Section 468 Cr.P.C. applies only to proceedings where the court takes cognizance of an offence beyond the limitation period, and the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act do not prescribe any offence except for breach of a protection order under Section 31 of the Act.

1. - The instant misc. petition has been filed by the petitioner Rakesh challenging the order dated 14.8.2012 passed by the learned Magistrate, Gram Nyayalaya, Mandore in Cr. Misc. Case No. 96/2012 whereby the learned Magistrate rejected the application filed by the petitioner under Section 468 Cr.P.C. for dropping the proceedings registered on the complaint filed by the respondent No. 2 under the provisions of Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

2. Briefly stated, the facts necessary for the disposal of this miscellaneous petition are noted herein below:

3. The respondent No. 2 Smt. Usha filed a complaint against the petitioner in the trial Court under the provisions of the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 on 2.4.2009. She alleged in the complaint that her marriage was solemnized with the petitioner on 8.3.2007. She was subjected to cruelty and was turned out of the matrimonial home on 17.9.2007. She filed the complaint in the trial Court alleging the commission of domestic violence with her. The trial Court issued notice to the petitioner.

4. The petitioner appeared in the trial Court and filed an application under Section 468 Cr.P.C. seeking dropping of the proceedings of the complaint as being barred by limitation. The said application came to be rejected by the trial Court by its order dated 14.8.2012 and hence, the instant miscellaneous petition.

5. The petition was pending on the defect side and the learned counsel for the petitioner has not removed the defects despite the lapse of nearly nine months since the petition was filed before this Court.

6. I have hear learned counsel for the petitioner on merits and perused the order impugned.

7. Learned counsel for the petitioner places reliance on the decision rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Inderjit Singh Grewal v. State of Punjab & Anr., reported in 2012 Cr.L.R. (SC) 16 and contends that a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 cannot be entertained beyond a period of one year from the date of incident of domestic violence. He urged that in the instant case, the complaint was admittedly filed after a lapse of more than one and a half year from the date on which the complainant claims to have been turned out of matrimonial home and thus, the proceedings of the complaint deserve to be quashed as being barred by limitation.

8. Learned counsel urged that the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Inderjit Singh Grewal has in unequivocal terms held that the provisions of Section 468 Cr.P.C. apply to the proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act. It is thus urged that since the complaint was filed before the trial Court beyond the period of one year from the accrual of cause of action, as such it is barred by limitation.

9. This Court is primarily required to consider whether or not the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Inderjit Singh Grewal (supra) which is relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner to buttress his contention regarding the proceedings of the complaint being barred by limitation applies to the case at hand? The Hon'ble Apex Court whilst considering Inderjit Singh's case was seized of a situation where the marriage of the spouses was dissolved by a decree of mutual consent passed by the competent civil Court. The wife thereafter initiated proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act seeking to have the decree passed by the Civil Court set at naught on the ground of fraud. In those circumstances, the Hon'ble Apex Court observed that proceedings of a criminal complaint under the provisions of Domestic Violence Act could not be resorted to for setting at naught the decree passed by civil Court. The relevant portion of the judgment in Inderjit Singh Graval's case are reproduced hereunder:

"2. The instant appeal reveals a very sorry state of affair where the wife files a criminal complaint before the competent Court to initiate criminal proceedings against her husband alleging that