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Domestic Violence.



The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

  • An act to provide for more effective protection of the rights of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any thing occurring within the family and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Definition :

    Section 3, “The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005″.

    For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it-

    (a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or

    (b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or

    (c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or

    (d) Otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.

    Explanation I.-For the purpose of this section,-

    (i) "Physical abuse” means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force;

    (ii) "Sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman;

    (iii) "verbal and emotional abuse” includes-

    (a) Insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child; and

    (b) Repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested.

    (iv) “economic abuse” includes-

    (a) Deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, household necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared household and maintenance;

    (b) Disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person; and

    (c) Prohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship including access to the shared household.

Explanation II.-For the purpose of determining whether any act, omission, commission or conduct of the respondent constitutes “Domestic Violence” under this section, the overall facts and circumstances of the case shall be taken into consideration.

Punishment :

  • Penalty for giving or taking of dowry. (Section 3, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961).

(1) If any person, after the commencement of this Act, gives or takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and with the fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry, whichever is more:

Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be recorded in the judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than five years.

(2)Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to or, in relation to,-

Presents which are given at the time of a marriage to the bride (without any demand having been made in that behalf):

Provided that such presents are entered in list maintained in accordance with rule made under this Act;

Presents which are given at the time of marriage to the bridegroom (without any demand having been made in that behalf):

Provided that such presents are entered in a list maintained in accordance with rules made under this Act;

Provided further that where such presents are made by or on behalf of the bride or any person related to the bride, such presents are of a customary nature and the value thereof is not excessive having regard to the financial status of the person by whom, or on whose behalf, such presents are given.

  • Penalty for demanding dowry. (Section 4, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961).

If any person demands directly or indirectly, from the parents or other relatives or guardian of a bride or bridegroom as the case may be, any dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees:

Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months.

  • Ban on advertisement. (Section 4A, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961).

If any person-

(a) Offers, through any advertisement in any newspaper, periodical, journal or through any other media any share in his property or of any money or both as a share in any business or other interest as consideration for the marriage of his son or daughter or any other relative,

(b) Prints or publishes or circulates any advertisement referred to Cl.(a), he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months, but which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to fifteen thousand rupees:

Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be recorded in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months.

  • Dowry Death. (Section 304B, The Indian Penal Code 1860 ).

(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with any demand for dowry, such death shall be called “Dowry Death”, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.

(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.

  • Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. (Section 498A, The Indian Penal Code 1860 ).

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Declaration of the NGOs as Service Provider for Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence under PEDV Act 2005.

Preventive Measures :

In order to sensitize the Police Officers at the ground level to prevent offences against women, CID, Crime Branch compiled a Compendium on Crime against Women. The Compendium contains the following: