Keywords: Kerala High Court, live-in relationship, DV Act, domestic violence
The Kerala High Court has observed that a woman in a live-in relationship can file domestic violence cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act). The DV Act defines domestic relationships as those between two persons who live or have lived together in a shared household, whether by consanguinity, marriage, adoption, or as family members living together as a joint family. A woman can seek relief under the DV Act alone or as part of a marriage relationship.
The court considered an appeal filed by a man seeking to transfer a case titled Vineet Ganesh v Priyanka Vasan, initiated under Section 12 of the DV Act to a family court. The court argued that transferring the case to a family court would be to the woman’s detriment and that transferring the application to a family court would result in an indiscriminate classification, since a family court entertains a dispute between the parties to a marriage, leaving women in live-in relationships out. The court held that an application under Section 12 of the DV Act cannot be transferred from a Magistrate to a family court, and the appeal was dismissed.
Written by- Apoorva Chandra, College name – Aligarh Muslim University Centre, Malappuram, Semester- 3rd an intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] BAR AND BENCH, Woman in live-in relationship can file domestic violence case: Kerala High Court reiterates (barandbench.com) (last visited on August 15, 2023)
