Point of Law : Domestic relationship means a relationship between two persons who live or have at any point of time, lived together in a shared household.

JUDGMENT :

Satyen Vaidya, J.

Petitioners have invoked inherent powers of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and have prayed for setting-aside of the judgment of learned Additional Sessions Judge-II, Kangra at Dharamshala, H.P., Camp at Dehra, District Kangra, H.P., passed on 07.06.2022 in Criminal R.B.T. Appeal No. 15-G/X/21/18, titled Hoshiar Singh and other Vs. Sarla Devi.

2. Respondent herein is the wife of petitioner No.1. Their marriage was solemnised in the year 1991. Out of the wedlock of petitioner No. 1 and respondent, they have four children (three daughters and one son). Admittedly, the relations between respondent and petitioner No.1 have remained estranged since long. Respondent and children have been awarded maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. and petitioner No. 1 has been held liable to maintain them.

3. The instant proceedings have arisen on invocation of provisions of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short ‘D.V. Act’). Besides referring to various incidents of domestic violence, respondent also claimed that even after her strained relations with petitioners, she was in occupation of a room in the house of petitioner No. 1 and her stridhan as well as other articles were lying therein. She alleged that in her absence petitioner had locked the room by taking out the articles belonging to respondent. Respondent, thus, prayed for a residence order.

4. Petitioners contested the claim of respondent and in counter accused her of perpetrating matrimonial wrongs. It was alleged that respondent never stayed in the house of petitioner. She was residing at Village Nangal-Chowk in the house of her parents alongwith children. The children were being educated at Village Nangal-Chowk itself. Petitioner No. 1 had no house of his own. There was one ancestral house and in addition father of petitioner No. 1 had constructed another house. The father of petitioner No. 1 had bequeathed his entire estate in favour of his wife, petitioner No. 2 and therefore, the house belonged to petitioner No. 2. It was also alleged that on number of occasions, respondent alongwith her daughters had visited the old aged petitioner No. 2 and had given her beatings besides abusing and accusing her.

5. Learned Trial Court vide order dated 13.9.2017 allowed the complaint of respondent under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and passed the following orders:-

(a) That respondent is prohibited from committing any act of domestic violence;

(b) aiding or abetting in the commission of acts of domestic violence;

(c) attempting to communicate in any form, whatsoever, with the aggrieved person, including personal oral or written or electronic or telephonic contact;

(d) alienating any asset, operating bank lockers or bank accounts used or held or enjoyed by both the parties, jointly by the aggrieved person and the respondent or singly by the respondent, including her stridhan or any other property held either jointly by the parties or separately by them without the leave of this Court.

The respondent is further directed to provide two rooms alongwith kitchen and bathroom in his house to the petitioner and her children. Accordingly point No. 1 is answered partly in affirmative and point No. 2 is answered in negative.”

6. Aggrieved against the order passed by learned Trial Court, petitioners filed an appeal before Appellate Court under Section 29 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Learned Additional Sessions Judge-II, Kangra at Dharamshala, H.P., vide judgment dated 07.06.2022 dismissed the appeal of the petitioners and order passed by learned Trial Court has been upheld.

7. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the record of the case carefully.

8. Mr. K.D. Sood, learned Senior Counsel, appearing for petitioners contended that respondent has disentitled herself from claiming a right of residence in the house of petitioners on account of being guilty of matrimonial wrongs. The