HC orders temporary eviction of abusive husband from his house

The Bombay High Court has temporarily barred a businessman from entering his home after a woman's domestic abuse complaint, prioritizing her and their children's safety.

MUMBAI: Acting on a woman’s complaint of domestic abuse, the Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained an allegedly abusive husband from entering his house in Colaba for a month. A single judge bench of justice Kamal Khata has ordered the 40-year-old businessman to leave the house in four days and stay out for a month.

HC orders temporary eviction of abusive husband from his house

According to the woman, the couple got married in December 2011, and have two children, a 6-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. The woman told the court that throughout their marriage, her husband was cruel to her, abused her family with offensive language, and even physically assaulted her on several occasions.

Despite several interventions by her relatives, when her husband’s behaviour did not improve, she filed two police complaints at the Colaba police station. When that too failed to stop the abuse, she sought a divorce. While the divorce petition was pending at the high court, the woman filed a plea invoking provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act, trying to ban her husband from entering their house, and also demanding a ₹2 lakh temporary monthly allowance.

The woman told the court that her husband’s aggressive conduct had impacted their children too, and her son who was diagnosed with autism, had developed severe fear and anxiety after witnessing his father’s violent episodes.

However, her husband strongly refuted the allegations and maintained that the plea was nothing but an abuse of the legal process. To prove his innocence he submitted affidavits from two house helps in their house where they had stated that neither of them witnessed any incidents of domestic abuse.

The high court, however, refused to accept his claims and instead found that the woman needed protection. The court found no reason to doubt the photos submitted by the woman of physical abuse, or the police complaints she had filed.

“It is evident that the parties are unable to cohabit. The applicant (woman), therefore, deserves her own space along with her minor children,” said the court. “The husband cannot insist on residing in the matrimonial home or dictate terms to the wife, particularly when she has sought protection and restraint against him,” the court added while ordering the husband to stay out of the matrimonial home for a month.

The court held, “This temporary separation may also provide both parties an opportunity to introspect and attempt reconciliation, keeping in mind not only their own interests but also those of their children, who require the presence and affection of both parents for their well-being,” the court said.

The court has also ordered the husband to take care of his children’s monthly expenses and meet them thrice a week after fixing time with the woman.