If you are being hit, threatened, insulted, controlled, starved of money or pushed out of your home by your husband, partner or his family, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 gives you fast civil remedies in Delhi: an order stopping the violence, the right to stay in the shared home, monthly money for you and your children, temporary custody and compensation. This guide explains who can apply, what counts as domestic violence, how the Protection Officer and the domestic incident report work, how to file before the Mahila Court in your district, what interim orders you can get in the first hearings, how breach is punished, what the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court have said recently, and how a husband or in-laws facing a DV case should respond. Share your situation in the form and an enrolment-checked advocate can call you, at no charge to you.
In Delhi, a woman facing domestic violence from her husband, live-in partner or his relatives can apply under section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 to the Mahila Court (Metropolitan Magistrate) where she lives, where the respondent lives or where the violence happened, directly through an advocate or through the Protection Officer of her district. The court can pass protection orders, residence orders that let her stay in the shared household, monthly maintenance and other monetary relief, temporary custody of children and compensation, and can grant interim or even ex parte orders at the first hearing. There is no limitation period for filing. Breach of a protection order is a cognizable, non-bailable offence punishable with up to one year. In an emergency, call 112, or the women helpline 181.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, usually called the DV Act or PWDV Act, came into force on 26 October 2006. It was written for a very practical problem. Before it, a woman being abused at home had two main options: file a criminal complaint for cruelty, which could send her husband to jail but did nothing to keep a roof over her head or food on the table, or file for divorce or maintenance in a civil court, which took years. The DV Act created a third path: quick civil orders, granted by a magistrate, that stop the violence and secure her home and money, without necessarily ending the marriage or putting anyone in prison.
That design matters for how you should think about a DV case. It is not mainly a punishment case. The respondent is not "accused" of a crime when the application is filed, and the court is not deciding whether to jail him. The court is deciding what orders are needed so that the woman and her children are safe, housed and supported. Criminal consequences come in only if the respondent breaks an order. That is why the Supreme Court has repeatedly described the Act as civil in nature, even though the cases are heard by magistrates and follow criminal procedure in many respects.
In Delhi, DV applications are heard by Metropolitan Magistrates, typically those designated as Mahila Courts, in each of the district court complexes. Which complex depends on the police district where you live, where the respondent lives or where the violence happened. A woman in Janakpuri would usually go to the West district courts at Tis Hazari, one in Mayur Vihar to Karkardooma, one in Malviya Nagar to Saket, one in Pitampura to Rohini, and one in Palam to Dwarka. Our court pages explain each complex in detail.
| Point | What the Act says |
|---|---|
| Who is protected | A woman currently or formerly in a domestic relationship with the respondent: wife, live-in partner, mother, sister, daughter, widow, and others living in a shared household by blood, marriage, adoption or a relationship in the nature of marriage (sections 2(a) and 2(f)). |
| Against whom | The person with whom she is in a domestic relationship and, for a wife or partner, his relatives, including female relatives (section 2(q), as read by the Supreme Court in 2016). |
| What is domestic violence | Physical, sexual, verbal and emotional, and economic abuse, including threats and harassment for dowry (section 3). |
| Where to apply | The magistrate where she lives or works, where the respondent lives or works, or where the cause of action arose (section 27). |
| Reliefs | Protection orders (18), residence orders (19), monetary relief (20), custody (21), compensation (22), interim and ex parte orders (23). |
| Time limits | First hearing ordinarily within 3 days of receiving the application; the court should try to decide within 60 days of the first hearing (section 12). No limitation period applies to filing. |
| Breach | Breach of a protection order or interim protection order: up to one year, or fine up to Rs 20,000, or both; cognizable and non-bailable (sections 31 and 32). |
| Appeal | To the Court of Session within 30 days of the order being served on the party appealing (section 29). |
Many women in Delhi who come to a lawyer begin by saying, "He has not really beaten me, so I don't know if this counts." The definition in section 3 is deliberately wide, and slapping or beating is only one part of it. Conduct of the respondent amounts to domestic violence if it harms or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, mental or physical, of the woman, or harasses her to meet an unlawful demand for dowry or other property, or threatens her or anyone related to her for that purpose. The Act then explains four kinds of abuse.
| Type | Examples from real life |
|---|---|
| Physical abuse | Slapping, pushing, kicking, pulling hair, throwing things, locking her in a room, denying food or medicine, criminal force, any act causing bodily pain or danger to health. |
| Sexual abuse | Any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or violates her dignity. |
| Verbal and emotional abuse | Insults, name-calling and ridicule, especially about not having a child or a son; threatening to hurt her or someone she loves; constant humiliation in front of family; accusing her of affairs; stopping her from meeting her parents or friends. |
| Economic abuse | Taking away her salary or stridhan; refusing money for household expenses, rent, children's school fees or medicines; selling or pawning her jewellery; preventing her from going to work; cutting off access to the house or things she uses; disposing of shared assets. |
Economic abuse is the category that surprises people most, and in practice it is one of the most common. A husband who earns well but hands his wife nothing, makes her ask for every rupee, takes her ATM card, keeps her jewellery "safe" in his mother's locker and then refuses to return it, or stops paying rent on the flat she lives in with the children, may be committing economic abuse even if he never raises his hand.
