DV Act | Husband's Relatives Who Don't Even Live In Shared Household Are Implicated In Cases For Harassment: Allahabad HC

A bench of Justice Arun Kumar Deshwal added that while issuing notice under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, the courts must look into whether the person who is being implicated is living or ever lived with the aggrieved person in a shared household.

The Court further observed that before issuing notices to individuals named as respondents in an application under the Domestic Violence Act, the concerned courts must ensure that the following conditions are satisfied :

“The respondent must be related to the aggrieved person in the manner as mentioned in Section 2(f) and he lived or has been living together with aggrieved person in a shared household and then commits domestic violence in the manner mentioned in Section 3 of Domestic Violence Act”.

The single judge made these observations while quashing proceedings/complaints under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act against five accused (married sisters of the husband and the husband of one of the sisters), noting that they had not lived with the opposite party no. 2 (wife) in a shared household.

The court, however, refused to quash the case against applicant no.1 (mother-in-law), noting that she had been residing in a shared household and thus would fall within the definition of the respondent. It was also alleged that she harassed the wife for the demand of dowry and extended a threat to evict her from the shared household.

The court stressed that the proceeding under the Domestic Violence Act can be initiated when the domestic violence, as mentioned in Section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act, is committed by the respondent who is living in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person.

The court noted that in the instant case, applicants nos. 2 to 6 are relatives of applicant no. 7 (husband) and they have been residing separately, therefore, as per Section 2(q) of the Domestic Violence Act, they cannot be termed as respondents as they have not been residing in a shared household with the opposite party no. 2.

Thus, quashing the case against applicants 2 to 6, the Court emphasized that in many cases, the aggrieved parties falsely implicate the husband's relatives, who had never lived with them in the shared household, merely to harass them.

The Court stated that before issuing a notice under Section 12 of the DV Act, courts must verify whether the person being implicated actually lived with the aggrieved party in a shared household.

The Court, however, clarified that the court below would be free to proceed against applicants nos. 1 (mother-in-law) and 7 (husband) and decide the case against them expeditiously within a period of 60 days.

Case title - Krishnawati Devi And 06 Others vs. State of U.P. and Another 2025 LiveLaw (AB) 53

Case citation: 2025 LiveLaw (AB) 53

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