Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

The appellant, Sandhya Manoj Wankhade, filed a complaint under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 against her husband and his mother‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law. The trial court and the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court deleted the mother‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law from the proceedings on the groun…

The appellant, Santosh Bakshi, filed a complaint under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 against her in‑laws alleging dowry harassment. After a compromise was reached, her brother‑in‑law filed an affidavit claiming the complaint was false and sought action under Section 182 of the Indian Penal Co…

Manish Jain filed for divorce against his wife Akanksha Jain, who subsequently sought interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, claiming she had no independent income. The trial court dismissed her application, but the Delhi High Court later ordered the husband to pay Rs.60,000 per month in additi…

The parties, married in 2009, have been living apart since 2016, with the mother, Mrs. Ritika Sharan, caring for their son Sattik while employed in Singapore. The father, Mr. Sujoy Ghosh, obtained interim orders from the Family Court restraining the mother from taking the child out of Bengaluru and granting him visitat…

The petitioner, a Spanish citizen, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a habeas corpus order for custody of his two minor children who were residing with their mother (respondent No.6) in Kolkata. The petitioner had already instituted a petition under Section 12 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, for cust…

The Supreme Court examined a criminal appeal challenging the summoning of the husband’s relatives under Section 498A of the IPC in a dowry‑harassment case. It observed that a large number of 498A cases are filed in the heat of the moment, often without bona‑fide evidence, leading to uncalled‑for arrests and hardship to…

Aishwarya Atul Pusalkar, the wife of respondent No.8, sought a writ directing the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to re‑house her in two flats (Nos. 601 & 602) of the redeveloped building, which she claimed as her matrimonial home. The High Court dismissed the writ, holding that the matter wa…

The appellant, an unmarried woman, lived with the respondent, a married man, for about 14 years and claimed that his failure to maintain her constituted domestic violence under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The respondent argued that their relationship was a mere live‑in arrangement, not a "…

Saraswathy, married to Babu in 2000, was subjected to dowry demands and was thrown out of the matrimonial home. She filed a petition under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking protection, residence and maintenance orders. Although the trial magistrate granted these orders, Babu repeatedly re…

The husband and wife obtained a decree of divorce by mutual consent in 2008. The wife later filed a criminal complaint under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 alleging the divorce decree was a sham and that they continued to live together. The husband moved the trial magistrate under Section 482 …

The wife filed an application under Sections 12, 18‑22 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking maintenance for herself and her children, alleging mental and physical abuse, the husband’s second marriage and failure to pay alimony after a dismissed divorce petition. The Sessions Court dismiss…

The marriage between the respondent and appellant No.14 was solemnised in Rajasthan, after which the couple lived in Chennai. In 2014 the respondent travelled to Bengaluru for her sister's wedding and subsequently refused to return to the matrimonial home, alleging domestic violence by her husband, his parents, and sev…

The appellant, D. Velusamy, filed an appeal against a family court and High Court order that granted maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC to the respondent, D. Patchaiammal, on the basis that she was his wife. The appellant contended that he was already lawfully married to another woman, Lakshmi, in 1980, and that…

The appellant, a wife, filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking seizure of her stridhan held by her husband after they were judicially separated. The trial court, Sessions Court and High Court dismissed the application on the grounds that she was no longe…

The father of 19‑year‑old Thushara filed a habeas‑corpus petition alleging that his daughter was being held in illegal custody by her husband, Nandakumar, who was allegedly under the marriageable age of 21 at the time of their ceremony. The Kerala High Court held that the marriage was not legally valid because the groo…

The appellants were charged under Sections 306 and 34 IPC for allegedly abetting the suicide of their daughter-in-law, who had committed suicide on 20 March 2015 after a family dispute and a court‑ordered mahalokadalat. The prosecution’s case hinged on the claim that the appellants' words at the mahalokadalat on 17 Feb…