Repeated demands for money, a car, a flat or gold, and taunts or ill-treatment because they were not met, fall within section 3. The same facts may also support a criminal case for cruelty under section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and a case under the Dowry Prohibition Act. Our detailed guide on 498A and dowry cases in Delhi covers the criminal side. A woman can choose to pursue only the DV Act, only the criminal route, or both; they are independent.
The Act does not require a minimum number of incidents. One serious act of violence is enough. However, courts look at the overall picture, and most successful applications describe a pattern: when it started, how it escalated, the worst incidents with approximate dates, what was said, who was present, and what happened afterwards. Vague statements such as "they used to harass me" carry little weight. Specific statements such as "on Diwali night 2025, my husband pushed me against the kitchen wall in front of his sister after I asked for money for our son's school fees" carry a lot.
Keep copies somewhere the respondent cannot reach: with a trusted relative, in an email account only you can open, or with your lawyer. Your safety comes first; do not collect evidence in a way that puts you at greater risk.
Only a woman can be the "aggrieved person" under the Act. The relationship with the respondent may be current or past, but it has to be a domestic one. A domestic relationship means two persons who live or have at any time lived together in a shared household, related by consanguinity, marriage, a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption, or as members of a joint family. This covers far more than wives:
Not every relationship between a man and a woman who live together qualifies. In D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal (2010), the Supreme Court said a relationship in the nature of marriage requires that the couple hold themselves out to society as akin to spouses, be of legal age to marry, be otherwise qualified to marry (for example, not already married to someone else), and have voluntarily cohabited for a significant period. In Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (2013), the Court listed further guiding factors: duration of the relationship, shared household, pooling of resources and financial arrangements, domestic arrangements, sexual relationship, children, socialisation in public, and the intention and conduct of the parties. A woman who knowingly lived with a married man was held in that case not to be in a relationship in the nature of marriage, though the Court urged Parliament to consider protecting such women too.
In Prabha Tyagi v. Kamlesh Devi (2022), the Supreme Court said relief is available even if she did not actually live with the respondents in the shared household at the time of the violence, and that a woman's right to reside in a shared household does not depend on her having actually lived there. The Court also held that a domestic incident report is not mandatory before a magistrate can pass orders. These points are important for women who were sent back to their parents' home soon after the wedding.
The respondent is the person with whom the woman is or was in a domestic relationship and against whom she seeks relief. For a wife or a woman in a relationship in the nature of marriage, relatives of the husband or male partner can also be made respondents. The original section limited respondents to "adult male persons", but in Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (2016) the Supreme Court struck down those words, so women relatives, such as a mother-in-law or sister-in-law, and even minors in principle, can be respondents. Courts nevertheless discourage the practice of naming every relative. Naming distant relatives who live elsewhere and have no specific role in the violence often leads to their names being struck off, and can weaken the overall credibility of the application.
The Act applies to every woman in India, whatever her religion or community. In S. Vijikumari v. Mowneshwarachari C. (September 2024), the Supreme Court described it as a piece of civil code applicable to every woman irrespective of religious affiliation or social background, enacted to give more effective protection of constitutional rights to women who are victims of domestic violence. Muslim, Christian, Parsi and Hindu women can all apply, alongside any remedies under their personal law.
No. Men, including husbands who say their wives are abusing them, cannot apply under the DV Act, because the aggrieved person must be a woman. A man facing violence or cruelty at home has other remedies: a criminal complaint for hurt, intimidation or other offences under the BNS, a civil suit for injunction, and, where the facts support it, divorce on the ground of cruelty in the family court.
The real strength of the DV Act lies in the range of orders available. An application usually asks for several of them together, and the court can grant interim versions of each at the start of the case.
A protection order prohibits the respondent from committing any act of domestic violence, aiding or abetting it, entering her workplace or, if she is a student, her school or college, attempting to communicate with her in any form (personal, oral, written, electronic or telephonic), alienating assets or operating bank lockers or accounts held jointly or singly by either party, including her stridhan, without the court's leave, causing violence to her relatives or others who help her, or committing any other act specified in the order. Breach of a protection order is an offence.
The court can restrain the respondent from dispossessing her from the shared household, direct him to remove himself from it, restrain him or his relatives from entering the part where she lives, restrain him from selling or mortgaging the household, restrain him from renouncing his rights in it, or direct him to secure alternative accommodation of the same level or pay rent for it. The proviso to section 19(1)(b) says that an order directing a person to remove himself from the shared household cannot be passed against a woman. The court can also order return of her stridhan and other property.
