Politics
Delhi HC says father-in-law not liable under DV Act
Hindustan Times··2 Oct
The Delhi High Court held a father-in-law cannot be liable under the Domestic Violence Act only for failing to control his adult son. Justice Madhu Jain dismissed a woman's petition against a lower court decision not to proceed against her father-in-law. She alleged he failed to act over her husband's involvement with another woman. Section 3 needs facts, it said.
Prism
What It Means For You
- A domestic relationship alone is not enough to invoke Section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act, the court said.
- Allegations of verbal or emotional abuse need underlying facts, not only conclusion words.
- Commercial disputes between partners may fall under Section 3 only if a protected resource was denied.
What's Happening
- The August order found no participation by the father-in-law in the alleged matrimonial misconduct.
- The petitioner and father-in-law were also partners in a firm, the court noted.
- The bench found no stated facts showing a threat of domestic violence by him.
What Section 3 Covers
- Section 3 covers conduct that causes or threatens physical or mental harm, including verbal, emotional and economic abuse.
- The court treated words such as insulted, shouted and abused as conclusions without supporting detail.
- The petition challenged a lower court decision that had declined to proceed against the father-in-law.
all-news