Krishnaveni Rai, the appellant, obtained a decree of divorce from her first husband in 2005 and filed an appeal against that decree almost a year after the limitation period, which was later condoned. While the appeal was pending, she married Pankaj Rai in December 2014. The respondent sought a declaration that this se…

The appellant, Juveria Abdul Majid Patni, married Atif Iqbal Mansoori under Muslim rites in 2005 and alleged physical abuse and cruelty, leading her to file an FIR under Sections 498A and 406 IPC in 2007. She obtained an ex parte Khula (divorce) from a Mufti on 9 May 2008, which the respondent contested in family court…

Meena Chaudhary, married in 1973, claimed that her husband (Respondent No.4) deserted her in 1989 and that subsequent divorce decrees from Bhutan, England and Jorhat were invalid. She filed a suit under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking protection, residence, monetary relief and compensat…

The appellants, relatives of the respondent Vidhi Rawal, sought to quash a domestic‑violence application filed by the respondent under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, by invoking the High Court's inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (and Se…

The appellant, a mother‑in‑law, sought anticipatory bail after an FIR was lodged under Section 498A IPC and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 alleging that her son had pronounced triple talaq on his wife. The Kerala High Court denied the bail application, prompting an appeal to the Supreme C…

The appellant, Smt. S. Vanitha, sought to remain in a house that she claimed was her matrimonial home and a "shared household" under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDV Act). Her parents‑in‑law, invoking the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (Senior Citizens Act…

Satish Chander Ahuja, the father‑in‑law, owned a house in New Delhi and sued his daughter‑in‑law Sneha Ahuja for mandatory and permanent injunction to remove her from the first floor. Sneha had earlier filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, obtaining an interi…

The appellant-wife filed criminal and civil proceedings alleging cruelty, hurt and dowry demands by her husband, leading to multiple interim maintenance orders. After nine years of separation, failed reconciliations and pending litigations, the parties mutually agreed that the marriage was irretrievably broken. The Sup…

The case involved a matrimonial dispute between Depti Bhandari and Nitin Bhandari, centering on visitation rights to their minor daughter after the mother shifted residence from Jaipur to Delhi. The father had been granted visitation rights in Jaipur, but the mother sought to modify the order to allow visitation in Del…

The appellant, Manmohan Attavar, contested an ex‑parte interim order of the Karnataka High Court that allowed the respondent, Neelam Manmohan Attavar, to occupy his Bengaluru premises under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The respondent claimed to be the appellant’s wife/companion and sought a…

The husband and wife, married in 2000, lived separately from 2022 and entered into a mediated Settlement Agreement in May 2024 that provided for a mutual‑consent divorce, payment of Rs 75 lakh, a car purchase, jewellery hand‑over and other financial transfers. The first motion for divorce was granted after the husband …

The appellant, a wife, filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in 2018 seeking protection under Sections 17 and 18. The respondent husband filed a petition under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash the proceedings, arguing that the application was barred by limitat…

The husband filed a writ petition challenging the interim maintenance granted to his wife under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, alleging that she was already married to another man, as evidenced by a marriage certificate under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The trial court rejec…

The parties were married in 1996 and later lived separately, with the husband filing for divorce on grounds of cruelty in 2009. The Family Court granted the divorce in 2019, which the High Court affirmed in 2023. The wife appealed, seeking a payment of Rs.10,00,000 towards their daughter's marriage expenses, alleging t…

The appellant, a widow, alleged that after her husband's death she was harassed by her in‑laws and denied her stridhana, prompting her to file an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking protection, residence and compensation orders. The trial magistrate granted p…

The husband, Ajay Kumar, filed a habeas corpus petition before the Allahabad High Court alleging that his wife, Rashmi, was illegally detaining their minor son. In reality, the child had been living with the mother in Maharashtra since birth. The husband had earlier filed a criminal application in the Bombay High Court…

The appellant, a wife, obtained a maintenance order of Rs.12,000 per month and Rs.1,00,000 compensation under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in 2015. The respondent husband later filed an application under Section 25 seeking to set aside that order and to recover all maintenance …

