The court emphasized the importance of counselling for violated women, the need for informed consent, and the prohibition of joint counselling in cases of serious physical violence.

Roshan Dalvi, J.

1. The petitioner is a service provider under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) as part of women's study center of the ILS Law College, Pune Maharashtra (Center) where she serves as Professor of Law. The center conducts certain workshops for judicial officers in various Districts of Maharashtra for sensitising judicial officers and other stakeholders under the DV Act like protection officers as also Advocates, academicians and NGOs. The petitioner submitted suggestions for effective implementation of the DV Act which are wholesome and practical and with which none has any complaint.

2. The department of women and child development of the Government of Maharashtra issued a circular on 24th July, 2014 regarding one of the aspects contained in the suggestions of the petitioner viz., counselling / mediation under the DV Act.

3. Whereas the suggestion of the petitioner was that there is a provision of appointment of Counselors whose primary duty is preventing the recurrence of violence against women by using feminist counselling, in practice, cases are referred to Judges called mediation Judges for mediation and the services of Counselors remain underutilised. She would contend that mediation and counselling are not the same in terms of their objectives and procedures. Hence, she has urged that Counselor's service need to be utilised to the fullest extent by the Courts taking up DV cases (DV Courts).

4. She would contend that the impugned circular with regard to counselling / mediation under the DV Act is violative of the Article 14 being discriminatory and Article 21 of the Constitution of India being arbitrary and discriminatory and absolute in nature. She has sought to challenge the circular under her letter directed to the Chief Justice of this Court which has been treated Suomoto as a writ petition and upon which notices have been issued upon the State of Maharashtra representing the Women and Child Department as also the other State Institutions like the police as also various institutions and organizations concerned and connected with the issues that arise under the DV Act.

5. The impugned circular dated 24th July, 2014 directs that only after the case under the DV Act is filed in Court and directions are given by the Court for counselling or mediation that counselling or mediation can be carried out and that outside agencies cannot carry out those activities without the directions of the Court. The impugned circular specifies that those agencies are only allowed to inform the aggrieved woman of her rights, make available medical and shelter home services to her and encourage her to file a case in the Court either by herself or through a protection officer. The circular is stated to have been issued in the interest of women.

6. Indeed the legislation has itself being enacted for not only the protection, but empowerment of women and for preventing violence against her. Specific orders and directions that may be required by her if she is violated can, of course, only be passed by the Courts, more particularly the Magistrate's Courts in which invariably the initial application is made under Section 12 of the DV Act (though an application under the Act can also be made to any other Court such as the Civil Court, or the family Court, if any application or petition is pending in that Court under Section 26 of the D.V. Act).

7. The object behind the circular is required to be considered when applications are made by a woman who is domestically violated and the exercise to counsel her and to mediate between her and her violator (more specifically her husband, but also her family members and her inlaws in several cases) could be undertaken. The spirit of the Act is as much of protecting her as of preventing the violence and empowering her to have access to justice. For protection and prevention of the violence counselling has, by experience, been seen to be an effective antidote.

8.