PRABHA TYAGI versus KAMLESH DEVI

Citation: [2022] 5 S.C.R. 970 · Decided: 12-05-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.R. SHAH, B.V. NAGARATHNA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · cites 11 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 5 S.C.R.
PRABHA TYAGI
v.
KAMLESH DEVI
(Criminal Appeal No. 511 of 2022)
MAY 12, 2022
[M. R. SHAH AND B. V. NAGARATHNA, JJ.]
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005:
ss.12, 17, 19, 22 – Domestic violence – Allegations of, by the
aggrieved person-wife – Death of the husband within one month of
the marriage in a car accident – Birth of daughter within a year of
marriage – After the husband’s death, aggrieved person tortured
and harassed by her mother-in-law and her matrimonial family, and
was forced to leave her matrimonial home – She started working to
support herself and her child – Issuance of notice to the respondents
to return her stridhana but there was no response – Aggrieved person
then filed an application u/s. 12 before the Magistrate seeking
protection orders, residence orders and compensation orders as also
monetary reliefs – Magistrate partly allowed the application directing
the respondents to pay Rs.10,000/- as monetary compensation for
insulting and maligning the aggrieved person; that the articles of
Stridhana mentioned in the list, except the Maruti (Alto) Car, to be
given to the aggrieved person; and that the respondents would not
obstruct the aggrieved person and her daughter from enjoying the
property of her husband – First appellate court set aside the order
of the trial court – High Court upheld the same – Sustainability of
– Held: Not sustainable – Order passed by the trial court restored.
ss. 12, 18-20 and 22 – Consideration of the Domestic Incident
Report filed by a Protection Officer or service provider by the
Magistrate before passing orders under the D.V. Act, if mandatory
– Held: s. 12 does not make it mandatory for a Magistrate to
consider a Domestic Incident Report filed by a Protection Officer
or service provider before passing any order under the D.V. Act –
Even in the absence of a Domestic Incident Report, a Magistrate is
empowered to pass both ex parte or interim as well as a final order
under the provisions of the D.V. Act – Aggrieved person can directly
make an application to the jurisdictional Magistrate by herself or
[2022] 5 S.C.R. 970
970
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by engaging the services of an Advocate - Although, the expression
‘shall’ is used in the proviso to s.12, it is restricted to only those
cases where a Protection Officer or service provider files any
Domestic Incident Report.
ss. 12 and 17 – Allegations of domestic violence by aggrieved
person – Relief under the DV Act - Requirement of such aggrieved
person to reside with those persons against whom the allegations
have been levelled at the point of commission of violence, if
mandatory – Held: It is not mandatory for the aggrieved person,
when she is related by consanguinity, marriage or through a
relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family
members living together as a joint family, to actually reside with
those persons against whom the allegations have been levelled at
the time of commission of domestic violence – If a woman has the
right to reside in the shared household u/s.17 and such a woman
becomes an aggrieved person, she can seek reliefs under the
provisions of D.V. Act including enforcement of her right to live in a
shared household.
s. 12 – Relief sought under the DV Act by the aggrieved person
– Requisite relationship between the aggrieved person and the
person against whom the relief is claimed – Held: There should be
a subsisting domestic relationship between the aggrieved person
and the person against whom the relief is claimed vis-à-vis allegation
of domestic violence – However, it is not necessary that at the time
of filing of an application by an aggrieved person, the domestic
relationship should be subsisting – Even if an aggrieved person is
not in a domestic relationship with the respondent in a shared
household at the time of filing of an application u/s. 12 but has at
any point of time lived so or had the right to live and has been
subjected to domestic violence or is later subjected to domestic
violence on account of the domestic relationship, is entitled to file
an application u/s 12 of the Act.
Object and purpose of the D. V. Act – Explained.
Interpretation of statutes: Proviso of the main provision –
Construction and interpretation of – General principles – Explained.
Words and Phrases:
PRABHA TYAGI v. KAMLESH DEVI
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 5 S.C.R.
Expression ‘aggrieved person’ – Meaning of, in th

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