Married sister can’t be booked under DV Act

Married sisters of a man, living separately from the joint family, cannot be prosecuted under the Domestic Violence (DV) Act on a complaint of his wife, a Delhi court has held.

Married sisters of a man, living separately from the joint family, cannot be prosecuted under the Domestic Violence (DV) Act on a complaint of his wife, a Delhi court has held.

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Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau expressed concern over “misuse” of special laws by making women parties in the petitions just because they happened to be sisters of the man.

“Married sisters residing in their own matrimonial houses are not a part of the shared household or joint family, as contemplated under the Domestic Violence Act,” the court said.

It, however, clarified that the married sisters were not denied the rights, which could be claimed from their parental home.

The observations were made by the court while dismissing the plea of a woman who challenged an order of the Metropolitan Magistrate, refusing to summon married sisters of her estranged husband in the case under the Domestic Violence Act.