Till the year 2005, the only remedies available to women subjected to domestic violence were provided under Section 304B (dowry death) and 498A (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
LEGISLATIVE ASPECT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Looking at the tremendous hike in the number of offences occurring against women, a dire need to code a legislation in this respect was felt by the Lawyer’s Collective Women’s Rights Initiative (LCWRI) when they upraised the burning issue of domestic violence being taken place against women since ages. The LCWRI drafted the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill in 1998 followed by a bill drafted by Lok Sabha, Government of India titled: The Protection from Domestic Violence Bill, 2001. The Lok Sabha draft bill was critically opposed on a large scale by Indira Jaisingh, the leader of LCWRI and by women leaders of other such organizations. The efforts put forth together for the security of women, thus led to the enactment of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) on 13th September, 2005 with an aim “to provide for more effective protection of the rights of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.
Read : Definition of Domestic Violence under PWDVA,2005
Post the enactment of this Act, as mentioned in the National Crime Records Bureau, the data on Domestic Violence was collected for the first time in the year 2014 and a total of 426 cases were reported under this Act during 2014. Section 2(a) of the Act defines an “aggrieved person”. Clearing the scepticism whether women in live-in relationships are protected under this Act or not, the Supreme Court in its decision in D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal (2010) 10 SCC 469 gave a wider meaning to the definition of an “aggrieved person” holding that the parties must have cohabited with each other voluntarily in a shared household for a good amount of time such that the outside world believes them to be spouses. The Supreme Court also clarified that a man who uses a woman only for fulfilment of his sexual pleasures does not constitute the nature of a marital relationship and so they are kept out of the purview of obtaining relief under this Act. The legislation will perpetually work as a saviour to the grievances of women and develop them into undaunted and well informed members of the society.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Throwing light upon the aim of the Act, we notice that it mentions the rights guaranteed to women under the Indian Constitution which authenticates that the framers of the Constitution drafted it with a broad perspective keeping the welfare of every sect of society in view. The Articles concerning welfare of women can mainly be seen in the Fundamental Rights (Part III), Directive Principles of the State Policy (Part IV) and Fundamental Duties (Part IV A) of the Indian Constitution. The Articles enshrined in the Constitution are enumerated below:-
- Article 14 – Equality before law.
- Article 15 – Non-discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
- Article 16 – Equality of opportunities in matters of public employment.
- Article 39 – The State shall make policies to secure adequate means of livelihood and provide equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
- Article 42 – Keeping the health of women in mind, the State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. Likewise, Article 47 enunciates that the State shall contemplate raising the level of nutrition, standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as amongst its primary duties.
- Article 51A(e) – Article 51A sets out Fundamental Duties which are enforced upon the citizens of India by the Constitution. One such duty mentioned in Article 51A(e) is with regards to promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood among all Indians and to renounce practice derogatory to the dignity of women.
Apart from the Constitutional provisions, some legislations, in addition to the PWDVA, 2005 have been enacted specifically keeping the prosperity of women in mind. These enactments include Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971; The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 and Prevention of Commission of Sati Act, 1987.
In addition to this, the Government of India has, in January, 1992 set up a statutory body ‘National Commission for women’ under the National Commission of Women Act, 1990 with an aim to review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advice the Government on all policy matters affecting women.
GENDER INEQUALITY BY LEGISLATORS:
In recent times, it has been highly observed that laws made to protect women are often misused by them. The misuse of this act has been observed by legal jurists from time to time. One of the observers was Justice S. Vaidyanathan of Madras High Court, who, while dismissing a writ petition stated “The notable flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to teach a lesson to their male relatives and will file frivolous and false cases”. In this whole scenario, violence against men has been totally neglected and not taken into account by any law in India. As per a cross-sectional study of gender based violence against men in the rural areas of Haryana, India, it has been reported that 52.4% of men have experienced gender based violence out of which 51.5% have been induced to inhumanity by their wives/intimate partners. It will not be justified to say that only women face domestic violence and not men. Yet no legislation in particular has been passed till date to punish the women offenders.
Click here to read our article on “Domestic Violence: Terror Behind The Walls”
