By the Court.—A partition suit was filed by the petitioner against her family being Original Suit No. 1298 of 2013. A preliminary decree was passed by the trial Court by an order dated 26th August, 2014 declaring that the petitioner is entitled to 1/3rd share in the property i.e. 86A/1, Tagore Town, Allahabad. Based on this order, the petitioner moved an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to the Act) before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Allahabad contending that her brother, who is not arrayed as a party in the present writ petition, has forcibly locked one room in the property in question, and therefore in terms of the decree, the possession of this one room be given to the petitioner. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate by an order dated 15th July, 2016 directed the Station House Officer, Gorge Town, Allahabad to give possession to the petitioner in terms of the preliminary decree of the trial Court. Since this order was not being enforced, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition praying for a writ of mandamus commanding the Station House Officer, George Town to enforce the order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate dated 15th July, 2016 and give possession of that one room which is occupied and forcibly locked by her brother.

2. Before proceeding further, it is essential to peruse few provisions of the Act.

3. The Protection of Women from Domestic violence Act, 2005 was enacted to provide for more effective protection of the rights of the woman guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Statement of Objects and Reasons provides that keeping in view the rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution to provide for a remedy to protect the women from being victims of domestic violence and to prevent the occurrence of the domestic violence in the Society, the Act was introduced to cover those women who are or have been in a relationship with the respondent where both parties have lived together in a shared household and are related by consanguinity, marriage, or through a relationship in the nature of marriage or adoption. In addition, relationship with family members living together as a joint family has also been included. The Act provides for the rights of women to secure housing. It also provides for the right of a woman to reside in her matrimonial home or shared household. The Act empowers the Magistrate to pass protection orders in favour of the aggrieved person to prevent the respondent from aiding or committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified acts.

“Aggrieved person” has been defined under Section 2(a) of the Act as under :

“2(a) “aggrieved person” means any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent.

4. Section 2(g) of the Act defines domestic violence which has the same meaning as assigned to it in Section 3. Section 3 of the Act defines domestic violence as under:

“3. Definition of domestic violence.—For the purposes of this Act, any act, 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); o