Domestic Violence in India: What Legal Remedies Are Available to a Victim?
Domestic violence is a crime and a human rights violation, not a private family matter. Indian law provides strong, enforceable remedies for victims — including protection orders that can be obtained urgently, residence rights, financial relief, and criminal prosecution of the abuser.
If you are experiencing violence, abuse, or control by a spouse, partner, or family member, this guide explains your legal options in plain language.
What Is Domestic Violence Under Indian Law?
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA) defines domestic violence broadly. It is not limited to physical hitting — the law recognises multiple forms of abuse.
Physical abuse: Any act or conduct causing bodily pain, injury, or harm — including hitting, slapping, kicking, choking, burning, or any other form of physical violence. Threatening physical violence also constitutes domestic violence under the Act.
Emotional and psychological abuse: Insults, humiliation, name-calling, ridicule, threats, controlling behaviour, isolation from family and friends, monitoring movements, constant criticism, gaslighting. The law recognises that non-physical abuse can be just as damaging as physical harm.
Economic abuse: Depriving the victim of financial resources, preventing her from working or earning, refusing to provide money for household expenses, taking away salary or savings, preventing access to bank accounts, disposing of assets without consent.
Verbal abuse: Threats of physical harm, threats of divorce, threats to take away children, verbal degradation, screaming and intimidation.
Sexual abuse: Any sexual conduct that humiliates, degrades, or violates the dignity of the victim, including forced sexual acts within the marriage.
Who Is Protected Under the PWDVA?
The PWDVA protects any woman who is or has been in a domestic relationship with the respondent. A domestic relationship is broadly defined:
- Wife (married or in a marriage-like relationship)
- Live-in partner (relationship in the nature of marriage)
- Mother, sister, daughter, or other female relative living in the shared household
- Former wife or former live-in partner
Importantly: You do not need to be currently living with the abuser to be protected. Former domestic relationships are covered, and you can file even after leaving the shared household.
The Two Legal Routes: PWDVA and BNS Criminal Complaint
Victims have two primary legal routes, which can and often should be pursued simultaneously:
Route 1 — Civil relief under the PWDVA (before the Magistrate) This provides protection orders, residence rights, monetary relief, and custody orders. It is faster in many respects because the Magistrate can grant ex-parte (one-sided) interim orders on the very first hearing.
Route 2 — Criminal complaint under the BNS (FIR with police) Section 85 BNS (formerly Section 498A IPC) — Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband. This is a cognisable, non-bailable offence. An FIR leads to arrest, investigation, and criminal prosecution. Punishment is imprisonment up to 3 years and fine.
Section 86 BNS — Deals with cruelty by husband or relatives causing the woman to commit or attempt suicide. This is a more serious provision.
Both routes are independent and complementary. You can pursue both simultaneously.
Types of Orders Under the PWDVA
1. Protection Order (Section 18 PWDVA) This is the most urgent relief. A Protection Order restrains the respondent from:
- Committing any further act of domestic violence
- Contacting the aggrieved person by telephone, email, or in person
- Entering the victim's place of work
- Entering the victim's children's school
- Alienating or disposing of shared assets
Courts can pass ex-parte Protection Orders on the first hearing if there is imminent danger, without the respondent being heard first. This means you can obtain protection on the day you file the application in genuine emergency cases.
2. Residence Order (Section 19 PWDVA) This addresses where you live. A Residence Order can:
- Restrain the respondent from evicting you from the shared household
- Protect your right to continue residing in the shared household (even if you have no ownership interest)
- Direct the respondent to find and provide alternative accommodation for the victim
- Restrict the respondent to a specific part of the house away from the victim
The right to residence in the shared household is one of the most significant protections — a woman cannot be turned out of her matrimonial home even if she has no legal title to the property. This right was affirmed and clarified by the Supreme Court in Satish Chander Ahuja v Sneha Ahuja (2020).
3. Monetary Relief (Section 20 PWDVA) The Magistrate can order the respondent to pay:
- Compensation for losses suffered (medical expenses, property damage, loss of earnings)
- Maintenance for the aggrieved person and her children
- Expenses for alternative accommodation
The amount is assessed based on the respondent's income and the victim's actual needs. This order is separate from and in addition to any maintenance claim under personal law or Section 144 BNSS.
4. Custody Order (Section 21 PWDVA) Temporary custody of children can be granted to the aggrieved person. This is particularly important where the respondent has used or threatens to use the children as a tool of control or to deny the victim custody as leverage.
5. Compensation Order (Section 22 PWDVA) The Magistrate can award compensation for mental torture, emotional distress, and psychological harm suffered as a result of the domestic violence.
