The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986
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Format of Complaint under section 12 DV Act with sample
This article is written by Advocate Puneet Kumar Bainsla, Legal Associate at AK Tiwari & Associates, a Law Firm representing clients all over India in matters pertaining to primarily Divorce, Domestic Violence, Dowry, Child Custody, Maintenance, FIR under section 498A, 323, 504, 506, 406, 376, 377, 3/4 DP Act, Bails at Lower Court and High Court, Stay on arrest, Consumer Builder Disputes, Cheque Bounce, Cheating, Forgery, Eviction, Partition Suit, Recovery Suit and many more. The article discusses about the Muslim women (protection of rights on divorce) Act, 1986.
How to file a complaint under section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (D.V. Act, 2005)?
A complaint is filed under section 12 of the Act by any woman (irrespective of her religion or status) against any person if the woman has been in a shared household along with that person. It means apart from a husband and wife relationship, the Act empowers even the mother, sister, and woman in a live-in relationship to file a complaint against their family members or live-in partner. The Act is complementary to penal provisions (Indian Penal Code or any existing law) and maintenance provisions given to women under Indian Law.
I have also shared a format of a complaint under section 12 of the DV Act. for your understanding and better drafting as how to file a DV case.
While drafting the complaint make sure, you also mention the relief for Protection Order, Residence Order, Monetary Relief, Custody orders (if applicable), and compensation order u/s 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 of the Act. Because legal proceedings take time, it is always advisable to file an interim application/ad-interim/exparte application seeking relief for all the abovementioned sections to save the aggrieved person (the woman) from suffering mentally and financially.
After the complaint is admitted by the court, notice is issued to the Protection Officer, who then meets the aggrieved person and prepares a Domestic Incidental Report (DIR) and forwards the same to the court for further notice to the respondents. However, in urgent cases, notice is issued to the respondents even at the stage of admission before submission of DIR report.
After the issuance of notice to the respondents, the court of MM/JMC sends both parties for mediation. If mediation fails, the matter is referred back to the court, and the complainant now shall submit her income affidavit along with the bank statement to the respondents who shall then submit their reply to the complaint along with the income affidavit. Thereafter, the court decides the maintenance amount to be paid to the woman.
The amount of court fee and the jurisdiction lies with the court within which the aggrieved person permanently or temporarily decides, or where the respondent resides or where the cause of action has arisen.
