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Delhi Courts Deliver Divergent Rulings on Women’s Residence Rights Under DV Act

Recent orders under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act reflect diverging judicial approaches on residence rights, from mandating separate lodging with cost coverage to upholding a widow’s stay without maintenance.

Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC-Mahila Court) Sonika on July 19, 2025, granted liberty to the complainant woman to reside in the matrimonial shared household along with her minor child.

Overview

  • On June 4, Judicial Magistrate Anam Rais Khan ordered a separated wife to move to separate accommodation provided by her husband and to receive rent and relocation costs.
  • The June ruling emphasized that a woman’s right to reside under the DV Act must be weighed against senior citizens’ dignity and a minor’s welfare in households fractured by hostility.
  • On July 19, Judicial Magistrate Sonika granted a widow and her minor child the right to remain in their shared household and barred in-laws from dispossession.
  • The Karkardooma court refused to award maintenance to the widow, noting no joint or coparcenary assets existed with her late husband.
  • The contrasting orders reveal varied judicial interpretation of DV Act residence relief and underscore challenges of safeguarding women’s statutory rights in multi-generational homes.