Process for Filing a Domestic Violence Application in Chandigarh
Step 1: Gather evidence Document the abuse if it is safe to do so:
- Photographs of injuries (with dates)
- Medical records, hospital discharge summaries, doctor's notes
- Screenshot threatening or abusive messages, voice messages
- Record conversations if safe (you as a party to the conversation can record it)
- Gather witness contact information (neighbours, family members who witnessed abuse)
Step 2: Contact a Protection Officer or Lawyer In Chandigarh, Protection Officers are available at the District Welfare Office. A family law advocate can file the application directly before the Magistrate.
Step 3: File the Application Your advocate files a domestic incident report (DIR) and a formal application (Domestic Violence Application) before the Judicial Magistrate at the District Court Complex, Sector 17, Chandigarh (or Mohali District Courts for cases in Mohali area).
Step 4: Ex-Parte Interim Order In genuinely urgent cases, the Magistrate can pass a Protection Order and Residence Order on the very first day, without hearing the respondent. This provides immediate protection.
Step 5: Notice to Respondent and Further Hearing The respondent is then given notice and an opportunity to be heard. The court proceeds to pass final orders.
Timeline: PWDVA cases are designed to be decided within 60 days of filing.
Filing an FIR Under Section 85 BNS
If you want to pursue criminal prosecution of the abuser, file an FIR at the nearest police station. You can request that a woman police officer record your statement.
The police are required to register the FIR and investigate. They cannot refuse to register an FIR for a cognisable offence such as Section 85 BNS cruelty.
A Zero FIR can be filed at any police station in Chandigarh, Mohali, or Panchkula regardless of where the offence occurred.
Evidence: What Helps Your Case
Courts consider all available evidence in PWDVA matters:
- Medical records documenting injuries
- Photographs with timestamps
- Recordings of abusive conversations or incidents
- WhatsApp, email, or text messages showing threatening or abusive communication
- Testimony of witnesses (neighbours, family, colleagues, domestic staff)
- Bank records showing economic deprivation
- Hospital or doctor's certificates
- Complaints previously made to police or Protection Officer
Even without physical evidence, the sworn testimony of the victim is significant. Courts are sensitive to the fact that domestic violence often occurs in private.
Emergency Considerations: What to Do If You Are in Immediate Danger
If you are in immediate physical danger:
- Call 112 — the national emergency number for police.
- Go to the nearest police station or hospital for immediate safety.
- Get medical attention immediately and ask that the doctor document your injuries.
- Contact a trusted family member or friend.
- Contact a lawyer as soon as you are safe.
Do not feel that you have to "prove it" before calling the police. Police are required to respond to domestic violence calls as emergency situations.
One Stop Centres: The Government of India has established One Stop Centres (Sakhi Centres) across the country to provide immediate assistance to women affected by violence — including medical, legal, police, and shelter support. In Chandigarh, the One Stop Centre is available through the Health and Social Welfare Department.
What If Children Are Involved?
If your children are witnesses to domestic violence, or if you are afraid the abuser will harm them or take them away:
- Apply for custody and a residence order under the PWDVA immediately.
- Inform the children's school about the situation and request that only you be authorised to collect the children.
- The court can pass an order restraining the respondent from removing the children from your custody.
Courts recognise that children exposed to domestic violence suffer psychological harm, even if they are not physically harmed themselves.
How Tricity Law Firm Can Help
Domestic violence cases require sensitive, confidential, and urgent legal assistance. Adv. Kamal Grover and the team at Tricity Law Firm handle PWDVA matters before the Magistrate Courts in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula with full awareness of the urgency and the personal nature of these cases.
We assist with:
- Urgent protection order applications (same-day or next-day where possible)
- FIR drafting and follow-up with police
- Residence and monetary relief applications
- Interim custody applications for children
- Full PWDVA case representation
- Advice on combining PWDVA and BNS Section 85 proceedings effectively
Call +91-9814110005 for urgent matters. We maintain strict confidentiality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can a working professional woman file a domestic violence complaint? Yes. Being employed or financially independent does not disentitle a woman from protection under the PWDVA. Economic and emotional abuse are as actionable as physical abuse.
Q: Can I file a domestic violence complaint after I have left the shared household? Yes. The PWDVA expressly covers former domestic relationships. You can file a complaint even after leaving the shared household.
Q: What if I withdraw the complaint after filing? You can withdraw a complaint at any stage before final order. However, in FIR cases, the State (police) become the complainant and proceedings may continue even if you withdraw. Withdrawing a complaint does not erase the evidence or the record of the abuse.
Q: Can a male victim use these laws? The PWDVA specifically protects women. Men who face domestic violence have other legal remedies — Section 85 BNS applies to cruelty by husband's relatives to a wife, and general IPC/BNS assault provisions apply to physical abuse of any person. The Domestic Violence Act does not directly cover male victims.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 112 immediately. Please consult an advocate for advice on your specific situation.