Definition of domestic violence
Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 deals with definition of domestic violence. For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it-- (a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and include The Act came into force on 26 Oct 2006.
For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it--
(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or
(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or
(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or
(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.
Explanation I.--For the purposes of this section,--
(i) "physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force;
(ii) "sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman;
(iii) "verbal and emotional abuse" includes--
(a) insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child; and
(b) repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested;
(iv) "economic abuse" includes--
(a) deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, house hold necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared house hold and maintenance;
(b) disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person; and
(c) prohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship including access to the shared household.
Explanation II.--For the purpose of determining whether any act, omission, commission or conduct of the respondent constitutes "domestic violence" under this section, the overall facts and circumstances of the case shall be taken into consideration.
Section 3, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (Act 43 of 2005).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A live-in relationship may be a relationship in the nature of marriage under DV Act s.2(f) if Indra Sarma indicators are met (duration, shared household, pooling, children, socialisation). A married man's relationship with an unmarried woman, known to her to be adulterous, may fall outside.
On this section: DV Act 3 economic-abuse / non-maintenance after a broken live-in arises only if the relationship is a s.2(f) domestic relationship in the nature of marriage (Indra Sarma). Existing CNR already on dv-act 2; remap to empty s.3. Do not pad 18/19/20.
-
Saraswathy vs Babu
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The conduct of the respondent-husband in preventing the appellant-wife from residing in the shared household, even after court orders granting her restitution of conjugal rights, constitutes continuance of domestic violence including economic abuse. Conduct of parties prior to the enactment of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 can be taken into consideration while passing orders under Sections 18, 19, and 20 of the PWD Act, 2005. In cases of continued domestic violence following court orders, courts are competent to grant protection orders, residence orders, maintenance, and compensation for mental torture and emotional distress under the PWD Act, 2005.
On this section: Comprehensive definition of domestic violence including physical abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and economic abuse; Court emphasized that economic abuse includes prohibition of access to shared household
-
Aishwarya Atul Pusalkar vs Mah. Housing & Area Devt. Auhority
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A married woman has a recognized right to reside in her matrimonial home embedded in her status as wife under family law principles, but this right cannot be enforced through writ jurisdiction when the dispute involves private family property. The right to reside in matrimonial home flows from independent legal principles of family law and is distinct from and not derivable from statutory rehabilitation schemes under housing redevelopment acts. A wife's claim to reside in family property allocated to husband after redevelopment must be adjudicated in civil or family court with appropriate fact-finding jurisdiction, not through writ petition under Article 226. The statutory obligation of housing authorities and builders to rehabilitate dishoused occupiers is limited to those with direct title or independent occupancy rights under the statute, and does not extend to family members claiming collaterally through the primary beneficiary.
On this section: Court noted that alienating immovable property to defeat matrimonial home rights can constitute economic abuse under this provision
-
Ummalaneni Nagaraju vs Ummalaneni Divya Deepthi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In a maintenance case under Section 125 Cr.P.C., when a husband claims financial dependence on his father and denies capacity to maintain his wife and children, the court may infer the husband's capacity from: (1) Properties purchased in the husband's name; (2) The family's pattern of property acquisitions; (3) The father's age and inability to manage all businesses independently; (4) Documentary evidence of family business operations (such as GST returns); (5) The family's social and political status (such as the father being a Municipal Chairman); and (6) The husband's lack of independent employment, indicating involvement in family businesses. In such circumstances, the income of the family cannot be disjoined from the husband's income, and the husband cannot disown his membership in the family merely because properties stand in the father's name. The wife's resignation from employment for the marriage and her subsequent unemployment do not disentitle her to maintenance if she lacks current means of support. The wife's separation from the marital home is justified if she can demonstrate fear for her life due to the husband's abnormal behavior or mental health issues, and such separation does not constitute desertion.
On this section: Definition and protection from domestic violence; the wife filed a case under this act regarding the violent incident on April 2, 2017
-
Lalitkumar Sevantilal Shah vs State of Gujarat
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A writ petition under Article 226 seeking to quash proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is not maintainable when an alternative remedy of appeal is available under Section 29 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The petitioner must exhaust the alternative remedy before approaching the High Court for writ jurisdiction.
On this section: These sections were cited as the basis for the complaint filed against the petitioner, relating to domestic violence and protection orders.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 3
What have the courts held on Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act?
Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (26 Nov 2013) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: DV Act 3 economic-abuse / non-maintenance after a broken live-in arises only if the relationship is a s.2(f) domestic relationship in the nature of marriage (Indra Sarma). Existing CNR already on dv-act 2; remap to empty s.3. Do not pad 18/19/20. Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, 3 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2013 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: DV Act 3, section 3 DV Act, section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. People searching for it also type dv act 3 4 and dv act 3/4. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma (26 Nov 2013).
What should I read with Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When did Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act come into force?
Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, cited as DV Act 3, came into force on 26 Oct 2006, having been enacted on 13 Sep 2005. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions623 words
- 37. Power of Central Government to make rules443 words
- 19. Residence orders431 words
- 9. Duties and functions of Protection Officers360 words
- 20. Monetary reliefs336 words
- 10. Service providers293 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.