delhi and they reiterated the respondent No.1 with regard to dowry. Wife filed a complaint under Domestic Violence Act against several persons including her husband and his mother & father.

When the matter reached the High Court, it observed “The aforesaid documents clearly established that after sometime of the marriage, respondent No.1 and her husband moved out joint family and established their own households at Indore and Delhi”.

It further observed “In this regard the provision of Domestic Violence Act is to be taken into account. Under the Domestic Violence Act the first per-condition is that the applicant must be an aggrieved person is a person defined in Section 2(a) of the Act. The domestic relationship must be there between the aggrieved person and respondent to invoke Domestic Violence Act”.

Finally the High Court quashed the case against parents-in-law by saying “This Court has carefully gone through the complaint preferred under Section 12 of the DV Act, and in the considered opinion of this Court, that in the present case, after sometime of the marriage the respondent gone with her husband leaves the share households to establish their own households at Indore and Delhi, and as a result domestic relationship comes to an end, therefore proceedings based upon the complaint initiated in the matter pending before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class- Indore is not maintainable against the applicant No.2 to 8 and deserves to be quashed”.