Court Rules That Wife Has Right To Monitor Progress Of Her Domestic Violence Case

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court transferred a woman’s case to the city so she could monitor the progress of her case against her husband. The woman filed a case against her husband and his brothers for alleged domestic violence and cruelty.

The Nagpur bench ruled that the wife had the right to attend and monitor the domestic violence case against her husband. Justice Vinay Joshi rejected the husband and his two brother’s contention that the wife only had to give the evidence once as the case was registered by the government through the police.

Joshi said that it would be inconvenient for the wife to attend the Anjangaon-Surji court in Amravati. He said that since she was the one filing a complaint of domestic violence, “she has every right to attend and monitor the progress of her case”. Joshi added that the witnesses in the case were her family members who reside in Nagpur.

Justice Joshi mentioned that there was no formula for where cases would be transferred as each case was different. He said that in domestic disputes, the cases are generally transferred to a court that is more convenient for the wife. However, since the case sought to be transferred in under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the relevant factors regarding the case had to be considered.

Wife Monitor Domestic Violence Case

The couple had gotten married in 2013 and resided at the husband’s home in Anjangaon-Surji in Maharashtra and where he used to work in Vadodara, Gujarat. In 2015, the wife left him and moved to her maternal home. She filed a case under the Protection of Women from the Domestic Violence Act and her husband filed a divorce petition, which was later dismissed.

The complaint was filed by the wife at Sakkardara police station and the case was transferred to Anjangaon-Surji, Amravati, due to jurisdictional issues. The wife challenged the transfer in the high court contending that she was suffering financial constraints and the geographical distance was serving as a barrier. She said she was unable to attend to or monitor the case, which lead to delays.

Justice Joshi said that both the husband and wife filed their cases in Nagpur courts and that most of the witnesses were based in the city. The judge ruled, “Comparing the wife’s plight, having a child vis-à-vis to two accused who are male members, the scale would certainly tilt in the petitioner’s favour.”

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