New Delhi, April 8: In
a judgment that expands the ambit of the Domestic Violence Act, the
Delhi high court has held that the law protects not only a man’s wife
but also a "mistress" or a live-in partner. "We find no reason why
equal treatment should not be accorded to a wife as well as a woman who
has been living with a man as his common-law wife or even as a
mistress," a bench comprising Justices Vikramjit Sen and P.K. Bhasin
said.
The bench passed the judgment on a petition filed by a man for quashing
criminal proceedings against him on the complaint filed by his live-in
partner.
Rejecting the plea of the petitioner, the court said that in a case of
women having live-in relationships with a man it could be fairly
assumed that the relationship was initiated by the man.
"Like treatment to both (wives and mistress) does not, in any manner,
derogate from the sanctity of marriage since an assumption can fairly
be drawn that a live-in relationship is invariably initiated and
perpetuated by the male," the bench said.
The bench said that in dealing with such cases "the court should also
not be impervious to social stigma which always sticks to women and not
to the men". The petitioner contended in the high court that granting
equal rights to a live-in relationship partner would diminish the
rights of legally-wedded women.
The court, however, rejected his contentions and said, "Its not
unconstitutional for the parliament to provide for protection to a
woman in a relationship akin to marriage, alongwith and juxtaposed to
the protection given to wives and legitimate children."
The bench also held that diversion of funds, meant for legally married
wife, towards the live-in relationship partner for her protection was
not unconstitutional and invalid.
"In unfortunate and uncomfortable situations like these, if the
protection given to unwedded women results in the diminution of funds
available for maintenance of the legally wedded wives and the
legitimate children, such diminution would not render the statute
unconstitutional," the bench said.
Mr Shah, the petitioner, had approached the high court after
proceedings were initiated against him by a lower court here under the
Domestic Violence Act on the complainant filed by a woman who claimed
to be his wife. He, however, defended himself saying that he was not
legally married to the complainant and challenged the constitutional
validity of the act as it was discriminatory against the male community.
The court rejected his contention questioning the validity of the act
and said, "There is perception, not unfounded or unjustified, that the
lot and fate of women in India is an abjectly dismal one...The argument
that the act is ultra vires the constitution because it accords
protection only to women and not to men is, therefore, wholly devoid of
any merit." The court, however, refused to pass an order on the
quashing of the proceedings against him in the lower court and referred
the matter to another bench who would hear the matter on April 24. (PTI)
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Asian Age.
