October 10, 2018

In a significant ruling, Delhi High Court has said that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) cannot be invoked in a live-in relationship if the man is already married.

Justice R K Gauba, in the recent order, quashed the DV Act proceedings filed by a woman against her live-in partner, after HC found that she was aware he was married to someone else while living with her.

“The relationship between the parties not being in the nature of domestic relationship within the meaning of expression used in Section 2(f) Domestic Violence Act, proceedings arising therefrom against the petitioner are quashed,” the HC noted.

The woman had filed a petition under DV Act seeking various relief in the nature of protection order, residence order, monetary relief & other compensation from the male partner.

“The factum of marriage of the petitioner was well-known to the respondent (woman) before she entered into the live in-relationship with him...she very well knew that in order to enter into a marital relationship with another person it was necessary that he also should not be married to another person,” the Court observed, pointing out that for a case to qualify under DV Act, there should be a possibility of a couple having a “domestic relationship.”

High Court cited Supreme Court rulings to add that the parties should be “otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage with each other” while claiming to be in a domestic relationship such as a live-in arrangement.

Appearing for the male partner, Adv. Gurmeet Narula had argued that the woman’s entire case is founded on allegations of a“live-in relationship” but such a relationship wasn't in the nature of marriage as she was aware that his client during that period was married to another woman.

In her plea, the woman had alleged that the couple had come together & became physically & emotionally involved, and started living together in a house in Gurugram since 2010. She claimed even though aware that her partner had a child from his 1st marriage, the man led her to believe his marriage had been dissolved by a decree of divorce by a Court.

She further claimed before Court that the man had told her in 2008 that his wife had sent him a notice for divorce & he had finally separated from her permanently through divorce by mutual consent in 2010.

However HC was not impressed by the claim and noted that “fact remains that throughout the period the parties lived together under the same roof in Gurugram the petitioner was married to another woman, their marriage having continued & subsisting that is to say, it having not been dissolved by a decree of divorce.”

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