The court can order the respondent to pay money to meet expenses and losses caused by the violence: loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss caused by destruction or removal of property, and maintenance for her and her children, including maintenance in addition to an order under section 125 of the old Code (now section 144 of the BNSS) or any other law. Monetary relief must be adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living to which she is accustomed. It can be ordered as a lump sum or monthly, and the court can direct the employer or a debtor of the respondent to pay a part of his wages or dues directly to her if he defaults.
The court can grant temporary custody of any child to the woman or to a person applying on her behalf, and specify arrangements for the respondent's visits. It can refuse visits if they may harm the child. These are temporary orders; long-term custody and guardianship are decided by the family court under the Guardians and Wards Act or the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act.
In addition to other reliefs, the court can order the respondent to pay compensation and damages for injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress, caused by the domestic violence.
At any stage, the court may pass interim orders that it considers just and proper. If the application shows, on the face of it, that the respondent is committing or has committed domestic violence or is likely to, the court may grant an ex parte order, that is, without hearing the respondent first, on the basis of the woman's affidavit. Ex parte protection or residence orders are most useful where there is an immediate threat of violence or dispossession, for instance when a woman has been pushed out of the house and the in-laws are threatening to change the locks or sell the flat.
| Situation | Reliefs usually sought first |
|---|---|
| Ongoing beating or threats | Interim protection order, no-contact order, police assistance |
| Thrown out of the matrimonial home | Interim residence order for re-entry or alternative accommodation, restraint on sale of the flat |
| No money for household or children | Interim monetary relief and maintenance |
| Children taken away | Temporary custody and visitation order |
| Jewellery and stridhan held by in-laws | Order for return of stridhan, restraint on alienation or locker operation |
Yes. Section 26 allows the same reliefs to be claimed in any legal proceeding before a civil court, family court or criminal court affecting the woman and the respondent, whether that proceeding was started before or after the Act. So a wife who is already in divorce proceedings at the Delhi family courts can ask that court for a residence or protection order, instead of starting a separate DV case before a magistrate.
Housing is the most fought-over issue in Delhi DV cases. Property here is expensive, many couples live in a floor of a house owned by the husband's parents, and a woman pushed out often has nowhere to go but her parents' home in another city. Under section 17, a woman in a domestic relationship may live in the shared household even if she owns no share or interest in it, and says she shall not be evicted or excluded from it except in accordance with the procedure established by law.
Section 2(s) defines a shared household as a household where the woman lives or at any stage has lived in a domestic relationship, either alone or with the respondent, and includes a household owned or tenanted by either of them jointly or singly, or one in which either has any right, title, interest or equity, or one which belongs to the joint family of which the respondent is a member, irrespective of whether the respondent or the woman has any right in it.
In S.R. Batra v. Taruna Batra (2007), a case from Delhi, the Supreme Court held that a house belonging to the mother-in-law, in which the husband had no share, was not a shared household, so the wife could not claim a right to live there. For thirteen years, that decision meant many women living in their in-laws' property had little protection. In Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020), a three-judge bench overruled S.R. Batra. It held that the definition of shared household is exhaustive and that a household where the woman lived in a domestic relationship can be a shared household even if it belongs to the in-laws and the husband has no share in it. The Court also said that the right to residence is not an indefeasible right of residence: the court must balance the rights of the in-laws, especially elderly owners, and in suitable cases can direct alternative accommodation instead of residence in the same premises.
Elderly parents sometimes try to remove a daughter-in-law using the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which in Delhi allows the District Magistrate to order eviction from a senior citizen's property. In S. Vanitha v. Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District (2020), the Supreme Court held that the Senior Citizens Act cannot be used to defeat a woman's right to a shared household under the DV Act, and that the two statutes must be harmonised. Equally, courts protect elderly owners from harassment by a son and daughter-in-law. Each case turns on its own facts.
Two 2026 decisions show how fact-sensitive the issue is:
The lesson is that the facts of how the family actually lived, such as common kitchen, common entrance, whose name is on the bills, how long and how permanently she lived there, whether she left voluntarily, decide the outcome. A residence claim should be built on documents and specifics, not on the general idea that the in-laws' house is always her home.
Where returning to the same house would be unsafe or impractical, courts often direct the husband to provide alternative accommodation of a similar standard or pay rent. In Delhi, interim orders directing payment of rent for a flat in the same locality, so that children can continue in the same school, are common. A woman considering her options should think carefully about which she actually wants: re-entry into the same house, often with hostile in-laws, or a safe separate home paid for by the husband.
For many women, monthly maintenance is the most urgent relief. The DV Act is often the fastest way to get it in Delhi, because interim monetary relief can be ordered early in the case and the court is expected to aim for disposal within 60 days, though in practice cases often take much longer.
In Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), the Supreme Court laid down uniform guidelines for maintenance in all proceedings, including DV cases. Both parties must file an affidavit of disclosure of assets and liabilities in the prescribed format, covering income, assets, expenses, liabilities, and the standard of living. The court considers:
Rajnesh further fixed the starting point of maintenance as the day the application was filed, and required a court deciding a later case to set off whatever an earlier court has already awarded, so one need is never compensated twice. A woman cannot use a DV case and a maintenance case under section 144 of the BNSS to collect double maintenance, but she can ask for an increase in the second case if the first amount is inadequate.
A common difficulty is that the husband claims to earn very little: his business is "running at a loss", his salary has "reduced", or he has resigned. Courts look beyond what is declared. Evidence of lifestyle, foreign trips, cars, rents received, credit card spending, property purchases and social media posts can all show real capacity. The court can also summon bank records and income tax returns. An able-bodied husband cannot escape maintenance merely by saying he has no job.
The fact that a woman earns does not automatically bar her from maintenance. What matters is whether her pay lets her live at roughly the level she enjoyed in the marital home. Equally, a well-qualified woman who has stopped working only to strengthen her claim may receive less. Courts in Delhi try to strike a realistic balance.
If the respondent does not pay, the woman can apply for enforcement. Section 20(6) allows the court to direct his employer or a person who owes him money to pay a part of his wages, salary or debt directly to her or deposit it in court. Monetary orders can also be enforced through the procedure for recovering fines and maintenance, including attachment, and persistent wilful default can expose him to further action. Delhi courts regularly strike off the defence of a respondent who refuses to pay interim maintenance in related proceedings.
Settlements in Delhi often include a one-time lump sum in full and final settlement of all claims. In Reji Baby v. Subi Mary (August 2026), the Supreme Court held that a wife who had given up all monetary claims, including maintenance, in a settlement and an affidavit before the family court before a mutual-consent divorce could not later revive those claims through DV Act proceedings, though the adult daughter's own monetary rights were unaffected. Our news report on that decision explains it further. The practical message is simple: before signing any settlement, take independent advice on exactly what you are giving up, and remember that a parent cannot sign away a child's rights.
Call 112, the national emergency number, which connects to the Delhi Police. You can also call 181, the women helpline, for advice, counselling and referral to support services. Police have a duty under section 5 of the DV Act, when they receive a complaint of domestic violence, to inform the woman of her right to apply for reliefs, the availability of Protection Officers and service providers, free legal services, and her right to file a criminal complaint where applicable. If you are injured, ask to be taken to a government hospital and make sure your injuries are recorded.
Every state must appoint Protection Officers under section 8. In Delhi, Protection Officers work under the Department of Women and Child Development and are attached to the districts and courts. The Protection Officer can record a domestic incident report (DIR) in Form I, help you prepare an application, arrange medical examination, shelter and legal aid through service providers, and forward the DIR to the magistrate and the police. In May 2025, in We the Women of India v. Union of India, the Supreme Court directed all states and union territories to designate Protection Officers within six weeks where they had not done so, to notify shelter homes at district and taluka level within ten weeks, to empanel service providers, and asked legal services authorities to make women aware of their right to free legal aid. Ask at the Mahila Court in your district complex, or at the district legal services authority, how to reach the Protection Officer for your area.
Most DV applications in Delhi are filed directly by advocates, without going through the Protection Officer first. The Supreme Court made clear in Prabha Tyagi (2022) that a DIR is not a mandatory precondition for the magistrate to proceed. The court will usually call for a DIR or a report from the Protection Officer after the application is filed, and the Protection Officer may visit the home and speak to both sides.
Every woman is entitled to free legal services under section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, regardless of her income. In Delhi, she can walk into the legal aid front office run by DSLSA or the district authority inside any court complex and ask for a panel lawyer. Our guide on free legal aid eligibility explains how to apply.
Under section 27, the application can be filed before the magistrate within whose local limits the woman permanently or temporarily resides or carries on business or is employed, or the respondent resides or carries on business or is employed, or the cause of action arose. A woman who has gone back to her parents in Delhi after being thrown out of her matrimonial home in another state can file in Delhi. A woman living in Delhi whose husband lives in Gurugram can file in Delhi too.
There is no significant court fee for a DV application. Costs are mainly the advocate's fee and incidental expenses such as typing, notarisation and copies. Where cost is a barrier, legal aid is available, and the court can also order the respondent to pay litigation expenses as part of monetary relief.
Once the application is filed, the magistrate fixes the first date of hearing, which under section 12(4) should ordinarily not be beyond three days from receipt of the application, though in busy Delhi courts the first listing can take somewhat longer. The magistrate may hear the woman on interim relief at the first hearing itself. Notice is issued to the respondents; section 13 provides for service through the Protection Officer, and in practice notice is also served through the police or by other permitted modes. The respondent gets an opportunity to file a reply to the application and to any interim relief claim.
