NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has recently held that a wife’s right to reside in a shared household under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) is not absolute, particularly when she is financially independent.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna ruled that a wife may be evicted from her marital home if employed and not dependent on her in-laws for shelter, provided the eviction follows due legal process.
The court made this observation while hearing the case of a woman who holds an MBA, works at Accenture Solutions, and has been living in her husband’s family home since their marriage. After marital discord, the husband and in-laws moved out, and the wife filed a domestic violence complaint, claiming she had been subjected to cruelty.
She also sought protection of her right to reside in the shared household, while her in-laws sought her eviction through a civil suit.
Initially, a magistrate granted the wife interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 and protected her from eviction. However, the magistrate revoked the order upon the father-in-law’s request, citing the wife’s gainful employment.
The woman appealed the decision, asserting her right to stay in the shared household under the DV Act. The sessions court upheld the magistrate’s decision, leading the woman to approach the High Court.
The HC ruled that while the DV Act grants a woman the right to reside in a shared household, it does not confer an “absolute right” to remain there permanently, primarily if the property is owned by someone else.
The court also noted the petitioner’s employment and income of Rs 40,000 per month, which led to the withdrawal of the maintenance order.
The HC, while dismissing her appeal, stated that “while Section 19 of the DV Act recognises the right of a daughter-in-law to continue to live in the shared household, it is subject to two conditions: firstly, she cannot be dispossessed except in accordance with law, and secondly, she may be provided with an alternate accommodation or the rent for such alternate accommodation.”