Matters under this Act are handled on the facts and the record in each case, for complainants and respondents alike. No view is expressed here on the merits of any category of complaint.
What the Domestic Violence Act covers
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 provides civil remedies in respect of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse within a domestic relationship. An application is filed before the Magistrate, ordinarily with a report from the Protection Officer, and the proceeding is civil in nature, although breach of a protection order carries consequences.
Relief is available against a respondent with whom the aggrieved person has lived in a domestic relationship, and in appropriate cases against relatives, subject to the pleadings and evidence.
Reliefs available under the Act
- Protection orders restraining specified acts.
- Residence orders relating to the shared household.
- Monetary relief for expenses, losses and maintenance.
- Custody orders in respect of children.
- Compensation for injury, including mental distress.
- Interim and ex-parte orders pending final disposal.
Procedure and interim orders
After the application is filed, notice is issued to the respondent and interim orders may be passed at an early stage. Evidence is thereafter recorded on affidavit and by examination. Because interim orders can affect residence and finances immediately, the first hearings are ordinarily the most consequential, and documents should be ready before then.
Representation for respondents
A respondent is entitled to be heard, to file a reply dealing with each allegation specifically, to place income, residence and property records before the court, and to seek variation of interim orders on changed circumstances. Where connected criminal complaints are pending, the remedies described on the anticipatory bail page and the quash petition page may also be relevant.
Connected matrimonial proceedings
Proceedings under this Act frequently run alongside a divorce petition and a maintenance claim. Positions taken in one proceeding are read in the others, so the pleadings are prepared together rather than in isolation.
Documents required for a domestic violence case
- Marriage certificate or proof of the domestic relationship.
- Identity and address proof, and proof of residence in the shared household.
- Medical records, photographs and any police complaint or Protection Officer report.
- Correspondence, messages and call records relied upon.
- Income, expenditure and property documents of both parties.
- Copies of orders in any connected proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is a domestic violence case civil or criminal?
- Proceedings under the 2005 Act are civil in nature and are heard by the Magistrate. Breach of a protection order, however, attracts separate consequences under the Act.
- Can interim orders be passed before the respondent is heard?
- Yes. The Act permits interim and, in appropriate cases, ex-parte orders, which may later be varied or set aside on the material placed before the court.
- Can maintenance be claimed in a domestic violence proceeding?
- Yes. Monetary relief under the Act can include maintenance, and amounts awarded are ordinarily adjusted against maintenance ordered in other proceedings.
- Does an appeal lie against an order under the Act?
- Yes. An appeal lies to the Court of Session within the period prescribed by the Act from the date the order is served.