Interim maintenance and interim protection or residence orders are often the most important orders in the whole case, because they decide the situation for the months or years until the final decision. Courts usually decide interim maintenance on the affidavits of income, assets and liabilities filed under Rajnesh v. Neha, and interim residence on the documents showing the shared household. Prepare these affidavits carefully and truthfully; false statements in them can lead to perjury proceedings.
Section 14 allows the magistrate to direct either or both parties to undergo counselling with a service provider. Delhi courts also frequently refer DV cases, especially where divorce or maintenance cases are also pending, to the mediation centres in each district court complex. Mediation does not suspend the woman's right to interim relief, and she should not agree to drop an interim maintenance claim merely because mediation is ongoing. Many DV cases in Delhi end in a comprehensive settlement covering divorce, maintenance, stridhan, custody and withdrawal of all cases; the 498A guide explains how such settlements are structured.
Under section 16, the magistrate may hold proceedings in camera if either party wants it and the circumstances justify it. Women who are uncomfortable speaking about intimate matters in open court can ask for this.
Section 28 says that proceedings under sections 12, 18 to 23 and 31 are governed by the criminal procedure code (now the BNSS), but section 28(2) allows the court to lay down its own procedure for disposal of an application under section 12 or section 23(2). In practice, evidence is often taken on affidavit, with cross-examination. Witnesses may include the woman, her family, neighbours, doctors and the Protection Officer. The respondent leads his evidence in reply. The court then hears final arguments and passes a final order.
The Act asks magistrates to try to dispose of applications within 60 days of the first hearing. In Delhi, contested DV cases routinely take longer, often a year or more, depending on the court's workload, adjournments and whether related cases are pending. Interim orders, however, can come much sooner. A focused application with clear evidence, prompt service on the respondents and a disciplined approach to dates makes a real difference.
Section 24 requires the magistrate to give a copy of any order free of cost to the parties, the police officer in charge of the police station concerned and any service provider located in the court's area or which has registered a DIR. Keep a certified copy of every order with you; the police will need it if you have to report a breach.
Section 31 makes breach of a protection order or an interim protection order by the respondent an offence punishable with imprisonment of either description for up to one year, or a fine up to Rs 20,000, or both. Section 32 makes this offence cognizable and non-bailable, and says the court may conclude that an offence has been committed on the sole testimony of the aggrieved person. If he enters the house in breach of an order, threatens you, or contacts you after a no-contact order, call 112, show the certified copy of the order to the police, and file a complaint. The trial of the breach offence is ordinarily by the magistrate who passed the order.
Note that section 31 speaks of breach of a protection order. Non-payment of maintenance is not itself an offence under section 31; it is enforced through recovery and the other mechanisms described above. However, where a protection order specifically prohibits economic abuse, persistent refusal to pay may in some cases be argued as a breach. Advocates differ on the reach of this argument, and courts decide case by case.
There is no limitation period for filing an application under section 12. In Kamatchi v. Lakshmi Narayanan (2022), the Supreme Court held that the limitation period for taking cognizance of offences applies only to the offence of breach under section 31, and that it runs from the date of the breach, not from the date of the original domestic violence. An application describing violence from several years ago is not barred for that reason, though delay may affect how the court views the facts.
A protection order remains in force until the woman applies for its discharge. Under section 25(2), if the magistrate is satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances requiring alteration, modification or revocation of an order, the magistrate can pass an appropriate order. A woman whose expenses have risen can ask for more maintenance; a respondent who has lost his job can ask for a reduction. In S. Vijikumari (2024), the Supreme Court explained that a change in circumstances must arise after the order was made, and that section 25 is not a route to reopen an order that should have been challenged in appeal.
An appeal against an order of the magistrate lies to the Court of Session within 30 days from the date on which the order is served on the aggrieved person or the respondent, whichever is later. Interim orders affecting the parties' rights, such as interim maintenance or residence orders, are commonly appealed in Delhi. After the Sessions Court, a further challenge goes to the Delhi High Court in revision or under its inherent powers, now in section 528 of the BNSS. The High Court generally does not interfere with interim orders unless they are clearly perverse or without jurisdiction.
Respondents sometimes ask the High Court to quash a DV application. Because DV proceedings are primarily civil in nature, the Supreme Court and High Courts have generally held that the High Court should be slow to quash them at the threshold, and that the respondent's remedy is usually to contest the case before the magistrate. Quashing may still be granted where, for instance, there was clearly no domestic relationship at all or the application is a plain abuse of process.
