Published on: 25 August 2023 at 10:30 IST
Court: High Court of Bombay
Citation: Dhananjay Mohan Zombade V. Prachi (2023)
Honourable High Court of Bombay has held that Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 can be invoked to quash a Petition under the provision of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is there is no Domestic Relationship exists between the aggrieved person and respondent which is a Sine Qua Non of a Domestic Violence Petition. In order to constitute relationship between two persons as domestic relationship, they must live or at any point of time lived together in a shared household when they are related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family.
6. It is pertinent to note that Section 28 of the DV Act provides that all proceedings under Sections 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 and offence under Section 31 of the DV Act shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The legislative intent is, therefore, absolutely clear that all the proceedings under the aforesaid sections as well as offence under Section 31 of the DV Act are to be governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure. No doubt, sub-section (2) of Section 28 permits the Court to lay down its own procedure for disposal of an application under Section 12 or subsection (2) of Section 23. But this provision does not affect general application of provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to DV Act.
The intention of legislature to make applicable Code of Criminal Proceudre for DV Act is crystal clear, irrespective civil nature of proceeding.
7. Wherever there is intention of the legislature to provide different forums for civil and criminal remedy under the same Act, appropriate provision is made to that effect. For example, in case of Copy Right Act, 1957, Chapter XII of the said Act provides for the civil remedies which lie before the Civil Court whereas Chapter XIII provides for offences of which the Magistrate is entitled to take cognizance thereof. Even in such case, there is no exclusion of application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
