The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India

enacted to protect women from domestic violence. It was brought into force by Indian
government from 26 October 2006.

Merits of Domestic Violence Act:

 The prime positives of the DVA is that it recognizes not only wives but also
women in live-in relationships, as well as other women in the household like
sisters and mothers. Thus, it is not restricted to the marital context.
 This is the first comprehensive law on this subject which directly attacks the
abuse – physical, mental, emotional and economic – that women face in the
household at the hands of the men in their lives.
 Unlike archaic views on domestic abuse, the DVA is wider as it covers economic
abuse like dowry demands and preventing women from working, sexual abuse
like forced sexual intercourse and even verbal and mental abuse. The DVA is the
first instance of the law recognizing sexual violence in a marital relationship.
Another DVA provision of high utility is that it gives women the right to live in
the shared matrimonial household regardless of her having any kind of title to it.
 In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that under the DVA, women could be
prosecuted too.
 Now that both male and female persons have been brought under the ambit of
the DVA, husbands can exploit this loopholes by making their mothers and
sisters file false cases against his wife, thereby defeating the primary purpose of
enacting this legislation – protecting women in the household. However, the
change is relatively new and its large scale effects are yet to be seen.
 Finally taking cognizance of the horrors of domestic violence which Indian
women are exposed to on a daily basis, the Indian government enacted
the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (hereinafter “DVA”) in
2005 to help wipe out this social evil.
 The draft Act provides for appointment of Protection Officers and NGOs to
provide assistance to the woman w.r.t medical examination, legal aid, safe
shelter, etc.
Demerits of Domestic Violence Act:
 Though the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 guarantees justice to women who
suffer domestic violence, but the Act hasn't been implemented properly and there
is a dire need to raise awareness among people, especially in rural India.
 The Act assumes that only women are victims. As per this law, only a woman
can file a complaint against against a man. A man has no rights under this
law. According to Section 32(2) of the Act, the court concludes that the testimony
of the victim (woman) is always true and there will be no need for any supportive
evidence to prove that an offense has been committed. This is very dangerous
for innocent men since they are left with absolutely no remedy against the
women who can anytime lodge false complaints due to certain grudge or revenge
against them.
 Secondly, there are potential chances of its misuse. If a woman lodges complaint
that there was a verbal and emotional abuse by her husband, then she needs to
prove nothing. According to Section 18 of this Act, a magistrate can take
measures to protect the woman from any acts of violence that are even likely to
take place in the future. This means that the woman get a upper hand in
protection and the person against whom they have complained can be punished,
even though he may not have committed any act of violence and there may be
only a chance of occurrence of the violence in the future.
 An insult is also considered as a domestic violence. It is true that differences may
arise in a marriage anytime since there may be lack of proper understanding
between the couple. Many people try to work on this and try to sort out their
differences. While some women approach the court even for minor issues and
thus, men feel threatened by the enactment. This law will therefore lead to more
divorces and breakdown of a family.
 In a country, where constitution guarantees equal rights to women and men, it is
a shame that women still have to struggle even for small things. A simple
example of this is the domestic violence against women.
 Considering the fact and problems regarding the domestic violence, government
of India framed Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, which
came into force on October 26, 2006, but as far as the justice is concerned,
victims are less aware about the provisions of the Act.
 As per the Act, the victim can directly approach the Protection Officer (PO) for
justice. But, it is found that, not a single person has directly approached PO in
any domestic violence case. Most of the time, victims approached the police and
then they informed the POs about the case. She said, “Government delivered the
charge of Protection Officer to senior officers who already have other
responsibilities. And those officials who are appointed as Protection Officers, are
unaware about their responsibility. Similarly, no recruitment of Protection Officer
was done in last seven years.”