Allahabad High Court: DV Act Application Valid Even if Marriage is Declared Null and Void
The Allahabad High Court recently ruled that a woman’s application for relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act is maintainable even if her marriage is declared null and void.
Case Background
Justice Subhash Vidyarthi reasoned that since the woman and her former husband lived together before the marriage was nullified, their relationship was akin to a marriage. Therefore, she meets the definition of an ‘aggrieved person’ under the DV Act.
“I am of the considered view that any woman, who has in the past lived in a domestic relation with the respondent [man], is included in the definition of an aggrieved person and domestic relation includes a relationship by marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage,” the Court stated.
Legal Proceedings
The ruling was made in response to a man’s petition challenging the dismissal of his application to reject his former wife’s domestic violence complaint under Section 12 of the DV Act. The man argued that since their marriage was declared null and void, the complaint should not stand.
The couple married in 2018, but the husband sought a divorce a year later, which was granted ex parte in 2021. The marriage was declared null and void because the couple were sapindas, making their union prohibited under the Hindu Marriage Act. It was also revealed that the man’s consent was obtained by hiding the woman’s mental health condition.
While the woman’s maintenance suit under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was dismissed due to the annulled marriage, the civil judge refused to dismiss her DV Act complaint filed in 2021.
Court’s Analysis
The man’s counsel referenced a Punjab and Haryana High Court decision, asserting that DV Act provisions cannot be invoked once the domestic relationship ceases. However, Justice Vidyarthi reviewed the definitions of ‘aggrieved person’ and ‘domestic relationship’ under the DV Act.
The Court highlighted that any woman who has lived in a domestic relationship with a man qualifies as an ‘aggrieved person,’ and a domestic relationship includes marriage or relationships akin to marriage.
The Court declined to follow the interpretation from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, noting that the Hindi version of the DV Act explicitly includes women who have lived in past domestic relationships as aggrieved persons.
Conclusion
In this case, the Court noted that the couple lived in a domestic relationship before their marriage was annulled. Thus, the woman qualifies as an ‘aggrieved person’ under the DV Act and has the right to seek relief.
“I find no force in the preliminary objection raised by the applicant against the maintainability of the application under Section 12 of the DV Act. The impugned order in no way defeats the ends of justice and there is no merit in the application under Section 482 filed by the applicant,” the Court concluded, dismissing the man’s petition.
This ruling reinforces the protection provided under the DV Act, ensuring that women in domestic relationships can seek relief even if their marriage is later declared null and void.
