Introduction

Domestic violence is one of the gravest offences to ever exist in the society, because it not only includes bodily injury but also includes mental torture and abuse. The scope for relief under domestic violence was very low in previous time when there was no law governing it. The ambit of domestic violence increased with the enactment of “Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005”. 

Causes and Types of Domestic Violence

The cause for domestic violence can be different in different cases as it depends on the circumstances and situations. The main causes for domestic violence can be establishing dominance, intoxication, for demand of dowry in case of a married couple, etc. The domestic violence is not limited to physical violence, it includes, mental torture, verbal abuse, isolating from the resources, sexual violence, etc. This can have various negative impacts on the body and mind of the victim. As a result in many cases the victim decides to commit suicide.

Provision

The laws on domestic violence was previously governed by Section 498A of the IPC, which enumerated the provisions as if a husband or elative of a husband subjects cruelty to the wife then he will be punished with imprisonment up to three years and also be liable with fine. As the scope of this section is very narrow and only covers certain circumstances it was not enough to govern the whole consequences of the offence. Hence, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 came into force. This expanded the scope of Domestic Violence which was previously only limited to married women.

Judicial Interpretations

The courts in various judgments also increased the scope of the “Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005”. In the case of Lalita Toppo V. State of Jharkhand, the honorable court observed that the couples which are not married and are in live in relationship will also be coming under the “Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005”. 

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that by enacting the act on the domestic violence, the intention of legislature was to expand the ambit of domestic violence. Even through the judicial interpretations, the courts have observed that the act is not limited to only married couples.

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