A.K. SIKRI, J.

1. The petitioner herein is the mother-in-law of the respondent No.4. The respondent No.4 has instituted proceedings in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate (Mahila Court South), New Delhi under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as ‘DV Act’). In this application, the respondent No.4 has impleaded her husband as respondent No.1 and one Rakesh Dhawan as respondent No.3. Her mother-in-law has been arrayed as the respondent No.2 (the petitioner herein). Allegations of domestic violence perpetrated by her husband and mother-in-law are levelled on the basis of which the respondent No.4 has sought protection order under Section 18, Residence Order under Section 19 and Monetary Relief under Section 20 as well as Compensation Order under Section 22 of the DV Act.

2. Notice in this Application filed by the respondent No.4 has been issued by the Mahila Court to all the respondents and the petitioner has also received the said notice in her capacity as respondent No.2/mother-in-law. On receipt of this notice, she has rushed to this Court by means of the present writ petition, as her contention is that being a lady, she cannot be impleaded as the respondent in the said proceedings. Her submission flows from Section 2(q) of the DV Act, which defines ‘respondent’. Contention is that the said definition includes only ‘adult male person’. It is also the case of the petitioner that in case proviso to Section 2 (q) is interpreted including ‘female’ also as the respondent, then such a provision is ultra vires the Constitution of India. We may add at this stage itself that though the prayer clause in the writ petition contains challenge to the vires of Section 2(q) of the DV Act as well, at the time of hearing, no arguments were advanced thereon.

3. Section 2 (q) of the DV Act reads as under:

"2(q) "respondent" means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under this Act:

Provided that an aggrieved wife or female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may also file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner."

4. In nutshell, the submission is that the main provision of Section 2 (q), which defines ‘respondent’, specifically states that it would mean any ‘adult male person’. However, proviso to this provision which carves out specific category of ‘aggrieved person’ viz. a wife or a female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage, it stipulates that complaint by such aggrieved wife or female can file a complaint against ‘a relative of the husband or the male partner’ as well. It is argued that the expression ‘a relative’ would be circumscribed by adult male person and therefore, such a relative as mentioned in the proviso could only be an adult male person and would not include a female relative.

5. The argument is premised on the following:

(a) The preamble as well as object and reasons of the DV Act clearly demonstrates that the DV Act is passed to give redressal to females who suffer domestic violence at the hands of male persons. It is, thus, gender based violence, which is the focus of the DV Act. When purpose is to redress this gender based violence, the respondent, by necessary implication, can only be a male person, who subjects a woman to domestic violence. The learned counsel highlighted in this behalf that violence constitutes a major form and process of oppression of women. An understanding of gender reality over the years reveals how violence has always been used as a means to subjugate women and keep them in a position of subordination. Gender based violence may take many different forms and there may be distinctive patterns or manifestations of gender violence associated with particular communities, cultures or regions and historical epochs. Gender violence is present in all societies;