The appellant, a Muslim husband, obtained a triple talaq and was ordered by the Family Court to pay interim maintenance of Rs.20,000 per month to his divorced wife, which the High Court reduced to Rs.10,000. He appealed, arguing that Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) does not apply to Muslim women af…

The husband appealed against an interim order of the Family Court that, under Section 19(1)(b) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, directed him to vacate the shared matrimonial house pending a divorce petition on grounds of cruelty. The wife alleged mental and physical cruelty and sought a mand…

The father‑in‑law filed a suit in the Judge, Small Causes Court seeking possession of a flat, claiming he was the licensor and the daughter‑in‑law a gratuitous licensee. The daughter‑in‑law filed a counter‑claim for a residence order under Section 19 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The issu…

The husband, Swapnil, filed an application for restitution of conjugal rights, but his wife left the matrimonial home in April 2011 and later lodged two police complaints alleging dowry demands and threats to kill. A First Class Judicial Magistrate framed charges under IPC sections 498A and 506 Part II and under Sectio…

Rupali Devi left her matrimonial home after enduring cruelty by her husband and his relatives and sought refuge at her parental home. She filed a complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code alleging cruelty. The central issue was whether the courts at the location of the parental home have jurisdiction to ent…

The case concerned the guardianship of two minor children of Colonel Ramneesh Pal Singh and Sugandhi Aggarwal. The Family Court had awarded permanent custody to the father with visitation rights to the mother, but the Delhi High Court set aside that order and ordered shared custody. The Supreme Court examined the welfa…

The first respondent, a widow, filed a petition under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking interim maintenance for herself and her minor child after being denied residence in the ancestral joint family house where she had lived with her husband. The trial court directed the app…

The appellant, Chanmuniya, claimed that after the death of her first husband she was married to her brother‑in‑law according to Kushwaha customs, with Katha and Sindur, and lived with him as husband and wife. The husband later deserted and stopped maintenance, prompting her to file a petition under Section 125 of the C…

The petition arose from a dispute between V.D. Bhanot and his wife Savita Bhanot concerning relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The wife filed a petition under Section 12 seeking residence and maintenance after being evicted from the matrimonial home, and the magistrate granted interi…

The Supreme Court examined the definition of "respondent" in Section 2(q) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which limited it to an "adult male person". The Court held that this restriction bore no rational relation to the Act's purpose of protecting women from all forms of domestic violence a…

The complainant alleged dowry demands, mental and physical harassment by her husband and in‑laws, and implicated the appellant Geddam Jhansi (her mother‑in‑law’s sister) and her son Geddam Sathyakama Jabali as pressurising her to obey her husband’s wishes. The High Court declined to quash criminal proceedings under Sec…

The husband appealed against a Family Court order granting interim maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month to his wife and Rs 10,000 per month to his son under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C., which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' orders, directed the husband to pay the full arre…

The wife filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking maintenance, and a Metropolitan Magistrate granted interim maintenance of Rs.2,50,000 per month. The husband failed to comply, leading to execution proceedings and an appeal before the Additional Sessions …

The appellant, Achin Gupta, was the sole accused in a chargesheet under IPC sections 323, 406, 498A and 506 arising from an FIR filed by his wife alleging dowry demands and cruelty. The FIR was lodged in April 2021, more than two years after the husband had filed a divorce petition and after the wife’s mother filed a d…

The Constitution Bench examined the scope of Article 142(1) of the Constitution, holding that the Supreme Court may depart from statutory procedure and even substantive law to achieve "complete justice" provided the exercise is guided by fundamental public policy. It ruled that, in cases of settlement between parties, …

The appellant and respondent were married in 1998 and later lived separately, leading the husband to file a suit for dissolution of marriage which was dismissed by the trial, district and high courts. While the appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, the parties reached an amicable settlement through mediation, ag…