The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

(1) This Act may be called the Protection of Womenfrom Domestic Violence Act, 2005. (2) It extends to the whole of India 1***. (3) It shall come into force on such date2as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "aggrieved person" means any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship withthe respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by therespondent; (b) "child" means any person below the age of eighteen years and includes any adopted, step orfoster child; (c) "compensation order" means an order granted in terms of section 22; (d) "custody order" means an order granted in terms of section 21; (e) "domestic incident report" means a report made in the prescribed form on receipt of acomplaint of domestic violence from an aggrieved person; (f) "domestic relationship" means a relationship between two persons who live or have, at anypoint of time, lived together in a shared household, when they are related by consanguinity, marriage,or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together asa joint family; (g) "domestic violence" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 3; (h) "dowry" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 2 of the Dowry ProhibitionAct, 1961 (28 of 1961); (i) "Magistrate" means the Judicial Magistrate of the first class, or as the case may be, theMetropolitan Magistrate, exercising jurisdiction under the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973(2 of 1974) in the area where the aggrieved person resides temporarily or otherwise or therespondent resides or the domestic violence is alleged to have taken place; (j) "medical facility' means such facility as may be notified by the State Government to be amedical facility for the purposes of this Act; (k) "monetary relief" means the compensation which the Magistrate may order the respondent topay to the aggrieved person, at any stage during the hearing of an application seeking any relief underthis Act, to meet the expenses incurred and the losses suffered by the aggrieved person as a result ofthe domestic violence; (l) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression"notified" shall be construed accordingly; (m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (n) "Protection Officer" means an officer appointed by the State Government undersub-section (1) of section 8; (o) "protection order" means an order made in terms of section 18; (p) "residence order" means an order granted in terms of sub-section (1) of section 19; (q) "respondent" means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationshipwith the aggrieved person and against whom the aggrieved person has sought any relief under thisAct: Provided that an aggrieved wife or female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage mayalso file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner; (r) "service provider" means an entity registered under sub-section (1) of section 10; (s) "shared household" means a household where the person aggrieved lives or at any stage haslived in a domestic relationship either singly or along with the respondent and includes such a household whether owned or tenanted either jointly by the aggrieved person and the respondent, or ownedor tenanted by either of them in respect of which either the aggrieved person or the respondent or bothjointly or singly have any right, title, interest or equity and includes such a household which maybelong to the joint family of which the respondent is a member, irrespective of whether therespondent or the aggrieved person has any right, title or interest in the shared household; (t) "shelter home" means any shelter home as may be notified by the State Government to be ashelter home for the purposes of this Act.

For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commissionor 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 orphysical, 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 anyother person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuablesecurity; or (c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conductmentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person. Explanation I.--For the purposes of this section,-- (i) "physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodilypain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrievedperson and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force; (ii) "sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degradesor otherwise violates the dignity of woman; (iii) "verbal and emotional abuse" includes-- (a) insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regardto not having a child or a male child; and (b) repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person isinterested; (iv) "economic abuse" includes-- (a) deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrievedperson is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court orotherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, house hold necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan,property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related tothe shared house hold and maintenance; (b) disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable orimmovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which theaggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship orwhich may be reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her stridhan orany other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person; and (c) prohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities which theaggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship includingaccess to the shared household. Explanation II.--For the purpose of determining whether any act, omission, commission or conductof the respondent constitutes "domestic violence" under this section, the overall facts and circumstancesof the case shall be taken into consideration.

(1) Any personwho has reason to believe that an act of domestic violence has been, or is being, or is likely to becommitted, may give information about it to the concerned Protection Officer. (2) No liability, civil or criminal, shall be incurred by any person for giving in good faith ofinformation for the purpose of sub-section (1).

A police officer, ProtectionOfficer, service provider or Magistrate who has received a complaint of domestic violence or is otherwisepresent at the place of an incident of domestic violence or when the incident of domestic violence isreported to him, shall inform the aggrieved person-- (a) of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order, an orderfor monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one suchorder under this Act; (b) of the availability of services of service providers; (c) of the availability of services of the Protection Officers; (d) of her right to free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of 1987); (e) of her right to file a complaint under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860),wherever relevant: Provided that nothing in this Act shall be construed in any manner as to relieve a police officerfrom his duty to proceed in accordance with law upon receipt of information as to the commission ofa cognizable offence.