Domestic Relationship Matrimonial House - Shared Household

Domestic Relationship, Shared Household and Matrimonial Home as Per Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA, 2005)

There is a lot of confusion amongst our brethren regarding terms like domestic relationships, shared households and matrimonial houses. Especially to those who are facing cases under the Domestic Violence Act and the woman is seeking entry into the house belonging to their parents, etc. In this article, I am trying to clarify the various terms.

Domestic Relationship Meaning: A Domestic Relationship means a relationship between two people who live or have lived at any time in a shared household. However, for the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 or DV Act, such domestic Relationships should exist when two people who stay in a Domestic Relationship are related to each other by kinship, marriage, Relationship marriage, adoption or family members living together in a joint family. In other words, a relationship between master and servant, between two people who can’t marry, etc, is not covered under the DV Act.

Domestic Relationship is the cornerstone for the aggrieved woman to sue the alleged perpetrator of Domestic Violence under this Act. However, the parties not living together in a shared household or living occasionally are not covered under this Act. Similarly, a man and woman who either could not marry each other, etc, can not be said to be living in a relationship like marriage. For a better understanding of this concept, read this article: https://www.shoneekapoor.com/legal-position-live-in-relationship-india/. Courts have ruled that when a competent court announces a marriage, the woman can not sue under this Act as she ceases to be a wife.

For the practical aspect of this Act, the husband’s relatives, including Brother-in-law, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, etc., would be in a domestic Relationship only if they reside in the same household, making it a shared household. People living independently in different dwelling units of the same building or elsewhere cannot be in a Domestic Relationship. Essentially, the woman’s and alleged perpetrator’s stay should be consistent.

Initially, there was some confusion about whether women who are relatives of the husband can be sued under this Act; they said the contention has been put to rest, and now women can also be made respondents under this Act.

An aggrieved woman need not be the wife or the female partner who lives in a relationship like marriage; it can also be a mother, sister and daughter.

The word “has been or have been” in the definition of the Act also clearly indicates that a woman can sue any person who has been staying with her consistently, even after staying separately for some time with her husband alone. Hence, the tactics of removing the warring couple from the shared household have not found favour with many courts.

Shared Household Meaning: A household is a household where the aggrieved person lives or has lived with the Respondents at any stage. It also means a house belonging to the husband or the house which belongs to the joint family of which the husband is a member. If the parties have not stayed together, the house belonging to the husband’s parents won’t be taken as a shared household unless the house is a joint family property in which the husband has a share. Hence, a household owned by a Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, etc, would not be a shared household, and the wife cannot claim the right of residence in any such property as a matter of right. Also, the shared household does not cover the complete property of the husband but is restricted to the household only. Delhi High Court has enunciated this aspect in quite a detail in Shumita Didi’s judgment.

Matrimonial House: The term is not mentioned in the Act and is a misnomer. It can be a house belonging to any family member of the husband, especially his parents or elder brother. But the aggrieved woman does not get any rights in that house.

Right to Reside in a Shared Household:  As per the definition, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every woman in a Domestic Relationship will have the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title of beneficial interest in the same. The aggrieved person will not be evicted or excluded from the shared household or any part of it by the Respondent save by the procedure established by Law.”

Here, ‘reside’ means more than a casual or temporary stay. It is a concrete intention of remaining in a particular place.

The courts have held that when the parties have lived together in the home belonging to some other member of the husband’s family, merely because the husband has moved out owing to marital discord, it does not mean that the wife cannot enforce the right of residence in the same household. If staying together is impossible for practical reasons, the husband must pay the rent for equivalent alternate accommodation.

The courts have also taken a similar stance where the wife has abandoned the household and started residing elsewhere, she would have no right to reside in the said household, and a decree of injunction can be passed against her, restraining her from interfering with the peaceful possession of the house by other members except the husband.

Similarly, a woman who once abandoned the shared household cannot force entry into it merely because she is the wife or daughter-in-law of that house. A person can forcibly stop her from entering the premises unless she has a court order. Restraining someone from entering the premises is not eviction.

Hence, if we are aware of our Laws and our rights, we can fight the menace of such draconian laws and not be at the sole mercy of others.