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The President of India has given assent to the protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (43 of 2005). The Act is to provide more effective protection of rights of women 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 Act will be applicable to all States and Union Territories except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
As per Section 3 of the Act, any act or omission or commission or conduct of adult male person 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 (any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force), sexual abuse (any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman), verbal and emotional abuse (insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child and repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested)and economic abuse(a. deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom including stridhan, property, jointly or separately on by the aggrieved person; b. disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or the other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of domestic relationship); 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); or
d. otherwise injures or causes harm whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.
A police officer, protection officer, service provider or magistrate who has received a message of domestic violence shall inform the aggrieved person of her right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order; of availability of services of service providers; of availability of services of protection officer; of her right to free legal services under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, and of her right to file a complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Panel Code wherever relevant.
The aggrieved person may be provided shelter if need be in the shelter home and will also be provided medical facilities.
The State Governments, shall by notification appoint such number of protection officers, as far as possible women, in each district as it may be considered necessary and shall notify the area or the areas within which a protection officer shall exercise the powers and perform duties conferred on him by or under this Act.
ALM/SK.
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