Indian courts can take cognizance of domestic violence caused on foreign soil: HC

Indian courts can take cognizance of domestic violence caused on foreign soil, according to the Bombay high court, which dismissed a petition by a Nagpur resident seeking to quash a complaint by his estranged wife, who claimed she was subjected to domestic violence by her husband while residing in Germany.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has recently held that Indian courts can take cognizance of domestic violence caused on foreign soil.

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The court made this observation while dismissing a petition filed by a Nagpur resident seeking the quashing of a complaint filed by his estranged wife, who claimed she was subjected to domestic violence by her husband while residing in Germany. She had filed the complaint under provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act, 2005.

The single judge bench of justice GA Sanap held that the provisions of the DV Act were “applicable irrespective of the place of cause of action,” and clauses (a) and (b) of Section 27 (1) of the DV Act, which deal with jurisdiction of courts, had “no direct nexus or co relation with the place where the domestic violence was caused.”

The couple had got married in 2020 and in December that year, the husband went to Germany and a few months later, the wife joined him after receiving her visa. A few months later, she returned to her parents in Nagpur and filed a complaint under the provisions of the DV Act, complaining that while in Germany, her husband subjected her to mental and physical harassment.

She alleged that though her husband behaved well for the first few days after she joined his company in Germany, she was subsequently not allowed to talk to her parents and was forced to undergo an abortion against her wish.

The 35-year-old man residing in Dusseldorf NRW had moved the high court after an additional chief judicial magistrate in Nagpur, on October 21, 2022, dismissed his plea seeking rejection of his estranged wife’s complaint. He had contended that the magistrate court could not have taken cognizance of her complaint, as the alleged domestic violence happened in Germany and therefore, courts in India had no jurisdiction to entertain the complaint under the DV Act.

It was argued on his behalf that section 1 of the DV Act states that the enactment extends to whole of India, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and section 27 stated that it shall be enforceable throughout India, and therefore an order pertaining to domestic violence committed outside the country could not be enforced and would be meaningless.

The argument, however, did not find favour with justice GA Sanap. The court held that the courts in India can take cognizance of the domestic violence caused on the foreign soil and dismissed petition filed by the 35-year-old man.