Source: Allahabad High Court  

Why in News? 

Recently, the bench of Justice Arun Kumar Deshwal has held that in many domestic violence cases, relatives who never lived in the shared household are falsely implicated to harass the husband's family 

• The Allahabad High Court held this in the matter of Krishnawati Devi And 06 Others v. State of U.P. and Another (2025). 
• It observed that courts must verify whether the accused ever resided with the aggrieved party before issuing notices under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act. 

What was the Background of Krishnawati Devi And 06 Others v. State of U.P. and Another? 

• The case involves a matrimonial dispute between Rajiv Kumar Srivastava (applicant no. 7) and Smrita Srivastava (opposite party no. 2), who were married on 2nd June, 2011. 
• Following matrimonial discord, Smrita Srivastava filed a complaint (Case No. 59 of 2016) under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. 
• The complaint named seven respondents - the husband, his mother (applicant no. 1), four married sisters of the husband (applicant nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5), and the husband of one of the sisters (applicant no. 6). 
• The applicants filed an application under Section 482 CrPC seeking to quash the entire proceedings in the domestic violence case. 
• Applicant nos. 2 to 6 contended that they resided separately at different locations and had never shared a household with the complainant. 
• The complainant alleged harassment for dowry demands and threats of eviction from the shared household, particularly against the mother-in-law (applicant no. 1). 
• The application had previously been rejected for applicant no. 7 (husband) through an order dated 16.04.2019. 
• The case was pending before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonbhadra. 

What were the Court’s Observations? 

• The court observed that domestic relationship under Section 2(f) of the Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) requires parties to live or have lived together in a shared household, being related by consanguinity, marriage, adoption, or as family members of a joint family. 
• Referring to the Supreme Court's decision in Hiral P. Harsora and Others Vs. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora and Others, (2016) the court noted that while the term "respondent" is gender-neutral, the requirement of shared household remains crucial. 
• The court observed a concerning pattern where aggrieved parties implicate relatives merely to harass the husband's family, even when such relatives never shared a household with the complainant. 
• The court established that for liability under Section 3 of the DV Act, the respondent must both be related to the aggrieved person as per Section 2(f) and have lived together in a shared household. 
• The court directed that lower courts must verify these conditions from the application, Protection Officer's report, and available records before issuing notices under Section 12 of the DV Act. 
• The court states that mere relation by marriage or blood is insufficient; actual shared living arrangements must be established for maintaining proceedings under the DV Act. 

What is Section2 (f) of DV Act? 

• A domestic relationship exists when two individuals have shared living arrangements (either currently or at any point in the past) in the same household, AND they must be connected in one of these ways: blood relation (consanguinity), marriage, marriage-like relationship, adoption, or as members of a joint family. 
• This means that merely being relatives is not enough - there must be proof of shared living arrangements, either present or past, to establish a domestic relationship under the law. For instance, a sister-in-law who has never lived in the same household as the complainant would not qualify as having a domestic relationship despite being related by marriage. 

What is Section 3 of DV Act? 

• Domestic violence occurs when a respondent's acts, omissions, or conduct:
  • Harms or endangers the physical or mental well-being of the aggrieved person 
  • Involves physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or economic abuse 
  • Harasses or endangers to extract dowry or property demands 
  • Creates threatening situations for the aggrieved person or related persons 
  • Causes any physical or mental harm to the aggrieved person 
• Physical abuse encompasses:  
  • Acts causing bodily pain or harm 
  • Conduct endangering life, limb, or health 
  • Actions impairing health or development 
  • Assault, criminal intimidation, and criminal force 
• Sexual abuse covers any conduct that:  
  • Is sexual in nature 
  • Abuses or humiliates 
  • Degrades or violates a woman's dignity 
• Verbal and emotional abuse includes:  
  • Insults, ridicule, and humiliation 
  • Name-calling, especially regarding childlessness or not having a male child 
  • Repeated threats of physical harm to persons of interest to the aggrieved 
• Economic abuse encompasses:  
  • Deprivation of financial resources legally entitled to the aggrieved 
  • Denial of household necessities, stridhan, or jointly owned property 
  • Disposal of household effects or alienation of assets 
  • Restriction of access to shared household or facilities 
• The determination of domestic violence requires:  
  • Consideration of overall facts and circumstances 
  • Evaluation of the cumulative effect of acts, omissions, or conduct 
  • Assessment of impact on the aggrieved person's well-being 
• Protection extends beyond direct abuse to include:  
  • Threats to related persons 
  • Coercive behavior for unlawful demands 
  • Interference with property rights and access to resources 
  • Restriction of legally entitled maintenance and financial support 

What is Section 12 of DV Act? 

• An application seeking relief under the Act can be filed by:  
  • The aggrieved person directly 
  • A Protection Officer 
  • Any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person And the Magistrate must consider any domestic incident report from the Protection Officer or service provider before passing orders. 
• The applicant can seek compensation/damages without prejudicing the right to file a separate civil suit, with a provision for set-off between amounts awarded under different proceedings to avoid double compensation. 
• The application must follow the prescribed format and contain the required particulars as specified under the Act, ensuring proper documentation of the complaint. 
• The Act mandates specific timelines:  
  • First hearing must be scheduled within three days of receiving the application 
  • The Magistrate should strive to dispose of the application within sixty days from the first hearing. 
    • This ensures speedy resolution of domestic violence cases.