IMPORTANT POINT
Domestic violence is an amalgamation of criminal offence and civil wrong – Inherent powers of High Court under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. would be available for redressal of grievances of party arising from orders passed in a proceedings under Sections 12, 18 to 23 and 31 of DVC Act, 2005.

ORDER

These Criminal Petitions, under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘CrPC’), are filed by the respective petitioners to quash the proceedings initiated against them by the respective respondents under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short, ‘the DVC Act, 2005’). Since the issue involved in all the Criminal Petitions is one and the same, they are being disposed of, by way of this common order.

2. The question that crops up for consideration before this Court in these Criminal Petitions is –”as the remedies that are available under the provisions of the DVC Act, 2005 are civil in nature and as the proceedings under Section 28 (1) of the DVC Act, 2005 are governed by CrPC, whether the proceedings under Section 482 CrPC are maintainable or not in respect of the said proceedings?”

3. The DVC Act, 2005 was enacted to protect women from being victims of domestic violence and to prevent occurrence of domestic violence in the society. The main object of the Act is to protect women from all sorts of discrimination. The Legislation has been enacted to render justice to women who suffered domestic violence. “Domestic violence” constitutes both civil and criminal act perpetrated upon a woman in domestic relationship with husband or any of the relatives of husband. It is pertinent to mention here that the victim woman can be referred to, as an ‘aggrieved person’. Under Section 2(g) of the Act, the word ‘domestic violence’ has the same meaning as assigned to it under Section 3 of the Act. Section 3 of the Act reads thus:—

“Definition of domestic violence:- For the purposes of this Act, any at, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it-

(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or

(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or

(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or

(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.”

Though ‘violence’ has not been defined under the Act, according to the Black’s Law Dictionary, ‘violence’ means ‘unjust or unwarranted exercise of force, usually with the accompaniment or vehemence, outrage or fury’. Explanation I to Section 3 of the Act defines ‘physical abuse’, ‘sexual abuse’, ‘verbal and emotional abuse’ and ‘economic abuse’. It is pertinent to mention here that physical abuse would also include physical harm and injury caused in the process. ‘Injury’ has not been defined under the Act. Section 44 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, ‘IPC’) defines injury. According to said Section, the word ‘injury’ denotes any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind, reputation or property.

4. Domestic violence is an amalgamation of criminal offence and civil wrong. A woman may be subjected to sexual abuse, cruelty or criminal offence under the provisions of the IPC, at the same time, she may be denied of residential rights and shared household, monetary reliefs and custody of children.

5. Section 28 of the Act provides the procedure to be followed in the proceedings under Sections 12, 18 to 23 and the offences under Section 31 of the Act. The said Section reads thus:

“Procedure:-

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, all proceedings under Sections 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 and offences under Section 31 shall be governed by the provisions of the Code or Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall prevent th