Kamatchi vs Lakshmi Narayanan

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

13 April 2022

Case No.

Criminal Appeal No. 627 of 2022

Result

Allowed

Bench

Uday Umesh Lalit, Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

Citation

[2022] 5 S.C.R. 629 : 2022 INSC 422

Headnote

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 – ss.12 and 31 – Proceedings arising out of application of appellant-wife u/s.12 of the Act in the year 2018 seeking protection in terms of ss.17 and 18 of the Act – Petition of respondent-husband u/s.482 CrPC – High Court quashed the proceedings on ground of limitation holding that ss.28 and 32 of the Domestic Violence Act r/w r.15(6) of the Domestic Violence Rules, made the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code applicable and therefore, appellant ought to have filed application u/s.12 of the Act within period of one year from date of the incident and since appellant had left the matrimonial home in the year 2008, the application was abuse of process of the court – Whether the application preferred u/s.12 of the Act was rightly considered by the High Court for reckoning the period of limitation – Held: The provisions of the Act contemplate filing of an application u/s.12 to initiate the proceedings before the concerned Magistrate – After hearing both sides and after taking into account the material on record, the Magistrate may pass an appropriate order u/s.12 of the Act – It is only the breach of such order which constitutes an offence as is clear from s.31 of the Act – Thus, if there be any offence committed in terms of the provisions of the Act, the limitation prescribed u/s.468 CrPC will apply from the date of commission of such offence – By the time an application is preferred under s.12 of the Act, there is no offence committed in terms of the provisions of the Act and as such there would never be a starting point for limitation from the date of application u/s.12 of the Act – Such a starting point for limitation would arise only and only after there is a breach of an order passed u/s.12 of the Act – On facts, the High Court wrongly equated filing of an application u/s.12 of the Act to lodging of a complaint or initiation of prosecution – The High Court was in error in observing that the application u/s.12 of the Act ought to have been filed within a period of one year of the alleged acts of domestic violence – Respondent-husband to file his response before the Magistrate within two weeks and the matter be thereafter considered by the Magistrate in terms of the provisions of the Act – Limitation – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – ss. 468, 482 – Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules 2006. Inderjit Singh Grewal v. State of Punjab and

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by UDAY UMESH LALIT, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. This appeal challenges the final judgment and order dated 16.03.2020 passed by the High Court1 in Crl. O.P. No. 28924 of 2018. 3. The present proceedings arise out of an application preferred by the appellant under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’), which was numbered as D.V.C. No.21 of 2018 in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Ambattur, Chennai. The application was filed seeking appropriate protection in terms of Sections 17 and 1

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