The right of a wife to a shared household under the Domestic Violence Act will prevail against a decree obtained by her aged in-laws under the Senior Citizens Act, ruled the Supreme Court.

This decision follows a judgment pronounced by the top court two months ago where the Court noted that even if the shared household is a joint family property where the husband has no legal right or share, the same shall still be treated as a shared household for the wife to continue staying put.

“Section 3 of the Senior Citizens Act, 2007 cannot be deployed to over-ride and nullify other protections in law particularly that of a woman’s right to a shared household under Section 17 of the PWDV Act 2005.

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005, which seeks to protect wives facing domestic violence, and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, created to protect senior citizens by providing a speedy and inexpensive remedy to secure their interests at an advanced stage of life.

THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Act, 2005

          The Act( a civil law) is enacted to protect wife or female live-in partner at the hands of the husband or male live-in partner or his relatives, the law also extends its protection to women living in a household such as sisters, widows or mothers from domestic violence-definition being broad and including not only physical violence, but also other forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual, and economic abuse.

           Domestic violence under the act includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic.Any form of harassment, coercion, harm to health, safety, limb or well-being is covered.

Physical abuse: Defined as act or conduct that is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person’. Physical abuse also includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force.
Sexual abuse: The legislation defines this as conduct of “sexual nature” that ‘abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of a woman.’
Verbal and emotional abuse: Insults/ ridicule of any form, including those with regard to inability to have a male child, as well as repeated threats.
Economic abuse: Categorized as including deprivation of financial resources required for survival of the victim and her children, the disposing of any assets which the victim has an interest/stake in and prohibition/restriction of financial resources which the victim is used to while in the domestic relationship.

MAINTENANCE AND WELFARE OF PARENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS ACT

It was passed to provide maintenance support to elderly parents and senior citizens. The Act establishes the Maintenance Tribunal to provide speedy and effective relief to elderly persons. Section 19 of the act also mandates the establishment of an old age home in every district and provides for the protection of life and property of the elderly.

Article 41, a Directive Principle of State Policy,   states that “the State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right of public assistance in cases of old age”