Domestic Violence — Your Rights Under the PWDVA, 2005

The Act's definition is unusually broad. Section 3 recognises FOUR categories: (1) Physical abuse — any act causing bodily pain, harm, or endangering life, health, or limb (assault, criminal intimidation, criminal force). (2) Sexual abuse — conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades, or otherwise violates the dignity of the woman. (3) Verbal and emotional abuse — insults, ridicule, humiliation (particularly regarding not having a male child), threats to cause physical pain to any person of interest, or repeated threats. (4) Economic abuse — deprivation of financial resources the woman is entitled to, disposal of household necessities, prohibition on use of resources or facilities the woman is entitled to use, disposal or alienation of shared household assets. Notably, "domestic relationship" isn't only marriage — it extends to live-in relationships and to relatives with whom the woman has lived in a shared household.

You have three routes: (1) Directly file an application to the Magistrate under Section 12. (2) File through a Protection Officer appointed by the state government in each district — they will assist with the application, prepare a Domestic Incident Report, and forward it to the Magistrate. (3) File through a police officer, Service Provider (registered NGO), or medical facility. The application must be disposed of by the Magistrate within 60 days from the first hearing (Section 12(5)). The application does not require you to leave the shared household — Section 17 gives you the right to reside in the shared household regardless of ownership.

The Magistrate can pass any combination of five types of orders: (1) Protection Order under Section 18 — restraining the respondent from committing further acts of violence, entering the woman's workplace, contacting her, or alienating shared assets. (2) Residence Order under Section 19 — restraining dispossession from the shared household, or securing alternative accommodation at the respondent's expense. (3) Monetary Relief under Section 20 — for loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss caused by destruction of property, and maintenance for the woman and her children. (4) Custody Order under Section 21 — temporary custody of the children in favour of the aggrieved woman. (5) Compensation Order under Section 22 — for injuries including mental torture and emotional distress.

Yes. The PWDVA is a civil law providing quick, preventive reliefs — it does not bar or replace criminal proceedings. You can simultaneously file: an FIR under Section 85 BNS (formerly IPC 498A) for cruelty by husband or his relatives, complaints under the Dowry Prohibition Act, and criminal proceedings for specific offences (hurt, criminal intimidation, etc.). Section 26 of the PWDVA explicitly allows the civil reliefs (protection order, residence order, monetary relief) to also be sought in ongoing legal proceedings before civil courts, family courts, and even criminal courts — you don't have to file a separate application in every forum.

Breach of any protection order or interim protection order passed under the PWDVA is a criminal offence under Section 31 — cognisable and non-bailable, punishable with imprisonment up to one year or fine up to Rs. 20,000 or both. This is one of the few civil orders in Indian law whose breach directly triggers criminal liability. If the respondent violates a protection order (say, contacts you or enters your workplace), you can file an FIR at the police station or a fresh application to the Magistrate — either route works. Enforcement is often faster through the Magistrate who passed the original order.