A DV application rarely stands alone. By the time a marriage reaches court in Delhi, there may be several proceedings between the same people. Understanding how they interact helps avoid duplication, contradictory statements and wasted years.
| Case | Court in Delhi | How it relates to the DV case |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal case for cruelty and dowry (BNS sections 85 and 86, old 498A IPC) | Police investigation, then Mahila Court or magistrate | Independent. The same facts can support both; the DV case gives civil reliefs, the criminal case can lead to punishment. |
| Maintenance under section 144 BNSS (old section 125 CrPC) | Family court | Overlaps on maintenance. Amounts awarded in one are adjusted in the other under Rajnesh v. Neha. |
| Divorce, judicial separation, restitution of conjugal rights | Family court | DV reliefs can be sought in the divorce case itself under section 26. Findings in one may influence the other. |
| Custody and guardianship | Family court | The DV court gives only temporary custody; the family court decides long-term custody. |
| Recovery of stridhan | DV court, criminal court or civil court | Return of stridhan can be ordered in the DV case; refusal to return can also be criminal breach of trust. |
| Suit for injunction or possession by in-laws | Civil court | The woman can claim her DV residence right as a defence and can seek DV reliefs in that suit under section 26. |
| Eviction under the Senior Citizens Act | District Magistrate | Must be harmonised with the DV residence right under S. Vanitha (2020). |
Our guides to the Delhi family courts and to 498A and dowry cases in Delhi cover those proceedings in depth. If divorce by mutual consent becomes the agreed path, Mara Vakil's mutual divorce service can prepare the petition and settlement documents for a fee.
The single most common avoidable mistake in multiple proceedings is inconsistency: one set of dates in the DV application, another in the police complaint, a third in the maintenance petition, and different figures for income or jewellery in each. Respondents' advocates compare every document, and inconsistencies are used to attack credibility. Before filing anything, prepare one master timeline and one list of stridhan and use them for all cases.
Where parties settle, Delhi courts and mediation centres commonly record a single comprehensive agreement: mutual divorce, a lump sum or periodic payments, return of stridhan, custody and visitation, and withdrawal or quashing of the DV case, the criminal case and any other proceedings. The DV application can be withdrawn, and in fit cases the High Court can end the criminal case once the settlement is on record. Payment is usually linked to the stages of the divorce so that neither side is left exposed.
Many people who search for "DV case in Delhi" are husbands, mothers-in-law or other relatives who have just received a notice. A DV application is serious and must be answered, but it is not a criminal case against you at that stage, and nobody can be arrested merely because a DV application has been filed. Here is how to respond sensibly.
If an FIR for cruelty or dowry has also been registered, the position is different: arrest is possible, though where the offence carries seven years or less, the police must first weigh the need to arrest, as section 35 BNSS and the Arnesh Kumar ruling require. Our guide on anticipatory bail in Delhi explains how to seek protection from arrest.
Elderly in-laws who own the house have rights too. Courts balance the woman's residence right against the owners' right to live in peace, as the Delhi High Court's 2026 decisions show. Where living together has become impossible, proposing suitable alternative accommodation for the woman, paid for by the husband, is often the practical solution the court will accept.
A court order is only one part of getting out of an abusive situation. Women in Delhi can also reach:
If you are planning to leave, keep your identity documents, children's documents, bank cards, some cash, medicines and phone charger ready in one place, and tell one trusted person your plan. Your safety and your children's safety come first.
These are composite examples to show how the law applies. They are not real cases.
A woman lives with her husband and four-year-old daughter on the second floor of a house owned by her father-in-law, sharing the kitchen on the first floor. After a quarrel over money, she is pushed out and the lock is changed. She goes to her sister's flat in Uttam Nagar. Her advocate files a DV application before the Mahila Court of the West district with an affidavit, photographs, the daughter's school records and electricity bills addressed to the house, seeking an ex parte interim residence order, protection order and interim maintenance. Because the family lived and cooked together in the house, it is likely a shared household under Satish Chander Ahuja. The court issues notice and, after hearing the respondents briefly, passes an interim order either restoring her to the second floor with a no-contact order or directing the husband to pay rent for a flat nearby so the child can stay in the same school.
A schoolteacher's salary goes into an account her husband controls; he gives her nothing, takes her jewellery to his mother's locker and refuses to pay their son's fees. There is little physical violence. Her application focuses on economic abuse, with bank statements and messages. She asks for a protection order restraining operation of the locker and return of her stridhan, and monetary relief for the son's education. Her own income is relevant to maintenance, but the economic abuse is clear on the documents.
A woman has lived with her partner for six years in a rented flat; both are unmarried, they share expenses, travel together as a couple and are known to friends as husband and wife. After he becomes violent and leaves, stopping rent payments, she files a DV application. The relationship is likely to meet the Velusamy and Indra Sarma tests for a relationship in the nature of marriage, so she can seek protection, residence and monetary relief.
