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Quick Answer
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) creates civil remedies for women in shared households. "Domestic violence" is defined broadly to include physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic abuse. Reliefs include (i) protection order under Section 18 (restraining respondent from various acts); (ii) residence order under Section 19 (right to reside in shared household, restraint on alienation); (iii) monetary relief under Section 20; (iv) custody order under Section 21; (v) compensation order under Section 22. Service of notice and hearing follow Magistrate court procedure.
Statutory reference
PWDVA 2005
A DV Act application is filed before the Magistrate (increasingly, Family Courts hear them alongside matrimonial matters) by or on behalf of an aggrieved woman, and its power lies in the interim stage: protection orders, residence orders securing her right to stay in the shared household regardless of whose name owns it, monetary relief covering maintenance and expenses, and interim custody — often granted within weeks. The Act is civil in architecture (breach of a protection order is the criminal offence), applies to live-in relationships in the nature of marriage, and reliefs run alongside — not instead of — Section 125 BNSS maintenance and matrimonial proceedings. For respondents, the defence work is documentary: rebutting the domestic-relationship or violence allegations, and ensuring monetary orders reflect real income on both sides via the Rajnesh affidavit discipline.
Worked example
After being locked out of her matrimonial flat in Noida, a woman files a DV application through the Protection Officer. Within three weeks the Magistrate passes an interim residence order restoring her to the shared household and monetary relief of ₹22,000 per month against her husband, based on his salary slips summoned from his employer. The orders hold while the couple's divorce negotiation matures; a year later, the DV case is withdrawn as part of a comprehensive mutual consent divorce settlement in which the one-time alimony expressly covers all past and future claims — the standard arc for DV proceedings that begin as protection and end as leverage toward a complete settlement.
Related practice areas
Civil-protection statute giving aggrieved women the right to (i) protection orders, (ii) residence orders, (iii) monetary relief, (iv) custody orders, and (v) compensation orders. Enforced by Magistrate court.
Domestic Violence Act 2005 is governed by PWDVA 2005. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) creates civil remedies for women in shared households. "Domestic violence" is defined broadly to include physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic abuse. Reliefs include (i) protection order under Section 18 (restraining respondent from various acts); (ii) residence order under Section 19 (right to reside in shared household, restraint on alienation); (iii) monetary relief under Section 20; (iv) custody order under Section 21; (v) compensation order under Section 22. Service of notice and hearing follow Magistrate court procedure.
Domestic Violence Act 2005 falls under Family & Matrimonial. NyaySevak matches you with a Bar-Council-verified advocate in the relevant practice area — your first step is a free case assessment with no obligation.
Definitions describe the framework — your case lives in its facts. Talk to a Bar-Council-verified advocate. Case assessment is free and comes with no obligation; callback usually within 24 hours.