In these petitions, the order passed by the Trial Court so also the Appellate Court in respect of proceedings under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (‘the Act’ for short) are under challenge.

2. The husband/revision petitioner of Crl.R.P.No.195/2007 is challenging the very maintainability of the petition under the Act and is also aggrieved by the quantum of maintenance and compensation awarded in favour of the wife/revision petitioner of Crl.R.P.No.539/2017, whereas the wife is challenging the very same order of the lower appellate court whereby the amount of maintenance and compensation ordered in her favour by the trial court is reduced.

3. Succinctly stated, the wife filed a petition under Section 12 of the Act for various reliefs. Her case was, she was ill-treated by her husband, was pestered to get money from her parents, neglected without maintenance, coerced for a divorce and threatened of dire consequence. The husband had extra-marital relationship with one Basamma. He works as a Revenue Inspector; he has monthly income of Rs.30,000/- and also has income from his family property. She has no source of income for maintaining herself; her daughter and son-in-law are assisting her and she requires Rs.15,000/- for subsistence.

4. The husband contested the petition, denied the petition allegations and contended that voluntarily she is residing at her daughter’s house at Bangalore.

5. The parties entered into trial examined themselves as PW-1 and RW-1 respectively, documents Ex.P1 to P6 were marked for the wife and two documents Exs.R1 and R2 are examined on behalf of the husband.

6. On an overall consideration of the matter, the learned Magistrate allowed the petition and ordered maintenance in favour of the wife at Rs.10,000/- per month during her life time or until she re-marries and Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation for the psychological, emotional and economic violence suffered by her. The husband was also directed to set up a separate residence for her and pay litigation expenses of Rs.1,000/-.

7. In appeal by the husband, the lower appellate court modified the order of the Magistrate. The maintenance amount was reduced from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.5,000/- per month and the compensation amount was reduced by Rs.50,000/-.

8. Sri. S.T. Bikkannavar, learned Counsel for the petitioner/husband submits that, the Magistrate passed the order under Section 12 of the Act without calling for the report of protection officer or the service provider as provided in proviso to Section 12 of the Act. The appellate Court ought to have remanded the matter to follow the mandatory provision. The wife had failed to establish that she shares the common house with the husband. On that ground itself, her petition is not maintainable as per the provision of Section 2(a) & (f) of the Act. There is no cause of action to file the petition since there was no harassment/ill treatment or “domestic violence” as defined under Section 3 of the Act. The wife after the marriage had stayed only for 5-6 months in the matrimonial home. Thereafter she voluntarily left the husband and started residing with her parents. She was a privy to the second marriage of the husband and had consented for the same. After waiting for 8 years, he married the second wife with her consent. For 30 years, she had no grievance about his second marriage. The petition filed after 30 years is barred by limitation. It is he, who brought up his daughter and got her married; from the second marriage, he has children to be maintained. His pension amount is only Rs.6,104/- per month. The courts below ought to have rejected her petition.

9. In reply, Sri. Jagdish Shastri, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner of Crl. R.P. No. 539 of 2017 wife submits that the husband is getting pension at Rs.9,400/- per month and he received his pension benefits of Rs.16,23,434/- but the lower appellate court did not consider the other source of his income, with