Widening the definition of domestic violence, the Delhi high court on Friday said the mother-in-law too can be charged under the Domestic Violence Act even if the act was specifically made to protect the woman from domestic abuse.
A division bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and Ajit Bharihoke said, “It is common knowledge that in case a wife is harassed by her husband, other family members may also join him in treating her cruelly. And such members would invariably include female relatives as well.”
The court passed the order after hearing the appeal of one Varsha Kapoor, a mother-in-law who moved the Delhi high court against a sessions court order that initiated proceedings against her in a case of alleged domestic violence, on the ground that a woman cannot charge another woman under the Domestic Violence Act.
The division bench remarked, “If a restricted interpretation to the Domestic Violence Act is given, the very purpose for which this act was enacted would be defeated. It would be very easy for the husband or other male members to frustrate the remedy by ensuring that the violence on the wife is perpetrated by female members,” the court said.
The court said “relatives” included not only male but also female members of a family. Dismissing the petition, the court said, “We are afraid there is hardly any merit in the argument.”