HC: Cases against visiting relatives are not tenable

MUMBAI :The Bombay high court (HC) has held that domestic violence cases filed against relatives who do not live in the married couple’s household but regularly visit them are not tenable.

Using provisions under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act, 2005, justice Bharati Dangre struck down proceedings against an elderly couple from New Panvel, against whom a relative had filed a complaint.

The complainant, a 31-year-old woman who lives in Belapur, is the wife of the woman’s nephew. In 2013, the complainant had approached a magistrate court at Panvel claiming she was mentally and physically harassed by her husband and his relatives (the couple) at her matrimonial house for not paying dowry.

In the complaint, the woman said the elderly couple – a 67-yearold man and his 59-year-old wife — who lived in her neighbourhood used to instigate her husband (about dowry), who in turn harassed her.

After the judicial magistrate at Panvel summoned them, the couple pleaded that their names be dropped from proceedings because the complaint against them was not maintainable. On March 24, 2014, the magistrate rejected their plea, leading them to move the HC.

Justice Dangre accepted their contention that proceedings against them were not maintainable since they never resided with the complainant or shared the matrimonial home.

The judge also took into consideration the fact that the allegations levelled against the couple were vague in nature and proceedings against them were liable to be struck down. The judge said she was bound to exercise the power conferred by section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code when she notices abuse of the process of law.