Pune: District and Additional Sessions Judge Ajit More has ordered the dismissal of all cases and orders against a husband’s girlfriend and her parents in a domestic violence dispute.
Judge More emphasized that for a claim under the Domestic Violence Act, a family relationship is essential. According to the petition, there is no familial relationship between the complainant and the girlfriend or her parents that would warrant a case under this law.
The lawyer-wife had initially filed a petition in the court of the Judicial Magistrate (First Class), accusing her husband, in-laws, and her husband's girlfriend, along with her parents, of domestic violence. She demanded maintenance, shelter, and protection from her husband and his family.
The girlfriend and her parents, represented by Advocates Ruturaj Pasalkar, Mayur Dhatavkar, and Pushkar Patil, appealed against this inclusion in the case.
Despite being a lawyer, the wife included the girlfriend in the complaint without necessary grounds, which goes beyond the intended scope of the law.
According to the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the accused must have resided with the complainant under the same roof, and a domestic relationship must exist.
The Judicial Magistrate (First Class) court found no evidence of such a relationship between the wife and the girlfriend or her parents. Advocates Patil and Dhatavkar successfully argued that the girlfriend and her parents should be excluded from the case based on these grounds.
Following this, the court acknowledged that the wife had no standing to pursue a case against her husband's girlfriend and her parents under the Domestic Violence Act, leading to the dismissal of the charges against them.