A man receives notice of a DV application naming him, his parents, his married sister in Chandigarh and his brother in Canada. His advocate files a detailed reply, an honest income affidavit, and an application seeking deletion of the sister and brother, against whom there are only general allegations. He pays interim maintenance as ordered while appealing the amount, and both sides are referred to mediation, where a settlement covering mutual divorce, a lump sum and return of stridhan is eventually reached.
A good DV lawyer does more than draft an application. Look for an advocate who:
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The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, in force since 26 October 2006. It gives women quick civil reliefs against domestic violence.
Mainly no. It is civil in nature, decided by a magistrate. Only breach of a protection order is a criminal offence.
Before the Metropolitan Magistrate, usually a Mahila Court, in the district court complex where you live, where the respondent lives or where the violence happened.
Yes. Section 27 allows filing where you reside permanently or temporarily, so a woman staying with her parents in Delhi can file there.
Any woman now or previously in a domestic relationship with the respondent: wife, live-in partner, mother, sister, daughter, widow and others sharing a household.
No. Under the DV Act, the aggrieved person must be a woman. Men have other civil and criminal remedies.
Yes. After Hiral P. Harsora (2016), female relatives of the husband can be respondents.
You can name relatives who were actually involved. Naming distant relatives without specific allegations often leads to their removal.
Physical, sexual, verbal and emotional, and economic abuse, including dowry harassment and threats, under section 3.
It can be. Denying money for household needs, taking away salary or stridhan, or stopping access to resources is economic abuse.
Yes. Insults and ridicule, especially about not having a child or a male child, are verbal and emotional abuse.
There is no minimum number. One serious incident can be enough, though most applications describe a pattern.
Not always. Your affidavit is evidence. Medical records, photographs, messages and witnesses make the case stronger.
An order under section 18 stopping the respondent from violence, contact, entering your workplace, operating lockers or accounts, or other specified acts.
An order under section 19 securing your right to stay in the shared household, restraining dispossession, or directing alternative accommodation or rent.
Yes, under section 19(1)(b). But such an order cannot be passed against a woman, such as the mother-in-law.
Payment under section 20 for losses, medical costs, property damage and maintenance for you and your children.
Yes. Monthly or lump-sum maintenance can be ordered under section 20, including interim maintenance early in the case.
The court can grant temporary custody under section 21 and set or refuse visitation. Permanent custody is for the family court.
Yes. Section 22 allows compensation for injuries including mental torture and emotional distress.
An order passed without first hearing the respondent, under section 23, where the application shows violence or a likelihood of it.
Often at the first or early hearings. The Act says the first hearing should ordinarily be within three days of the application reaching the court.
The Act targets 60 days from the first hearing, but contested cases in Delhi often take a year or more. Interim orders come sooner.
No. The Supreme Court held in Kamatchi (2022) that limitation does not apply to section 12 applications.
A household where the woman lives or has lived in a domestic relationship, whether owned or rented by either party or belonging to the joint family.
Possibly. Satish Chander Ahuja (2020) held that the in-laws' house can be a shared household, but the court balances the owners' rights.
Yes. The 2007 S.R. Batra decision was overruled by a three-judge bench in Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020).
No. The Delhi High Court held in 2026 that a house where a woman once lived does not remain a shared household indefinitely if she has settled elsewhere.
The Supreme Court held in S. Vanitha (2020) that the Senior Citizens Act cannot defeat a DV residence right; the two laws must be harmonised.
Yes. The court can direct the husband to provide alternative accommodation or pay rent of a similar standard.
An officer appointed under section 8 who records domestic incident reports, helps file applications, and arranges shelter, medical and legal help.
A report in Form I recorded by the Protection Officer or a service provider describing the domestic violence.
No. The Supreme Court held in Prabha Tyagi (2022) that a DIR is not a precondition for the magistrate to act.
Ask at the Mahila Court or district legal services authority in your district court complex. Protection Officers work under the Women and Child Development department.
In We the Women of India, it directed states to designate Protection Officers within six weeks and notify shelter homes within ten weeks, and asked for legal aid awareness.
Not legally, but most applications in Delhi are filed by advocates. Free legal aid is available to every woman.
Yes. Every woman is entitled to free legal services under section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, regardless of income.
There is no significant court fee. The main cost is the advocate's fee, which legal aid can cover.
Parties, relationship, dated incidents, shared household, children, stridhan, incomes, earlier cases and the reliefs sought, with an affidavit.
Yes. The court can order return of stridhan and restrain its alienation or the operation of lockers.
The court may hear you on interim relief and issue notice to the respondents to reply.
Section 13 provides for service through the Protection Officer; police and other permitted modes are also used.
Yes. Under section 16, the magistrate may hold proceedings in camera if a party asks and circumstances justify it.
It may, under section 14. Delhi courts also refer many cases to mediation centres.
No. Mediation does not stop your claim to interim relief.
Yes. Section 24 requires free copies to the parties, the police station and service providers.
