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A V Vishal (Advocate)     24 November 2009

Retrospective Applicability under DV Act

Hyderabad,Nov. 23: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled that victims can make use of the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act even retrospectively.

While delivering a verdict, Justice K.C. Bhanu said husbands could not offer the defence that they were separated from their wives when the Act came into force if they had been cruel to them earlier.

The judge dismissed a petition filed by Mr Y. Mohit, who sought the quashing of proceedings launched against him by his wife in a local court in Mancherial in Adilabad district under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.

The judge upheld the decision of the lower court which granted interim relief to the wife.

Mr Mohit’s wife, Ms P. Sushma, a doctor in Mohitnagar of Mancherial, approached the local court invoking the provisions of the DV Act and had sought a monthly maintenance for herself and her three-year-old daughter Siri.

Ms Sushma complained that her husband tortured her when they were in Australia and that she returned to India along with their daughter in the first week of January 2006.
She sought protection against her husband from the court during the pendency of the petition.

As an interim relief, the lower court granted Rs 15,000 as monthly maintenance to her.

Meanwhile, Mr Mohit and his mother approached the High Court seeking to quash the proceedings in the Mancherial court.

According to them, the proceedings were launched after the DV Act came into force on October 26, 2006, during which time the couple did not live together at all.

While the petitioner’s counsel argued that the Act cannot have retrospective effect, Ms Sushma’s counsel, Ms S. Vani, said the very language of the Act suggested a retrospective effect.

 


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 3 Replies

Hardik Mehta (Family Counsellor)     24 November 2009

This judgement shows that the males in India are not protected by any law and has to dance to the wives tunes and the whimps of judges. The DV act clearly states the retrospective effect, then how the judge can bypass the law? Are the judges above the law? This is clearly the abuse of the process of the law.


(Guest)

Dear Sh. Mehta,

Kindly point out exactly from DV Act where it says it is prospective or retrospective? Infact this is one Act which is totally silent about the "effect" part.
Rgds,

D. Arun Kumar

Hardik Mehta (Family Counsellor)     30 November 2009

 

Respected Arun Kumar,

As per section 2(3) of the act, which states "It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.". This clearly states that the commencement of the Act will come after the notification from the Gazatte, which is 26th October 2006.

 


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