Call 112 and show the order. Breach is punishable with up to one year or Rs 20,000 fine or both, and is cognizable and non-bailable.
Section 31 covers breach of protection orders. Non-payment is mainly enforced through recovery, though arguments based on economic abuse orders exist.
Through recovery proceedings, and the court can order his employer or debtor to pay part of his salary or dues directly to you.
Yes. Under section 25, the court can alter or revoke an order on a change in circumstances arising after the order.
To the Court of Session within 30 days of the order being served, under section 29.
Rarely at the threshold. Because DV proceedings are civil in nature, High Courts generally leave respondents to contest before the magistrate.
Yes, for violence during the marriage. The Supreme Court so held in Juveria Abdul Majid Patni (2014).
Yes, against her late husband's relatives with whom she shared a household, for example to stop eviction or harassment.
Yes. A mother in a domestic relationship with her son can seek protection and residence orders.
Yes, if the relationship is in the nature of marriage under the tests in Velusamy (2010) and Indra Sarma (2013).
Indra Sarma (2013) held a woman knowingly living with a married man was not in a relationship in the nature of marriage. Other remedies may still apply.
Yes. The Supreme Court held in S. Vijikumari (2024) that the Act applies to every woman irrespective of religion.
Not necessarily. Prabha Tyagi (2022) held the right does not depend on actual residence at the time.
Under Rajnesh v. Neha (2020): standard of living, needs, both incomes, liabilities and dependants, based on sworn asset affidavits.
No. Rajnesh v. Neha makes it run from the day you filed the application.
Orders can exist in both, but the second court deducts what the first has awarded.
Possibly, where your earnings fall short of keeping up the lifestyle you had in the marital home.
Courts look at lifestyle, assets, bank and tax records. An able-bodied husband cannot escape maintenance by claiming unemployment.
Usually not. In Reji Baby v. Subi Mary (2026), the Supreme Court refused to let a wife revive waived claims through DV proceedings.
Yes. Section 26 allows DV reliefs in any civil, family or criminal proceeding between the parties.
Yes. They are independent: one gives civil reliefs, the other can lead to criminal punishment.
Not merely for a DV application. Arrest arises only for breach of a protection order, or in a separate criminal case.
Appear through an advocate, file a reply and an honest income affidavit, and obey any interim order.
The court may proceed ex parte and pass orders on the woman's version alone.
Yes, if there are no specific allegations against them, they can apply to be dropped.
Yes. Keep paying while you challenge it; stopping payment can lead to recovery action and hurt your case.
Yes. Many end in a comprehensive settlement covering divorce, money, stridhan, custody and withdrawal of cases.
The woman can apply to withdraw it, usually after a settlement is recorded and its terms are met.
Not on limitation, since none applies to section 12. Delay may affect how the facts are viewed.
Under section 5 they must inform the woman of her rights, and they help enforce orders and register breach cases.
Yes. Call 112 in an emergency. Show any court order if the respondent breaches it.
The women helpline, offering counselling, information and referral to support services.
Sakhi Centres under Mission Shakti that provide medical, police, legal, counselling and short-stay shelter support in one place.
Yes. The Supreme Court in 2025 directed states to notify shelter homes at district level. Protection Officers and helplines can help you reach one.
Yes. Police, Protection Officers and service providers can arrange it, and the record is useful evidence.
Photos of injuries, medical records, messages, bank statements, a stridhan list, witness names, police calls and proof of residence.
With a trusted relative, in an account only you control, or with your lawyer, out of the respondent's reach.
Yes, with proper proof of electronic records under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Yes. A residence order can restrain alienation or encumbrance of the shared household.
A protection order can restrain the respondent from operating joint or single accounts or lockers without the court's leave.
Yes. A protection order can prohibit all forms of communication, including phone and online.
No. Divorce is decided by the family court, though DV reliefs can be sought there too.
Findings of violence can be relevant, but the family court decides custody on the child's welfare.
The provision under which the woman, a Protection Officer or someone on her behalf applies to the magistrate for reliefs.
It gives every woman in a domestic relationship the right to reside in the shared household, regardless of ownership.
It allows interim and ex parte orders at any stage of the case.
It punishes breach of a protection order with up to one year, or fine up to Rs 20,000, or both.
It varies with experience and the work involved. Agree the fee in writing before starting; free legal aid is available.
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No. Mara Vakil is a technology platform connecting you with independent advocates. It is not a law firm.
Usually the Mahila Court of the East district at Karkardooma, subject to section 27 options.
Usually the Rohini court complex, which serves the North and North West districts, subject to section 27 options.
This page gives general information based on the sources listed, as checked on 17 October 2026. DV outcomes depend on the evidence and facts of each family; confirm with an advocate before acting. Mara Vakil is a technology platform, not a law firm, and does not give legal advice. Read our disclaimer.
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